59–010 

Calendar No. 232 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–102 

NEWTONIA CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELDS STUDY, MISSOURI 

JUNE 26, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 376] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 376) 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 

First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during the Civil 

War as part of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield or designating 

the battlefields and related sites as a separate unit of the National 

Park System, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 

reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends 

that the Act do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of H.R. 376 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resources study to determine the suitability and feasibility of including the battlefields and related sites 

of the First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during the 

Civil War as part of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related sites as a separate unit of the 

National Park System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Newtonia, Missouri was the scene of two significant battles in 

the Civil War, one on September 30, 1862, and the other on October 28, 1864. The battles were fought in and around the town of 

Newtonia, an area that today retains much of its character from almost a century and a half ago. The September 30, 1862, battle involved Native American soldiers directly fighting each other, and 


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the October 28, 1864, battle was the last Civil War battle fought 

within the borders of the State of Missouri and the culmination of 

Confederate Major General Sterling Price’s 1864 Missouri Expedition. 

Newtonia was important as a centralized location to lead mines 

and the communities of Mt. Vernon (which housed a Union garrison), Sarcoxie, and Neosho, making it a priority for both sides seeking control of the Spring River and its fertile valley. 

Both battles are explained in greater detail in the National Park 

Service’s testimony, which is printed later in this report. H.R. 376 

will authorize the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study to determine whether the site is appropriate for addition to the National Park System. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 376, sponsored by Representative Blunt, passed the House 

of Representatives by voice vote on March 5, 2007. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill on May 15, 

2007. At its business meeting on May 23, 2007, the Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources ordered the bill favorably reported, 

without amendment. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business session on May 23, 2007, by a unanimous voice vote 

of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 376. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 

a special resource study relating to two Civil War battles that took 

place in Newton County, Missouri, in 1862 and 1864. 

Subsection (b) requires the Secretary, in conducting the study, to 

evaluate the national significance of the Newtonia battlefields and 

their related sites; consider the findings and recommendations prepared in 2004 by the Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association; 

evaluate the suitability and feasibility of adding the battlefields 

and related sites to the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in Missouri, as a unit of the National Park System; analyze the impact 

of possible park designation on adjacent privately-owned lands; 

consider alternatives for preservation; and estimate likely costs. 

Subsection (c) states the study requirements contained in section 

8 of Public Law 91–383 shall apply to the study. 

Subsection (d) requires that the study be transmitted to Congress 

no later than three years after the date funds are first made available for the study. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: 


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JUNE 4, 2007. 

Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 376, an act 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 First and Second Battles of Newtonia, 

Missouri, during the Civil War as part of Wilson’s Creek National 

Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related sites as a 

separate unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah Reis and 

David Reynolds. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 376—An act 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 

First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during the 

Civil War as part of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related sites as a separate unit of 

the National Park System, and for other purposes 

H.R. 376 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

special resource study of sites in Missouri relating to the First and 

Second Battles of Newtonia, to determine the suitability and feasibility of including them in the National Park System. The act 

would authorize the appropriation of whatever amounts are necessary for the study and would require the department to report 

on its findings and recommendations within three years of receiving funds. 

Based on information provided by the National Park Service and 

assuming availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that it 

would cost $300,000 over the next 3 years to complete the required 

study and report. Enacting H.R. 376 would not affect revenues or 

direct spending. 

The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 

would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis and 

David Reynolds. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 

Deputy Assistant Director of the Budget Analysis Division. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 376. The Act is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant economic 

responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 


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No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 376, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the May 

15, 2007 Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 376 follows: 

STATEMENT OF DANIEL N. WENK, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present 

the views of the Department of the Interior on H.R. 376, 

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 First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during 

the Civil War as part of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related sites as a 

separate unit of the National Park System. 

The Department supports H.R. 376 as passed by the 

House. However, we believe that priority should be given 

to the 37 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. 

H.R. 376 would authorize the Secretary to carry out a 

special resource study to determine the national significance of sites in Newton County, Missouri associated with 

the Civil War. The Secretary would evaluate the national 

significance of the battlefields and their related sites and 

analyze the potential impact that their inclusion in the 

National Park System is likely to have on Wilson’s Creek 

National Battlefield. 

A special resource study would provide alternatives for 

the appropriate way to preserve, to protect, and to interpret these sites and resources. Those alternatives would 

include recommendations on whether the area could be included as a new unit of the National Park System, as part 

of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, or determine if 

the Federal government is the most appropriate entity to 

manage the site. We estimate that the costs of completing 

this study would be approximately $250,000 to $300,000. 

Newtonia was the scene of two significant battles in the 

Civil War, one on September 30, 1862 and the other on October 28, 1864. The battles were fought in and around the 

town of Newtonia, an area that today retains much of its 

character from almost a century and a half ago. The September 30, 1862 battle involved Native American soldiers 

directly fighting each other, and the October 28, 1864 battle was the last Civil War battle fought within the borders 

of the State of Missouri and the culmination of ConfedVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:09 Jun 29, 2007 Jkt 059010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR102.XXX SR102

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erate Major General Sterling Price’s 1864 Missouri Expedition. 

Newtonia was important as a centralized location to lead 

mines and the communities of Mt. Vernon (which housed 

a Union garrison), Sarcoxie, and Neosho, making it a 

tempting area for both sides for control of the Spring River 

and its fertile valley. Confederate Colonel Douglas Cooper 

had arrived in Newtonia on September 27 and had taken 

over the area. On September 30 Union troops under General James Blunt appeared before Newtonia and the fighting began by 7:00 a.m. The Federals began driving the 

enemy away from their positions; but thanks to timely 

Confederate reinforcements, the Federals had to give way 

and retreat. As the Union forces were retreating, they received reinforcements and renewed their attack, threatening the enemy right flank. The Union 3rd Indian Battalion was heavily engaged during the attack on the right 

flank as were the Confederate 1st Choctaw and Chickasaw 

Regiment; in fact the two units engaged each other directly 

in a desperate melee. But once again Confederate reinforcements arrived and pushed the Federals back and into 

what quickly became an all out retreat. Some Union forces 

retreated all the way to Sarcoxie, some 10 miles away. Although the Confederates won the battle, they were unable 

to maintain themselves in the area due to the superior 

numbers of Union troops, and most retreated into northwest Arkansas. 

In the last days of October 1864, Newtonia again took 

center stage. Confederate Major General Sterling Price 

had launched his ‘‘Missouri Expedition’’ in September of 

1864 in an effort to retake Missouri for the Confederacy. 

His mission was failing miserably by October of 1864; and 

after sound defeats at the Battle of Westport on October 

21–23 and the Battle of Mine Creek, Kansas on October 

25, he was desperately trying to make his way back to 

Confederate Territory. Major General Price made one last 

stand at Newtonia on October 28, 1864. Most of his army 

continued across the Arkansas River into Texas. Troops 

under the command of General Jo Shelby slowed the 

Union advance of General James Blunt and held the 

Union forces at bay until darkness overtook the area and 

allowed Shelby’s men to join the rest of the comrades in 

retreating to Texas. Confederate forces would not seriously 

threaten to cross the Arkansas River and invade Missouri 

again. 

Currently the Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association owns and maintains 25 plus acres of the Battlefields. 

This includes the Ritchey Mansion and the ‘‘Old Newtonia 

Cemetery’’ or the ‘‘Civil War Cemetery’’ as it is locally 

known, with one battle participant, Captain Richard 

Christian, buried in it. There are approximately 200 

graves, marked only by rough sandstone or field stones, 

which are almost certainly graves of Confederate dead. 

The Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association was instrumental in having the sites of the 1862 and the 1864 


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battles listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The Ritchey Mansion was previously listed on the National 

Register, and the Association revised that application after 

they purchased the Mansion in 2002. The Association applied for and received three grants from the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) of the National Park 

Service. Two of those studies were archeological studies, 

‘‘Engaged the Enemy Again—An Assessment of the 1862 

and 1864 Civil War Battles at Newtonia, Missouri;’’ (Fryman 1995) and ‘‘Newtonia Battlefields and Archeological Survey’’ (White Star 1998). Also in 2000, ‘‘A Preservation Plan for the Civil War Battlefields of Newtonia, 

Missouri’’ was funded by the ABPP and completed by Gray 

& Pape, Inc. 

That concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any questions you or other members of the subcommittee may have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 

Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 

changes in existing law are made by the Act H.R. 376, as 

ordered reported. 

Æ 


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