II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 710

To authorize a feasibility study on the preservation of certain Civil War

battlefields along the Vicksburg Campaign Trail.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 24, 1999

Mr. LOTT (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr.

THOMAS, Mr. CRAIG, and Mr. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To authorize a feasibility study on the preservation of certain

Civil War battlefields along the Vicksburg Campaign Trail.

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 ‘‘Vicksburg Campaign

5 Trail Battlefields Preservation Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) there are situated along the Vicksburg

9 Campaign Trail in the States of Mississippi, Lou-
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1 isiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee the sites of several

2 key Civil War battles;

3 (2) the battlefields along the Vicksburg Cam4 paign Trail are collectively of national significance in

5 the history of the Civil War; and

6 (3) the preservation of those battlefields would

7 vitally contribute to the understanding of the herit8 age of the United States.

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author10 ize a feasibility study to determine what measures should

11 be taken to preserve certain Civil War battlefields along

12 the Vicksburg Campaign Trail.

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

14 In this Act:

15 (1) CAMPAIGN TRAIL STATE.—The term ‘‘Cam16 paign Trail State’’ means each of the States of Mis17 sissippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, in18 cluding political subdivisions of those States.

19 (2) CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Civil War

21 battlefield’’ means the land and interests in

22 land that is the site of a Civil War battlefield,

23 including structures on or adjacent to the land,

24 as generally depicted on the Map.
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1 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Civil War

2 battlefield’’ includes—

3 (i) the battlefields at Helena and Ar4 kansas Post, Arkansas;

5 (ii) Goodrich’s Landing near Transyl6 vania, and sites in and around Lake Provi7 dence, East Carroll Parish, Louisiana;

8 (iii) the battlefield at Milliken’s Bend,

9 Madison Parish, Louisiana;

10 (iv) the route of Grant’s march

11 through Louisiana from Milliken’s Bend to

12 Hard Times, Madison and Tensas Par13 ishes, Louisiana;

14 (v) the Winter Quarters at Tensas

15 Parish, Louisiana;

16 (vi) Grant’s landing site at

17 Bruinsburg, and the route of Grant’s

18 march from Bruinsburg to Vicksburg, Clai19 borne, Hinds, and Warren Counties, Mis20 sissippi;

21 (vii) the battlefield at Port Gibson (in22 cluding Shaifer House, Bethel Church, and

23 the ruins of Windsor), Claiborne County,

24 Mississippi;
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1 (viii) the battlefield at Grand Gulf,

2 Claiborne County, Mississippi;

3 (ix) the battlefield at Raymond (in4 cluding Waverly, (the Peyton House)),

5 Hinds County, Mississippi;

6 (x) the battlefield at Jackson, Hinds

7 County, Mississippi;

8 (xi) the Union siege lines around

9 Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi;

10 (xii) the battlefield at Champion Hill

11 (including Coker House), Hinds County,

12 Mississippi;

13 (xiii) the battlefield at Big Black

14 River Bridge, Hinds and Warren Counties,

15 Mississippi;

16 (xiv) the Union fortifications at

17 Haynes Bluff, Confederate fortifications at

18 Snyder’s Bluff, and remnants of Federal

19 exterior lines, Warren County, Mississippi;

20 (xv) the battlefield at Chickasaw

21 Bayou, Warren County, Mississippi;

22 (xvi) Pemberton’s Headquarters at

23 Warren County, Mississippi;

24 (xvii) the site of actions taken in the

25 Mississippi Delta and Confederate for-
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1 tifications near Grenada, Grenada County,

2 Mississippi;

3 (xviii) the site of the start of

4 Greirson’s Raid and other related sites,

5 LaGrange, Tennessee; and

6 (xix) any other sites considered appro7 priate by the Secretary.

8 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en9 titled ‘‘Vicksburg Campaign Trail National Battle10 fields’’, numbered lll, and dated lll.

11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di13 rector of the National Park Service.

14 SEC. 4. FEASIBILITY STUDY.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete

17 a feasibility study to determine what measures should be

18 taken to preserve Civil War battlefields along the Vicks19 burg Campaign Trail.

20 (b) COMPONENTS.—In completing the study, the Sec21 retary shall—

22 (1) enter into contracts with entities to use ad23 vanced technology such as remote sensing, river

24 modeling, and flow analysis to determine which

25 property included in the Civil War battlefields
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1 should be preserved, restored, managed, maintained,

2 or acquired due to the national historical signifi3 cance of the property;

4 (2) evaluate options for the establishment of a

5 management entity for the Civil War battlefields

6 consisting of a unit of government or a private non7 profit organization that—

8 (A) administers and manages the Civil

9 War battlefields; and

10 (B) possesses the legal authority to—

11 (i) receive Federal funds and funds

12 from other units of government or other

13 organizations for use in managing the Civil

14 War battlefields;

15 (ii) disburse Federal funds to other

16 units of government or other nonprofit or17 ganizations for use in managing the Civil

18 War battlefields;

19 (iii) enter into agreements with the

20 Federal government, State governments, or

21 other units of government and nonprofit

22 organizations; and

23 (iv) acquire land or interests in land

24 by gift or devise, by purchase from a will-
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1 ing seller using donated or appropriated

2 funds, or by donation;

3 (3) make recommendations to the Campaign

4 Trail States for the management, preservation, and

5 interpretation of the natural, cultural, and historical

6 resources of the Civil War battlefields;

7 (4) identify appropriate partnerships among

8 Federal, State, and local governments, regional enti9 ties, and the private sector, including nonprofit orga10 nizations and the organization known as ‘‘Friends of

11 the Vicksburg Campaign and Historic Trail’’, in fur12 therance of the purposes of this Act; and

13 (5) recommend methods of ensuring continued

14 local involvement and participation in the manage15 ment, protection, and development of the Civil War

16 battlefields.

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date

18 of completion of the study under this section, the Sec19 retary shall submit a report describing the findings of the

20 study to—

21 (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re22 sources of the Senate; and

23 (2) the Committee on Resources of the House

24 of Representatives.
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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act

3 $1,500,000.

Æ