Evening star., 1900-11-27
GEN. BOYNTON'S REPORT
WORK DONE ON THE CHICkAMAUGA
AND CHATTANOOGA PARKS.
Guns Mounted and Historical Tablets
Erected-InspectiOn by veterans
of Both Armies.

Gen. H. V. Boynton, chairman OF the
| Chickamauga and Chattanooga nationai
| military park commission, has submitted
| his annual report to the Secretary of war.
| The report says that the work of establish
| ing the park and it's maintenance has con-
tlnued uninterruptedly during the year end
| ing September 30 1900.
| 1t appears from the report that there are
sixty-seven miles of improved roads, which
cost an average of $23O2S2 per mile; that
| s15, o.53 has been expended in road con-
struction and betterments. During the
year 14;O33 feet of wire fencing has been
erected, which completes the inclosure Of
the detached tracts belonging to the park
| on Missionary Ridge and Lookout noun
| tain, and five miles of Page woven wire
| fencing has been delivered for the inclosure
of the Chlckamauga Park proper, all at
| total cost of So, 541.34.
There are now erected on the Chickamau-
| ga field 10I field guns mounted on iron car
| rlages to initiate the patterns in use during
| the civil war, marking forty-three Union
battery positions, and ninety-four f1eld
guns similarly mounted marking thirty
nine Confederate battery positions On the
Chattanooga field forty-five guns, mounted
above, mark ten Union and ten Con1ed-
! crate battery positions there.
| Historical tablets erected during the year,
| 1859; foundations for state monuments-con-
| structed, 1; eXcavated, l; guns mounted, L.
The total expenditures to September 30 last
! have been 53,2oS.33, leaving balance Oc-
| tober l. 1900, of $63,317.4S.
Inspection of Historical Work.
General Boynton calls attention to the in.
spection last month by the veterans OF the
several armies interested of all the his
| torical work thus far completed on the park
| with a view to the correction of such errors
| as might have been made in inscriptions
| upon tablets, monuments and location or
| battle lines.
The results of this inspection. participated
| in by prominent members of the armies
| which took part In the actions, as well as
! commissioners from the states whose troops
| were engaged, was Of the most satisfactory
| character.
OF the 22s monuments only two were
claimed to be wrongly placed OF the BAL
state markers only two were claimed to
| be out Of position. or the $50 historical
| tablets erected at the time of the fnspec-
ton the accuracy of only six was called in
question. OF the Inscriptions on the Dds
monuments few errors of wrong Initials
| and inaccurate designations Of commands
| were pointed out.
| All Of these claims to error will be care
! fully investigated and corrections made in
| every case where such further inquiry
| shows that errors really exist.
In view of the sensational reports cur
| rent during the occupation of the park by
the troops of the Spanish-American war
| that the park was an unhealthy region,
| the commission calls special attention to
the report of the engineer, showing, In con-
nection with the last annual report, that
| the entire absence of fever or any general
sickness in the park force has continued
| from the time it began to clear up the park
after the troops left to the present time.
| In presenting in detail the figures showing
| the cost of construction in progress and of
| maintenance, the commission, while dis
| claiming any intention of criticising or
minimizing the excellent work performed
| at the other national military parks deems
| it proper to call attention to the fact
| that the Chickamauga and Chattanooga
| National Park, in acreage and in miles of
| improved roads, exceeds all the other bat
tlefield parks combined, whether actual or
authorized areas be taken as the basis of
| comparison The relative cost Of their de-
| velopment and maintenance can only be
fully understood by knowing this fact.