**STATEMENT OF KATHERINE H. STEVENSON, ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,
BUSINESS SERVICES, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE
INTERIOR, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS OF THE SENATE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, CONCERNING S. 1633 TO
AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO CONDUCT A SPECIAL RESOURCE
STUDY TO DETERMINE THE SUITABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF INCLUDING THE
BATTLEFIELD AND RELATED SITES OF THE BATTLE OF SHEPHERDSTOWN IN
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, AS PART OF HARPERS FERRY NATIONAL
HISTORICAL PARK OR ANTIETAM NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD**

**April 9, 2008**

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Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the views of the
Department of the Interior on S. 1633, a bill to authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the
suitability and feasibility of including the battlefields and related
sites of the Battle of Shepherdstown in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, as
part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or Antietam National
Battlefield in the National Park System.

The Department supports S. 1633. However, the Department feels that
priority should be given to the 32 previously authorized studies for
potential units of the National Park System, potential new National
Heritage Areas, and potential additions to the National Trails System
and National Wild and Scenic River System that have not yet been
transmitted to the Congress.

S. 1633 would authorize the Secretary to carry out a special resource
study to determine the national significance of the Shepherdstown
battlefield and related sites in Shepherdstown, West Virginia associated
with the Civil War. The study would examine whether the area could be
included in the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or the Antietam
National Battlefield. The bill also requires the Secretary to submit a
report to Congress no later than 3 years after the date on which funds
are made available to carry out this study.

General Robert E. Lee invaded the North, with the intention of bringing
Maryland into the Confederacy. Lee had a number of strategic reasons for
the move. First, Lee's troops were in much need of military aid and
supplies and Maryland's lands were rich in crops and untouched by
battle. Second, Lee saw Maryland as a stepping stone to Pennsylvania,
where he could draw the Union Army into a battle on ground of his own
choosing. He could then threaten the cities of Washington, Baltimore,
and Philadelphia and perhaps end the war in a short time. Finally,
General Lee hoped that another Confederate victory, this time on Union
soil, might also persuade Great Britain and France to grant diplomatic
recognition to the South.

As he had done before, Lee divided his army and sent "Stonewall" Jackson
in to capture the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, with its huge store
of supplies. But the people of Maryland looked on the hungry troops as
invaders who had come to plunder their land. Another unfortunate thing
happened. A Union private was resting near Frederick, Maryland and
noticed an envelope in the grass. It was a copy of General Lee's order
to his generals outlining his plans. The paper was soon in the hands of
General George B. McClellan.

The Battle of Shepherdstown, also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford,
was fought on September 19 and 20, 1862. There were over 600 casualties.
General Lee had moved most of his army back across the Potomac River
into Virginia leaving 44 cannons to form an artillery reserve to protect
the vital crossing point on the Potomac. General McClellan had given
orders to pursue the enemy across the Potomac. In the confusion of
battle, General Lee received an erroneous report that his cannons had
been captured. Reacting to this misinformation, the Confederates sent a
force back to recover the artillery. In the skirmish that followed on
the bluffs of the Potomac, a large number of inexperienced Union troops
with faulty equipment were killed. This convinced General McClellan that
the Confederate Army was still full of fight and he decided to delay any
further effort to pursue until reinforced. The battle was considered a
Confederate victory.

The Battle of Shepherdstown was the final engagement of the Maryland
Campaign of 1862 that included the battles of Harpers Ferry, South
Mountain, and Antietam and ended the Confederacy's first invasion of the
North. The National Park Service has provided information and
interpretation on the Shepherdstown site at Harpers Ferry National
Historical Park and Antietam National Battlefield for over 20 years.

A special resource study would provide alternatives for the appropriate
way to preserve, to protect, and to interpret the Battle of
Shepherdstown sites and resources. We estimate that the costs of
completing this study would be approximately \$250,000 to \$300,000.

That concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any questions
you or other members

of the subcommittee may have.