The Peach Orchard. Devil's Den. Wheatfield. Culp's Hill. Cemetery Ridge. Little Round Top. Each site tells a story of sacrifices, horrors and heroism — by the 160,000 soldiers of both the Blue and the Gray armies who fought there in the Civil War's bloodiest battle.
There is no question that this is, as President Abraham Lincoln so eloquently stated in his brief Gettysburg Address, "consecrated" ground — a sacred place that reminds us of "the great task remaining before us ... that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
A different kind of battle over Gettysburg was decided in Harrisburg, Pa., on Wednesday — a two-year battle pitting Civil War buffs and historians against a group of investors wanting to build a casino less than two miles from the battlefield. Casino proponents rolled out the usual arguments: Gettysburg needed to diversify its economy, the casino would create 3,000 jobs and spawn a year-round tourism industry. A strong grassroots campaign countered with passionate arguments in favor of preserving the remaining historic integrity of the Gettysburg battlefield.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board — which ended up approving 11 applications that day for permanent slot-machine gaming operator licenses at various other Pennsylvania locations — denied a gambling license to the investors of the "Crossroads Gaming Resort and Spa."
In doing so, the board affirmed the specialness of Gettysburg as a place to be held in trust for all Americans, both present and future generations. It heeded Lincoln's call that we always will remember Gettysburg as the "final resting place for those who here gave their lives that (our) nation might live."
It's a great victory — for the people of Gettysburg who resisted the tempting allure of easy casino money to fill their town's coffers, and for the rest of us who appreciate the historic significance of that Civil War battlefield in southern Pennsylvania.
It's a reminder, too, of the much larger battle still being fought by the Civil War Preservation Trust and myriad local preservation groups to preserve Civil War battlefields from being paved over for shopping malls or transformed into housing tracts. Nearly 20 percent of Civil War battlefields have already been lost forever for future generations. And of those remaining, only 15 percent are protected by the federal government. Even those that are protected face threats from encroaching development.
Gettysburg has been spared — for now. Let us remain vigilant and mindful of how easily our own historic places can be trivialized, destroyed, forgotten.
http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/articles/2006/12/22/news/front_page/4news_civilwar.prt
Last modified: Friday, December 22, 2006 12:12 AM EST
Local Civil War group wins in casino issue
By JEFF BARRON
PDT Staff Writer
It's been 143 years since 1st Ohio Light Artillery Battery L Brigade fought at the Battle of Gettysburg.
But the Portsmouth-based unit is celebrating one last triumph.
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board denied Silver Point Capital LP's bid to build a casino about a mile from the Gettysburg Military Park.
“This is a tremendous victory for anyone who loves history,” Battery L re-enactment group founder Chip Horr said. “This is pristine land where in three days there were 50,000 casualties (deaths). There are plenty of other places to build a casino with 3,000 slot machines.”
Battery L is memorialized in the park with a monument for fighting at the July 1-3, 1863, battle.
One of the floodwall murals also honors Battery L's efforts at Gettysburg.
The present-day Battery L was one of many re-enactment groups who participated in “Gods and Generals,” a movie about the Battle of Gettysburg.
The members regularly travel to Gettysburg to take care of the monument, which is located near Little Round Top on the battlefield. “That was the battle that changed the course of the war,” Horr said.
The casino plan split many of the people in Gettysburg, as signs for and against casinos were displayed throughout the town. Proponents said the casino would improve the town's economy.
Horr first heard of the plan to build a casino near the battlefield about 1 1/2 years ago.
Many Civil War groups send petitions to the Pennsylvania Legislature protesting the plan, Horr said.
City Engineer and Battery L member Bill Beaumont was one who signed such a petition.
“I'm thrilled to death,” he said. “I'm glad it got shot down. I'd say that all re-enactors in the country are glad they're not putting that casino there.”
Besides possibly taking away from the battlefield's history, Beaumont said the casino would have caused traffic problems in the small town.
“And casinos have the reputation of bringing the wrong type of people around,” he said.
While gambling won't be coming to Gettysburg, Horr said other Civil War battlefields are endangered by developers.
“We're losing our protected lands and our history,” he said. “I don't know what we're getting back.”
Horr said developers are building up areas of some battlefields that the government does not own. Because the government does not own them, it is unable to stop the development.
Gettysburg park officials, however, are trying to restore the battlefield to look exactly the way it did in 1863, Horr said. Much of that process includes cutting down trees that were not there in the 1800s.
For more information about Battery L's involvement in the Battle of Gettysburg, log onto www.batteryl.org.
JEFF BARRON can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 236.
