1/21/2005

Preservation in reverse

Near Williamsburg, a property owner/developer is deeding two Confederate redoubts on its land to the public for a Civil War park.
The remaining question is who will manage the park - and whether the park can adequately tell the story. The Williamsburg Battlefield Trust, formed shortly before Riverside's acquisition, is struggling for a foothold in the face of John Quarstein, the theatrical Civil War expert and director of the Virginia War Museum.
This quote is from a Battlefield Trust member:
"He has a redoubt fetish," said Tom McMahon [about Quarstein], president of the trust. "The land in between the two redoubts has essentially no intrinsic value to Civil War history. There was no fighting there. There were no men killed. It was quite boring."
Do we need ACW preservation organizations for non-battlefield sites? Read the whole piece.