Title: The golden age of battlefield preservation : the decade of the 1890s and the establishment of America's first five military parks /
Authors: Smith, Timothy B., 1974-
Publisher: University of Tennessee Press,
Year: 2008
Subjects: Battlefields Conservation and restoration United States History.; Military parks Government policy United States History.; National parks and reserves Government policy United States History.; United States History Battlefields.; Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (Ga. and Tenn.); Antietam National Battlefield (Md.) History.; Shiloh National Military Park (Tenn. and Miss.) History.; Gettysburg National Military Park (Pa.) History.; Vicksburg National Military Park (Miss.) History.; United States Cultural policy.
Abstract: "Smith's book is the first to look at the process of battlefield preservation as a whole. He focuses on how each of these sites was established and the important individuals - the congressmen, the former soldiers, the veteran commissioners who were the catalysts for the creation of these parks." "The Golden Age of Battlefield Preservation is a watershed book that will be of interest to any reader who wishes to have a better understanding of how such preservation efforts were initiated."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents: Introduction : The context of Civil War battlefield preservation -- Battlefields, cemeteries, and early preservation : the prelude to the 1890s-era parks, 1861-1890 -- Congress, the War Department, and the National Military Parks : the context of the 1890s-era battlefields preservation, 1890-1933 -- "A western Gettysburg" : Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, 1890-1933 -- "The experiment at Antietam" : Antietam National Battlefield, 1890-1933 -- "This great battlefield" : Shiloh National Military Park, 1984-1933 -- "A splendid monument to American valor" : Gettysburg National Military Park, 1895-1933 -- "A valuable contribution to military science" : Vicksburg National Military Park, 1899-1933 -- The golden age reassessed -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1 : Enabling legislation -- Appendix 2 : Military park commissioners and board members.