II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1117

To establish the Corinth Unit of Shiloh National Military Park, in the

vicinity of the city of Corinth, Mississippi, and in the State of Tennessee,

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 25, 1999

Mr. LOTT (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. ROBB, and Mr. JEFFORDS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Corinth Unit of Shiloh National Military

Park, in the vicinity of the city of Corinth, Mississippi,

and in the State of Tennessee, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Corinth Battlefield

5 Preservation Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) in 1996, Congress authorized the establish9 ment and construction of a center—
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1 (A) to facilitate the interpretation of the

2 Siege and Battle of Corinth and other Civil

3 War actions in the area in and around the city

4 of Corinth, Mississippi; and

5 (B) to enhance public understanding of the

6 significance of the Corinth campaign and the

7 Civil War relative to the western theater of op8 erations, in cooperation with—

9 (i) State or local governmental enti10 ties;

11 (ii) private organizations; and

12 (iii) individuals;

13 (2) the Corinth Battlefield was ranked as a pri14 ority 1 battlefield having critical need for coordi15 nated nationwide action by the year 2000 by the

16 Civil War Sites Advisory Commission in its report

17 on Civil War Battlefields of the United States;

18 (3) there is a national interest in protecting and

19 preserving sites of historic significance associated

20 with the Civil War; and

21 (4) the States of Mississippi and Tennessee and

22 their respective local units of government—

23 (A) have the authority to prevent or mini24 mize adverse uses of these historic resources;

25 and
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1 (B) can play a significant role in the pro2 tection of the historic resources related to the

3 Civil War battles fought in the area in and

4 around the city of Corinth.

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

6 (1) to establish the Corinth Unit of the Shiloh

7 National Military Park—

8 (A) in the city of Corinth, Mississippi; and

9 (B) in the State of Tennessee;

10 (2) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to

11 manage, protect, and interpret the resources associ12 ated with the Civil War Siege and the Battle of Cor13 inth that occurred in and around the city of Corinth,

14 in cooperation with—

15 (A) the State of Mississippi;

16 (B) the State of Tennessee;

17 (C) the city of Corinth, Mississippi;

18 (D) other public entities; and

19 (E) the private sector; and

20 (3) to authorize a special resource study to

21 identify other Civil War sites area in and around the

22 city of Corinth that—

23 (A) are consistent with the themes of the

24 Siege and Battle of Corinth;
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1 (B) meet the criteria for designation as a

2 unit of the National Park System; and

3 (C) are considered appropriate for inclu4 sion in the Unit.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this Act:

7 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en8 titled ‘‘Corinth Unit’’, numbered 304/80,007, and

9 dated October 1998.

10 (2) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Shiloh

11 National Military Park.

12 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

13 the Secretary of the Interior.

14 (4) UNIT.—The term ‘‘Unit’’ means the Cor15 inth Unit of Shiloh National Military Park estab16 lished under section 4.

17 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIT.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the States

19 of Mississippi and Tennessee the Corinth Unit of the Shi20 loh National Military Park.

21 (b) COMPOSITION OF UNIT.—The Unit shall be com22 prised of—

23 (1) the tract consisting of approximately 20

24 acres generally depicted as ‘‘Park Boundary’’ on the

25 Map, and containing—
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1 (A) the Battery Robinett; and

2 (B) the site of the interpretive center au3 thorized under section 602 of the Omnibus

4 Parks and Public Lands Management Act of

5 1996 (16 U.S.C. 430f–5); and

6 (2) any additional land that the Secretary de7 termines to be suitable for inclusion in the Unit

8 that—

9 (A) is under the ownership of a public en10 tity or nonprofit organization; and

11 (B) has been identified by the Siege and

12 Battle of Corinth National Historic Landmark

13 Study, dated January 8, 1991.

14 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The Map shall be on file

15 and available for public inspection in the office of the Di16 rector of the National Park Service.

17 SEC. 5. LAND ACQUISITION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire land

19 and interests in land within the boundary of the Park as

20 depicted on the Map, by—

21 (1) donation;

22 (2) purchase with donated or appropriated

23 funds; or

24 (3) exchange.
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1 (b) EXCEPTION.—Land may be acquired only by do2 nation from—

3 (1) the State of Mississippi (including a polit4 ical subdivision of the State);

5 (2) the State of Tennessee (including a political

6 subdivision of the State); or

7 (3) the organization known as ‘‘Friends of the

8 Siege and Battle of Corinth’’.

9 SEC. 6. PARK MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer

11 the Unit in accordance with this Act and the laws gen12 erally applicable to units of the National Park System,

13 including—

14 (1) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a Na15 tional Park Service, and for other purposes’’, ap16 proved August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and

17 (2) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the

18 preservation of historic American sites, buildings,

19 objects, and antiquities of national significance, and

20 for other purposes’’, approved August 21, 1935 (16

21 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).

22 (b) DUTIES.—In accordance with section 602 of the

23 Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of

24 1996 (16 U.S.C. 430f–5), the Secretary shall—
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1 (1) commemorate and interpret, for the benefit

2 of visitors and the general public, the Siege and Bat3 tle of Corinth and other Civil War actions in the

4 area in and around the city of Corinth within the

5 larger context of the Civil War and American his6 tory, including the significance of the Civil War

7 Siege and Battle of Corinth in 1862 in relation to

8 other operations in the western theater of the Civil

9 War; and

10 (2) identify and preserve surviving features

11 from the Civil War era in the area in and around

12 the city of Corinth, including both military and civil13 ian themes that include—

14 (A) the role of railroads in the Civil War;

15 (B) the story of the Corinth contraband

16 camp; and

17 (C) the development of field fortifications

18 as a tactic of war.

19 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—To carry this Act, the Sec21 retary may enter into cooperative agreements with

22 entities in the public and private sectors, including—

23 (A) colleges and universities;

24 (B) historical societies;

25 (C) State and local agencies; and
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1 (D) nonprofit organizations.

2 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—To develop coop3 erative land use strategies and conduct activities

4 that facilitate the conservation of the historic, cul5 tural, natural, and scenic resources of the Unit, the

6 Secretary may provide technical assistance, to the

7 extent that a recipient of technical assistance is en8 gaged in the protection, interpretation, or commemo9 ration of historically significant Civil War resources

10 in the area in and around the city of Corinth, to—

11 (A) the State of Mississippi (including a

12 political subdivision of the State);

13 (B) the State of Tennessee (including a

14 political subdivision of the State);

15 (C) a governmental entity;

16 (D) a nonprofit organization; and

17 (E) a private property owner.

18 (d) RESOURCES OUTSIDE THE UNIT.—Nothing in

19 subsection (c)(2) authorizes the Secretary to own or man20 age any resource outside the Unit.

21 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—To determine whether certain ad23 ditional properties are appropriate for inclusion in the

24 Unit, the Secretary shall conduct a special resource study
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1 of land in and around the city of Corinth, Mississippi, and

2 nearby areas in the State of Tennessee that—

3 (1) have a relationship to the Civil War Siege

4 and Battle of Corinth in 1862; and

5 (2) are under the ownership of—

6 (A) the State of Mississippi (including a

7 political subdivision of the State);

8 (B) the State of Tennessee (including a

9 political subdivision of the State);

10 (C) a nonprofit organization; or

11 (D) a private person.

12 (b) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study shall—

13 (1) identify the full range of resources and his14 toric themes associated with the Civil War Siege and

15 Battle of Corinth in 1862, including the relationship

16 of the campaign to other operations in the western

17 theater of the Civil War that occurred in—

18 (A) the area in and around the city of Cor19 inth; and

20 (B) the State of Tennessee;

21 (2) identify alternatives for preserving features

22 from the Civil War era in the area in and around

23 the city of Corinth, including both military and civil24 ian themes involving—
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1 (A) the role of the railroad in the Civil

2 War;

3 (B) the story of the Corinth contraband

4 camp; and

5 (C) the development of field fortifications

6 as a tactic of war;

7 (3) identify potential partners that might sup8 port efforts by the Secretary to carry out this Act,

9 including—

10 (A) State entities and their political sub11 divisions;

12 (B) historical societies and commissions;

13 (C) civic groups; and

14 (D) nonprofit organizations;

15 (4) identify alternatives to avoid land use con16 flicts; and

17 (5) include cost estimates for any necessary ac18 tivity associated with the alternatives identified

19 under this subsection, including—

20 (A) acquisition;

21 (B) development;

22 (C) interpretation;

23 (D) operation; and

24 (E) maintenance.
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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year and 180 days

2 after the date on which funds are made available to carry

3 out this section, the Secretary shall submit a report de4 scribing the findings of the study under subsection (a)

5 to—

6 (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re7 sources of the Senate; and

8 (2) the Committee on Resources of the House

9 of Representatives.

10 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

12 as are necessary to carry out this Act, including

13 $3,000,000 for the construction of an interpretive center

14 under section 602(d) of title VI of the Omnibus Parks and

15 Public Lands Management Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 430f–

16 5(d)).

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