Existing comment:
War's Remembrance: The National Military Parks:
Twenty-five years after the Civil War's end, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was created by an 1890 act of Congress supported by veterans from both sides who recognized that preserving portions of the battlefields, commemorating the deeds of their comrades, and honoring the men who had fallen there would benefit the reunited nation. In addition to its historic and educational value, the National Military Park was created as part of the healing process for a nation that had been torn asunder by war.
In creating the National Military Park, the veterans hoped to conserve some of the battlefield terrain in its historic condition. Visitors could see and study the varied topography where the combatants had fought and maneuvers. The veterans hoped that the preserved portions of the battlefields would be forever kept in their 1863 condition, with historic markers and monuments added to enhance understanding.
Dedicated in 1895, Chickamauga and Chattanooga was the first national military park, followed by Shiloh, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg.
Originally administered by the War Department, the national military parks were transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. |