I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7385 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edwin Cole ‘‘Ed’’ Bearss, in recognition of his contributions to preservation of American Civil War history 

and continued efforts to bring our Nation’s history alive for new generations through his interpretive storytelling. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 26, 2020 

Mr. CONNOLLY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edwin Cole ‘‘Ed’’ 

Bearss, in recognition of his contributions to preservation 

of American Civil War history and continued efforts to 

bring our Nation’s history alive for new generations 

through his interpretive storytelling. 

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Edwin Cole ‘‘Ed’’ Bearss was born June 

6 26, 1923, in Billings, Montana, to Omar and Vir7 ginia Bearss. 


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1 (2) During a 40-year career with the National 

2 Park Service, Mr. Bearss distinguished himself as 

3 one of America’s preeminent historians, particularly 

4 in the field of the Civil War, not only through his 

5 work to preserve the places in which our Nation’s 

6 history was forged but also through his captivating 

7 interpretive storytelling about the people and events 

8 that shaped those places. 

9 (3) Mr. Bearss’ lifelong passion for Civil War 

10 history was kindled during his youth. Even at an 

11 early age, Mr. Bearss demonstrated a knack for 

12 committing facts to memory, a skill that helped him 

13 win school contests in history, current events, and 

14 geography. 

15 (4) He graduated high school in May 1941 and 

16 the following year joined the U.S. Marine Corps, 

17 serving with the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion during 

18 the invasion of Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands. 

19 He was badly wounded in gunfire at ‘‘Suicide 

20 Creek’’, Cape Gloucester, New Britain, while serving 

21 with the 7th Regiment, 1st Marine Division. 

22 (5) Upon returning home, Mr. Bearss attended 

23 Georgetown University, obtaining a bachelor’s de24 gree in Foreign Service studies, and later attended 


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1 Indiana University, earning a master’s degree in his2 tory. 

3 (6) It was during a fortuitous visit to the Shi4 loh National Military Park in Tennessee, on a tour 

5 with the park historian, where the seeds were plant6 ed for Mr. Bearss’ future career with the National 

7 Park Service. 

8 (7) In 1955, he landed a job as park historian 

9 at the National Battlefield Park in Vicksburg, Mis10 sissippi, where his research helped fill in missing 

11 pieces of Civil War history. None were more signifi12 cant than the discovery of the USS Cairo, a long13 lost Union ironclad gunboat sunk by Confederate 

14 submarine torpedoes in 1862 that was buried in the 

15 mud of the Yazoo River. Mr. Bearss later authored 

16 a book on the ‘‘sinking and salvage’’ of the ironclad. 

17 (8) It was during his tenure at Vicksburg that 

18 he met his wife, Margie, a teacher who shared Mr. 

19 Bearss’ love of history. They had three children, 

20 Sara, Cole, and Jenny. 

21 (9) Mr. Bearss became the National Park Serv22 ice’s chief historian in 1981. Following his retire23 ment in 1994, he was recognized with the title Chief 

24 Historian Emeritus, a fitting title as his research 


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1 and recounting of our Nation’s history continues to 

2 this day. 

3 (10) Whenever possible, he travels to our Na4 tion’s Civil War battlefields, helping to preserve the 

5 places where history happened and make those 

6 places come alive as a public historian. He once said, 

7 ‘‘You can’t describe a battlefield unless you walk 

8 it.’’. Anyone who has spent time with Mr. Bearss 

9 touring a battlefield, sometimes braving the ele10 ments, enthralled by his prodigious tales regards 

11 him as a National Treasure. His unique chronicling 

12 of our Nation’s history has been described as a 

13 ‘‘transcendental experience’’ of ‘‘Homeric mono14 logues’’ punctuated by ‘‘colorful, vivid images’’. Mr. 

15 Bearss himself has been described as a cross be16 tween ‘‘a good-natured platoon sergeant and Walter 

17 Cronkite’’. He lectures with his eye closed, so he can 

18 ‘‘see’’ the history better, he once said. 

19 (11) Mr. Bearss has received multiple honors 

20 for his contributions to the preservation of our Na21 tion’s history: the Harry S. Truman Award in 1961 

22 for Meritorious Service in the field of Civil War his23 tory, Man of the Year at Vicksburg in 1963, in24 ducted a member of the Company of Military Histo25 rians in 1964, the Nevins-Freeman Award from the 


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1 Chicago Civil War Roundtable in 1980, the Depart2 ment of the Interior’s Distinguished Service Award 

3 in 1983, and a commendation from the Secretary of 

4 the Army in 1985. The Secretary of the Interior at 

5 the time, James Watt, called Mr. Bearss ‘‘unques6 tionably the most productive historian in the history 

7 of the National Park Service’’. 

8 (12) Mr. Bearss continued to tour the country 

9 well into his later years, visiting battlefields and 

10 Civil War organizations, to keep America’s history 

11 fresh in the minds of future generations. 

12 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

13 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

14 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem15 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

16 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 

17 medal of appropriate design to Edwin Cole ‘‘Ed’’ Bearss, 

18 in recognition of his contributions to preservation of 

19 American Civil War history and continued efforts to bring 

20 our Nation’s history alive for new generations through his 

21 interpretive storytelling. 

22 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

23 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

24 of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

25 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jul 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7385.IH H7385

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1 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

4 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

5 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

6 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

7 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

8 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

9 and the cost of the gold medal. 

10 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

11 The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national 

12 medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United 

13 States Code. 

Æ 


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