Human remains are found near site of Nashville's Fort Negley

A developer has unearthed human remains that could be two centuries old while digging to lay the foundation of a new Nashville project not far from a Civil War fort and a cemetery dating back to 1822. The discovery marks the latest intersection of economic boom times and the city's rich and sometimes troubled history — where new amenities sprout up on or near lands where people long ago settled, battled or toiled, then died and were buried, often with little record of their final resting places. -- Article

Report: Developer backs away from residential project in Virginia

Following months of opposition, a Texas-based developer has apparently abandoned plans to build a 650-home development at a Civil War battlefield site in Varina, Virginia – potentially clearing the way for preservationists to purchase and protect the land. -- Story

Likely graves stop development Tenn. project

View from Fort Negley (Library of Congress)

Developers halted plans Friday for a sprawling entertainment and residential complex in Tennessee after archaeologists discovered what they believe are graves on a site near Fort Negley, which was built by slaves. The decision gave preservationists a victory in the latest clash between historic conservation and growth in Nashville, a booming city with a complicated racial past. • Article

Three-fourths of Confederate trench will be preserved in suburban Atlanta development

Confederates faced west in this trench (Courtesy of GBA)

A senior residential development near the site of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia will preserve 700 feet of a 960-foot section of trench built by Confederates along what was called the Mud Creek Line.

The Marietta Daily Journal and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the Cobb County Board of Commissioners last week approved the rezoning on Ernest Barrett Parkway near Burnt Hickory Road for 76 cottages that will sell for $329,000 and up.

The action came after the developer, Thomas Homes & Communities, conducted a cultural resource study after it was made aware of the trench by local historians and preservationists. According to the Georgia Battlefields Association, the site plan was then modified and brought before the commission.

Rob Hosack, the county’s community development director, told the Marietta newspaper that “the best parts of the trenches are going to be protected. The developer has agreed to pay mitigation money into a fund for future preservation activity.” He also said the county has a “pretty good track record” of protecting trenches.

Development in mid-point of Mud Creek Line (GBA)

But in a GBA newsletter released Tuesday, President Charlie Crawford contended that “260 feet would be lost forever and similar earthworks would be threatened as the housing market rebounded.”

Developer attorney John Moore told the MDJ the preserved section of the trench will be protected during construction and will be bordered by a split-rail fence to keep people away and show its historic significance. The feature will serve as the centerpiece of a 3-acre park within the neighborhood.

The trench was built in mid-June 1864 as a Confederate defensive work and was lined in several places with rocks.

It had to be abandoned after a barrage of Union artillery fire; troops withdrew to the foothills of Kennesaw Mountain.

Moore said history buffs will have the opportunity to view the trench as long as they contact the new homeowner’s association, the newspaper reported.

(Courtesy of GBA)

While the attorney said historians were “ecstatic” because so much of the trench will be preserved, the GBA was less sanguine, headlining its newsletter “Cobb County earthworks threatened by rebounding development.”

Crawford told the Picket that he contacted Moore after a homeowner in the area first talked with him and the group examined the property. That’s when the project was delayed for the study, which found the trench to be in “good condition.”

“While GBA had a hand in preserving part of the trench, we hate to lose even a fragment,” the group said in its newsletter.

Cobb County once contained about 30 miles of Confederate earthworks.

“Some of those are preserved in Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and in Cobb County’s Shoupade Park, but most fragments are on private property, and some of those (e.g., Pine Mountain, Brushy Mountain) are preserved only by the civic-mindedness of the land owners,” the GBA said. “We’ll continue to work with local historians and preservationists to save what we can.”

(GBA photo)

Georgia working on 150th anniversary Web site

A budget shortfall has Georgia late out of the gate in marking the Civil War’s 150th anniversary.

The state’s Department of Economic Development hopes to launch a sesquicentennial Web site in October or early November. Some 16 states already have sites that promote such events and places of interest.

Working with the Georgia Civil War Commission (GCWC), the department also is updating and expanding the book “Crossroads of Conflict,” a book guide to more than 350 sites across Georgia. The revision also should be out in the fall.

Both GCWC Chairman John Culpepper and Barry Brown, heritage tourism specialist with the economic development department, cite the lack of designated state funds to mark the anniversary.

Some $500,000 initially meant to promote events was cut from the state budget. Instead, Brown says, the department is using discretionary money and support from the Georgia Humanities Council to build the Web site and promote events.

Across the country, local governments and tourism leaders hope to bring in money from Civil War re-enactments and heritage tourism. But trying to raise money for marketing campaigns during a recession and major state budget shortfalls has proven difficult.

The GCWC, for example, currently has no funding for next year. It was able to provide less than $50,000 to the state for the Web site and “Crossroads” update.

“We’re in the early stages of developing the Web site,” says Brown. “It is meant to build heritage tourism.”

Georgia’s sesquicentennial Web site will mirror the state’s approach to tourism, breaking it into nine regions. Brown expects the site will include a guide to sites, 150th events, the war day-by-day and soldier diaries. A Civil War timeline also will be posted.

Many cities, including Columbus and Stone Mountain, will sponsor events in 2011, early in the sesquicentennial. Others, including Chickamauga, will handle events in 2013 and 2014.

“The state has no plans to mark the sesquicentennial at this time,” Brown says.

Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails, a non-profit group, has been the state’s leading source for Civil War driving tours and interpretive signs.

Its main mission is education, economic development (tourism) and preservation, says executive director Steven Longcrier. His organization gets little state money, depending more on cities, counties and the U.S. Department of Transportation for interpretive sign grants.

“Our Web site will greatly expand as more of the elements of our trails are in place,” says Longcrier.

“Although Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails is not a heritage tourism program that begins or ends with the Civil War sesquicentennial, the increased public awareness brought about by this significant anniversary is certainly benefitting our efforts, too,” Longcrier says.

CWHT is working to have three of six heritage trails in place by the war’s sesquicentennial: The Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea and Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ unsuccessful effort to avoid capture by the troops in blue. The trails are meant to be driven and are supplemented by interpretive markers.

The Georgia Civil War Commission’s Web site is largely dormant.

Culpepper, who also serves as city manager in Chickamauga, recently started the Tri-State Civil War Association to combine resources and promote related sites and events in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. The Battle of Chickamauga re-enactment in 2013 will be the largest in the Deep South.

The Tri-State Web site is selling sponsorships and the group will produce 100,000 rack cards.

So far, the association has brought in $18,000 from member cities and counties in northwest Georgia, southern Tennessee and eastern Alabama, Culpepper says. "By pooling our resources together, we can get the job done," Culpepper told the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Like Brown, he stresses the importance of the Civil War in Georgia. The Confederate loss of Atlanta assured the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln.

“We are promoting the war ended in Georgia,” says Culpepper.