A team approach preserves Virginia Civil War redoubt at George Mason University, which is nestled in suburban sprawl. Here's how they did it

Round table members lead tour of redoubt after dedication (Joshua Cruse, GMU)

An earthen fortification that survived urban sprawl has been preserved in a corner of George Mason University in Northern Virginia, a success story brought about by a six-year-old partnership between a Civil War round table and the school.

An Oct. 7 dedication ceremony for the redoubt, built by Confederate forces near Fairfax in 1861, celebrated the effort to protect and interpret the site. The fortification, about 80 feet in diameter, did not see action during the war, but was an important early-warning outpost for both Rebels and Yanks who occupied the site.

Efforts to save the site in the early 1990s and early 2000s went nowhere. Concerned by its condition, the Bull Run Civil War Round Table (BRCWRT) approached history department leaders in late 2015 and early 2016.

Nathan Loda's view of how circular redoubt, Farr's Cross Roads might have appeared (BRCWRT)

The conversation began and students in a Civil War and Reconstruction class at George Mason have since visited the site – which is near a campus parking lot -- with round table members as guides.

In 2019, the campus grounds department removed four large trees that threatened the redoubt’s structural integrity and cleared the site and its surrounding area of vegetative undergrowth and tree saplings.

The redoubt became completely visible for the first time in more than 75 years.

Groundskeepers have since cleared routes for access trails and installed two interpretive markers created by the George Mason-BRCWRT team.

8th Green Machine Regiment Band performs at event (Joshua Cruse, GMU)

“Education and preservation are the core missions of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table -- and central to our purpose -- to learn about and to learn from  America’s Civil War history,” Blake Myers, preservation chair with the BRCWRT, said at the event. “The preservation and interpretation of this site is a great example of those two missions in action.”

The redoubt was constructed by Col. Robert Rodes’ 5^th Alabama Infantry, Ewell's brigade, in June 1861. It was built on high ground along two well-traveled thoroughfares – the current Braddock Road and Route 123 (Ox Road).

It’s difficult to know how many men were deployed at the redoubt at any given time. It was used as an observation post and a command post for the units/soldiers manning picket posts along the trench lines to the east or west (depending on which side was controlling this part of Virginia) of the redoubt.  

The redoubt at Farr’s Cross Roads was among several fortifications built to monitor and discourage Federal troops from marching from Washington and Alexandria, Va., toward Manassas Junction.

Dust kicked up by Federal troops in July 1861 signaled a Federal advance. When Confederate forces withdrew to their main defensive line along the Bull Run on July 17, the site was occupied by Union forces under the command of Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, according to the round table. The Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), the first major land battle of the conflict, occurred just days later.

The hastily constructed fort exchanged hands during the war, but was held mostly by Union troops, including the 16^th New York, 1^st New Jersey and 2^nd Massachusetts infantry. While it once had a parapet up to 6 feet high, most of the ring currently is half that height.

Significant commercial and residential development in suburban Washington has erased most of the earthen structures erected by both sides, so it is somewhat of a minor miracle that the redoubt survives, given it being bounded on all sides by asphalt and buildings.

A BRCWRT article a few years ago detailed the project and partnership with George Mason.

“While construction of the Mason Inn and parking lot and the enlargement of student parking lot K has reduced the overall size of the site and potentially obliterated some of the earthworks, the redoubt still remains and is in remarkably good condition.”

Myers told the Civil War Picket in an email that a 50-foot section of a trench line presumably built by Union troops survives west of campus along Braddock Road.

Remains of the redoubt lie behind this marker on the George Mason campus (BRCWRT)

Among university officials who worked with the BRCWRT to preserve the site was history professor Brian Platt, who brought the redoubt’s attention to the administration. In prepared remarks at the ceremony, he used the term “Fairfaxed” to describe rampant development in the area.

“My first thought, at the time, was how lucky we were that this site was here on the campus, and not on private land, or in a real estate developer’s viewfinder,” Platt said.

“After all, if a preservation project were to happen anywhere in a highly developed suburban landscape – if a site were to avoid getting ‘Fairfaxed’ – surely it would happen at a university -- a place with a scholarly interest in studying and preserving our historic and cultural heritage.”

Fairfax County was home to numerous Civil War fortifications and features, a legacy reinforced by the discovery of a cedar-logged highway near George Mason in 2014. The so-called “corduroy road” is believed to date back to the Civil War.

The round table commissioned a drawing by GMU alumnus Nathan Loda of the area as it may have appeared in 1861.

The dedication took place in Parking Lot K (Joshua Cruse, GMU)

“The sketch depicts our informed view of what the redoubt, the cross roads and the Farr property may have looked like in June 1861,” Myers said. “We have yet to find any period photographs or sketches of the redoubt or the area....what we know about the redoubt has been gleaned from unit histories, the Official Records, soldier letters, etc.”

Myers told the audience on Oct. 7 that it was a day to savor what has been collectively accomplished, but more work likes ahead.

“We continue to work with GMU to pursue additional preservation and interpretation on the site - remnants of a stone building on the site, site overlooking corduroy road discoveries in 2014 & 2015, remnants of the farm road/trench line on the site, enhanced interpretation using virtual and augmented reality technologies,” he wrote the Picket.

Wood chip-trail leading to Civil War redoubt (GMU)

Louis Intres thinks you should know about the Sultana disaster. But, first, he aims to raise about $3 million to do it right.

Louis Intres, a retired banker, teaches history in Arkanas

Louis Intres and others who hope to build a permanent museum about the Civil War’s Sultana disaster believe they are on a mission to keep a small – but dramatic -- part of American history alive.

“A great story like this can’t be allowed to die,” said Intres, who has been hired by the city of Marion, Ark., to lead an effort to raise nearly $3 million to build a modern venue.

The steamboat, chugging north on the Mississippi River, exploded and caught fire on April 27, 1865, killing about 1,800 passengers and crew (although some say the figure was lower). Many of those on board were released Union prisoners, many from Andersonville, heading home at war’s end.

Marion was the closest community to where the overcrowded 260-foot sidewheeler came to rest and residents – including an ancestor of Mayor Frank Fogleman -- helped rescue those thrown into the chilly waters. (The wreckage is believed to be under a field near the river.)

A couple decades ago, Sultana Disaster Museum supporters were at the starting line in their effort to tell this story and bring some tourism to the town of about 12,500. The disaster was little known, not helped by the fact that it got lost at the time in headlines about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

A book by Memphis attorney Jerry Potter in the early 1990s helped get the ball rolling. Marion, along with a local historical society and the Association of Sultana Descendants and Friends, have since pushed the story of the Sultana with a small temporary museum, special events and participation in anniversary articles and television programs.

“It has been a wonderful sleepy community near Memphis,” Intres said of Marion. “It is (now) seeking its own identity, maybe for the first time.”

Harper's Weekly illustration of the April 1865 disaster

Intres, 68, faces a daunting challenge, although supporters point to his 38-year banking career, fundraising experience, Sultana knowledge and passion for the project – he’s presented exhibits and given talks. Intres, an adjunct history instructor at Arkansas State University, is wrapping up a Ph.D degree in heritage and cultural studies.

A feasibility study, delivered to the city last year, lays out the opportunities and challenges that await in bringing in about 35,000 annual patrons. Officials know they will have to tap into the Memphis tourism market. And many of those 10.5 million annual visitors don’t come for history. They are more interested in food, music and the river.

Positives

-- The strength of the Sultana Story: It much more than a story about war. It also was the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history.

-- There are a number of tools to spread the word and generate interest among other audiences.

-- The museum will benefit from its proximity to Memphis and the Memphis visitor market.

-- The uniqueness and importance of the venue should garner support at the state level.

Challenges

-- Getting the word out about Sultana; building brand awareness.

-- Lack of complementary attractions in Marion/Crittenden County.

-- Geographic distribution of the resident market with the majority of the market population on the eastern side of the river (Memphis).

-- Civil War interest peaked during the sesquicentennial. The subject of the war not popular with some demographics.

'It is a story of great magnitude'

(Courtesy of Gene Salecker)

A small temporary museum on Washington Street (above) features a handful of artifacts directly related to the disaster, a 14-foot replica of the steamboat and associated items from survivors, including reunion items from the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Most were collected by Gene Salecker, a Sultana author and lecturer. The museum has little marketing and draws no more than 100 visitors a month.

“It is totally inadequate to tell the story of the Sultana,” said Intres. ”It is a fine little community museum. This is a true American story. It is a story of great magnitude.”

Haizlip Studio of Memphis designed the proposed $2.8 million permanent museum. The plan features 5,500 square feet for permanent exhibits, plus space for changing attractions.

It features a large model of the steamboat, a movie and several stations, with topics ranging from Civil War prisons, the river, the building of the Sultana and bribery/overcrowding.

  

(Salecker and Potter have written about a kickback scheme between the vessel's financially-strapped captain and an Army quartermaster, Lt. Col. Reuben B. Hatch. According to Potter, the transport fee was $5 for an enlisted man, $10 for an officer. Mason agreed to take the enlisted men for $3; Hatch kept the $2.)

Intres, who said the museum could open with phase one completed, said the Hatch story is compelling and will be expanded to “show what a scoundrel he truly was.”

The story goes that Ozias M. Hatch, his brother, and other Illinois lawyers were close to Abraham Lincoln before he became president.  Ines and others believe he often asked for intercession from Lincoln, as president, and others to have corruption allegations against Reuben dropped or to give him job recommendations.

In the end, no one was formally held accountable for putting too many men on the Sultana, despite documented concerns about the safety of one of the boat's boilers.

Courtesy of Haizlip Studio: Concept plan of Sultana Disaster Museum, which is planned to be located in Marion, Ark. Click to enlarge

According to the Evening Times newspaper in Crittenden County, the Marion Advertising and Promotions Commission has agreed to spend $400,000 to help build the museum and another $75,000 a year to help defray operating costs over the next 10 years. Intres said the museum will not take away from city services or be an extra burden on citizens.

He will begin reaching out soon to tourism and historical groups, corporations, foundations and individuals. “My responsibility is to put together to put the fundraising program to prepare the grant applications, as well as put together the promotional packages to go to prospective …  contributors to help fund it.”

“It will not be built with a thousand small contributions. It will require large contributions that will make sure American history is not lost,” said Intres. “We seem to be moving away from patriotism, what our country is, and how it was built.”

Everything riding on fundraising campaign

Mayor Fogleman told the Evening Times that Intres, who lives an hour away in Jonesboro, is being “being hired to eat, drink, and sleep Sultana. I expect him to further our cause and make our present effort better and to help further refine what we want to do with the new (museum).”

Intres said he will continue teaching but will work a couple days a week in Marion. “This is something I want to do to finish up my public life. I would like this to be my swansong.”

Salecker said Intres is the perfect person for a job that is part cheerleader, part business development director.

Salecker with a model of the Sultana at museum

“I know that the mayor of Marion and the Chamber of Commerce members interviewed a number of people regarding the directorship but Louis was the only one that had the knowledge about the Sultana, plus the banking background and the contacts and experience needed to raise the necessary funds,” Salecker said.

Intres said he expects the museum to be built, “but it will be totally contingent on the success of this campaign.”

He said the city and chamber are all in, with an agreement to meet every 90 days to make a reality check. “As we go along, we will evaluate our progress.”

Back to his passion. Intres is full of stories of what happened to those on the Sultana and survivors who coped with the tragedy.

“You have heroism,” he said. “It’s got intrigue. It has all the elements of a great, great history story. If a movie could be made by Hollywood in a proper way, the whole story, it would be a blockbuster film.”

Previous Sultana coverage:

• Documentary, events mark 150th anniversary

• Descendants drop flowers in memory of the lost

• Model captures every detail of Sultana

• Disaster took lives of those who had endured so much

• Siblings recall learning of disaster