Lewis Rogers, whose 38-year National Park Service career has included service at 12 sites with historic and cultural themes, has been named the next superintendent of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia.
Rogers, currently the superintendent at
another Civil War site, Petersburg National Battlefield, will start his new
position on Dec. 18.
Lewis Rogers
At Petersburg, Rogers guided the park
through the Civil War sesquicentennial and he spoke often about the important
role of African American soldiers (U.S. Colored Troops). A postage stamp honors
Black troops who fought during the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg in July
30, 1864. Rogers also backed expansion of the Petersburg park.
“I am proud to be a steward of America’s
history,” Rogers said in a press release Friday.
“The most exciting thing about national
parks is the intersection of story and place. This is the stuff that makes your
hair stand up. But too often in public history, too many faces have been
cropped out of the whole picture. To understand what really happened, stewards
of our shared history need to reveal the entire picture, with all of its
participants. That’s what makes history so interesting.”
Rogers’ time at the National Park Service has involved a
variety of roles, including law enforcement, wildland firefighting and interpretation.
He has served in the U.S. Naval Reserves.
His previous NPS posts included Booker T. Washington
National Monument, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Valley Forge National Historical
Park and Saint-Gaudens National Historic Park.
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