I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2059 

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 

APRIL 28, 2015 

Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. GOSAR, 

Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. WITTMAN, Ms. 

MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. HURT of Virginia, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. WELCH, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. VARGAS, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. CROWLEY, 

Mr. KIND, Ms. HAHN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. 

COOPER, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. GOWDY, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. BERA, 

Ms. GABBARD, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. YOHO, Mr. 

PERRY, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. HIMES, Mr. FOSTER, Mrs. DAVIS

of California, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. UPTON, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. ESTY, Mr. AGUILAR, Mrs. CAPPS, 

Mr. PETERS, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. COURTNEY, 

Mr. HECK of Washington, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. ASHFORD, Mr. BECERRA, 

Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. SIRES, Ms. GRAHAM, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. CARNEY, 

Mr. TURNER, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. HANNA, Mr. 

LOEBSACK, Mr. WALBERG, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. HOYER, Mr. RENACCI, Ms. KAPTUR, 

Mr. FORBES, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. COSTA, Mr. KILMER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. HURD

of Texas, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. BEYER, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mrs. COMSTOCK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 


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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. 

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

9 Park Service, Mr. Bearss distinguished himself as 

10 one of America’s preeminent historians, particularly 

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

12 work to preserve the places in which our nation’s 

13 history was forged but also through his captivating 

14 interpretive storytelling about the people and events 

15 that shaped those places. 

16 (3) His own family traces its genealogy to the 

17 Mayflower on his mother’s side and to 1636 on his 

18 father’s side. 

19 (4) Mr. Bearss’ lifelong love affair with the 

20 Civil War was kindled during his youth when he 


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1 read a biography of Confederate cavalry commander 

2 J.E.B. Stuart. Even at an early age, Mr. Bearss 

3 demonstrated a knack for committing facts to mem4 ory, a skill that helped him win school contests in 

5 history, current events, and geography. 

6 (5) He graduated high school in May 1941 and 

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

8 serving with the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion during 

9 the invasion of Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands. 

10 He was badly wounded in gunfire at ‘‘Suicide 

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

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

13 (6) Upon returning home, Mr. Bearss attended 

14 Georgetown University, obtaining a bachelor’s de15 gree in Foreign Service studies, and later attended 

16 Indiana University, earning a master’s degree in his17 tory. 

18 (7) It was during a fortuitous visit to the Shi19 loh National Military Park in Tennessee, on a tour 

20 with the park historian, where the seeds were plant21 ed for Mr. Bearss’ future career with the National 

22 Park Service. 

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

24 at the National Battlefield Park in Vicksburg, Mis25 sissippi, where his research helped fill in missing 


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1 pieces of Civil War history. None were more signifi2 cant than the discovery of the U.S.S. Cairo, a long3 lost Union ironclad gunboat sunk by Confederate 

4 submarine torpedoes in 1862 that was buried in the 

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

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

7 (9) It was during his tenure at Shiloh that he 

8 met his wife, Margie, a teacher who shared Mr. 

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

10 Sara, Cole, and Jenny. 

11 (10) Mr. Bearss became the National Park 

12 Service’s chief historian in 1981. Following his re13 tirement in 1994, he was recognized with the title 

14 Chief Historian Emeritus, a fitting title as his re15 search and recounting of our nation’s history con16 tinues to this day. 

17 (11) He still travels throughout the year to our 

18 nation’s Civil War battlefields. He once said, ‘‘You 

19 can’t describe a battlefield unless you walk it.’’. Any20 one who has spent time with Mr. Bearss touring a 

21 battlefield, sometimes braving the elements, en22 thralled by his prodigious tales regards him as a Na23 tional Treasure. His unique chronicling of our na24 tion’s history has been described as a ‘‘transcen25 dental experience’’ of ‘‘Homeric monologues’’ puncVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 May 07, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2059.IH H2059

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1 tuated by ‘‘colorful, vivid images’’. Mr. Bearss him2 self has been described as a cross between ‘‘a good3 natured platoon sergeant and Walter Cronkite’’. He 

4 lectures with his eye closed, so he can ‘‘see’’ the his5 tory better, he once said. 

6 (12) Mr. Bearss has received multiple honors 

7 for his contributions to the preservation of our na8 tion’s history: the Harry S. Truman Award in 1961 

9 for Meritorious Service in the field of Civil War his10 tory, Man of the Year at Vicksburg in 1963, in11 ducted a member of the Company of Military Histo12 rians in 1964, the Nevins-Freeman Award from the 

13 Chicago Civil War Roundtable in 1980, the Depart14 ment of the Interior’s Distinguished Service Award 

15 in 1983, and a commendation from the Secretary of 

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

17 the time, James Watt, called Mr. Bearss ‘‘unques18 tionably the most productive historian in the history 

19 of the National Park Service’’. 

20 (13) To this day, Mr. Bearss continues to tour 

21 the country visiting battlefields and Civil War orga22 nizations, keeping America’s history fresh in the 

23 minds of future generations. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

2 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

3 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem4 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

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

7 in recognition of his contributions to preservation of 

8 American Civil War history and continued efforts to bring 

9 our nation’s history alive for new generations through his 

10 interpretive storytelling. 

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

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

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

14 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em15 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

16 Secretary. 

17 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

18 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

19 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

20 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

23 and the cost of the gold medal. 


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1 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national 

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

4 States Code. 

Æ 


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