A Word on Behalf of the National Park Service
As long-time Emerging Civil War fans know, our organization was born on the porch of the caretakers cottage down at the Stonewall Jackson Shrine. Of the three ECW “Founding Fathers,” two of us were former Park Service historians and one was working for the Park Service at the time. Of the handful of folks we reached out to recruit, most of them had various attachments to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, either as former interns, seasonal historians, current employees, or even volunteers. Many of us were mentored by legendary Park Service historians like Greg Mertz, Frank O’Reilly, and John Hennessy.
ECW’s connections with the Park Service ran deep.
Over our 13-year history, those connections have continued. Look through our alumni roll and you’ll see a cavalcade of historians who worked not only at FredSpot but at other parks, as well—places like Gettysburg, Chickamauga/Chattanooga, Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Richmond, Petersburg, and even James Garfield.
Likewise, our current roster of active contributors boasts some excellent talent from the Park Service, folks who either work there now or have worked for the Park Service in some capacity in the past. In their spare time, they do non-job-related Civil War research that they share at ECW. That work has always been a backbone of our content.
I’ll admit, a day hasn’t gone by recently that I’ve not thought about those ECW colleagues still working for the NPS, all of whom I consider good friends. Beyond those great folks, I have a lot of other friends who work for the Park Service. They’re plugging along, but no one’s saying, “Let the good times roll!”
Recent political events have injected an incredible amount of tumult into their daily lives. Many of them have had colleagues fired. Others have had their value questioned. Some worry how they’re going to be able to provide programs this summer. Morale has taken a serious blow.
This is a time when America needs more history and more historical literacy. We need more people out on the front lines, helping visitors connect with our national story and our greatest national resources. Protecting those is a job only the national government can do—at least in a way that honors the national trust. However, the Park Service is already underfunded, and it faces a tremendous backlog of deferred maintenance. The NPS needs more resources, not fewer.
I hear the refrain constantly, from roundtables, tour groups, historical societies, and buffs in general: We need to get more people interested in history. We need to get more young people interested in history.
Do we do that by giving them fewer Park Service people to interact with? Should we just abandon the field to people’s electronic devices? Go digital? Are the videos that folks like me and Garry Adelman and Kris White make—are they enough?
I say “No.”
Nothing beats the power of place. Nothing can replace the experience of walking in the footsteps of history where it happened.
Those sites need regular maintenance and upkeep. They need stewardship and interpretation. I know a lot of good people who do a really good job at that kind of stuff.
I’m not fetishizing the Park Service. I’ve criticized the NPS before when it has deserved it (and knowing myself, I’m sure I’ll do so again at some point), but I also believe the parks themselves are treasures and the people who work there do incredible things while being under-resourced. Sure, there are probably people somewhere who aren’t pulling their weight, people just punching the clock, but that’s true in almost any work environment. That’s not an NPS problem, that’s a human nature problem. There are fixes that don’t involve chainsaws, that don’t gut the morale of our most experienced and our most enthusiastic stewards, and that don’t impact our national treasures so negatively.
These aren’t faceless bureaucrats. They’re the people who tell great stories, who kindle excitement in young visitors, who remind us that “some field” isn’t just some field but a place of sacrifice and struggle where men fought, suffered, and died.
Perhaps we need reminded of how important those Park Service folks are to our overall experiences when we visit battlefields, historic sites, and nature parks. If you’ve had a positive experience with a park ranger that you’d like to share in the comments, please do.
But I’ll urge readers to keep your political opinions to yourself—because nothing you can say will convince me to turn my back on the national treasures the Park Service protects. And nothing you can say will convince me to turn my back on my friends.
Preach it brother, from the mountain tops!
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Thank you for these timely words !
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A powerful commentary! Thank you for saying it loud and clear.
You’re welcome. Please feel free to share as a way of showing support, if you feel so inclined. Thanks!
Well said, and clearly spoken from the heart.
The next step is, what do we do about the situation? In my (very) humble opinion it seems that our historic National Battlefield Parks and the personnel who support such are a resource that all can rally behind, regardless of one’s political persuasion. Whether one looks at the case for the NPS from a desire to promote our nation’s shared history (certainly a worthy goal), or through a purely economics perspective (studies prove that significant tourism dollars flow to Civil War sites), or through a beneficial social “activist” lens (groups such as the American Battlefield Trust secure marvelous “matching contributions” in preservation programs), the benefits of the NPS are legion. How do we present this case to our governmental leaders?
People in the private sector know that downsizing is a way of life.
It’s the National Park Service. It’s not supposed to make money. They are working for the public trust, which is not something that can be downsized.
Sucks to be 36 Trillion in debt. Any suggestions on where else we can cut??
It sure does. But making indiscriminate cuts is not an efficient, logical, or effective way to go about trimming. Congress has the power of the purse strings; it is their responsibility to get that debt under control.
How about those advocates and representatives practice what they preach. Sadly this happens. There are many stories and experiences with interpreters and visitor center representatives who do not project or provide passion and interest. Or guides who do not fulfill their obligations. These leave a bad taste in people’s mouths resulting in a lack of sympathy towards this particular government agency.
The National Park Service accounts for approximately one-fifteenth of ONE percent of the federal budget. (3.6 billion dollars or so)
End the billionaire’s tax cuts. Elon can afford to pay his share.
Seriously. “Cuts” have not and will not make a dent in the deficit. Its a way to destroy government services, because billionairies don’t take the bus, attend public school or need social security.
As a Federal retiree, I couldn’t agree with you more. Well Said!
Thanks!
Same situation over at the VA Hospital.
Seemingly indiscriminate cutting happening there also.
Now, with speculation about another 83,000 jobs lost?
Sad.
Thank you for making such a clear and powerful statement in support of our parks and our shared history.
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Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park has brought some heat on itself, because of its current initiative to reimagine how Jackson’s legacy is interpreted at the Death Site. SCV members who visited the site this past summer were very upset with temporary signs created by Fredericksburg park personnel. You can read all about it here. https://sites.google.com/view/stonewalljacksondeathsitesigns/home?authuser=6. Or contact Ranger Beth Parnicza at FSNMP and ask for copies of pictures of those temporary signs.
If the staff at a park want to cast shade on a man who many consider to be a hero, they are going to get pushback. So, if rangers at Fredericksburg are complaining about the public being a bit spicy with them, why did they poke the beehive to begin with? I can tell you that those signs didn’t “kindle excitement” in the eyes of those SCV visitors.
Many of us in the Confederate heritage community feel that some of the folks in the National Park Service have taken it upon themselves to function as Lost Cause Police. To pronounce how everyone—to include us—should remember our ancestors, and tell us what our ancestors really did and didn’t fight for. And they seem to feel entitled to do it.
“But I’ll urge readers to keep your political opinions to yourself—because nothing you can say will convince me to turn my back on the national treasures the Park Service protects. And nothing you can say will convince me to turn my back on my friends.” Chris, if people perceive that your friends are taking advantage of their authority as custodians of our national treasures, to push certain viewpoints of history over others, then they are going to get pushback. If they can’t stand the heat…
Could you please explain why exactly you object to the rangers asking the public to think about why and how we memorialize the past? I must be missing something – it seems an important question for all of us to ask.
Do we ask controversial questions about a person’s legacy at the spot where they died? There’s plenty of controversy about MLK’s legacy, but I can’t imagine raising those controversial questions at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where he was shot. It implies a lack of respect by the Park Service for Jackson’s legacy to post signs like that at the place where Jackson died. The Park Service has museums and visitors centers where it can raise those questions.
I think it’s important to ask, at any historical site, “What does this all mean? Why was it important?” That holds true for people as well as events, and I think it’s especially important at Civil War sites.
Jackson, in particular, would have been mortified by the way some modern visitors hold him up. He would have reminded us that his death was part of God’s purpose, and he’d have wanted us to think about that (and accept it). Wouldn’t that basically be the same thing as asking us to think about what his death meant?
I’ve seen several comments on here, asking what’s bad with putting up signs asking questions about someone’s legacy at the place where they died.
Look at the wording of THESE signs that Fredericksburg personnel put up at the Jackson Death Site, especially the first three. https://sites.google.com/view/stonewalljacksondeathsitesigns/home?authuser=6. Pretend you are a member of the Jackson family, or someone who has Confederate ancestors, as you read them. Would you feel that the National Park Service was showing proper respect to someone whose memory and legacy was very important to you. Or, would you be left with the feeling that the park rangers who wrote those signs had adopted a skeptical, even disrespectful attitude?
Wouldn’t you say that there are a few things missing in those signs—First and Second Manassas, the Valley Campaign, Chancellorsville, Jackson’s operation and funding of a Sunday School for slaves come to mind.
I think you’re conflating two issues here, though, which makes my larger point: a specific issue at a specific site at a specific site, likely driven by a particular staff member at the management level, and indiscriminate staffing cuts. If you don’t like the signs, write to the park. Slashing young probationary staff members isn’t going to fix that problem.
So, you are saying that your objection is to the placement of the questions posed by the NPS and not the questions themselves, do I have that right?
Yes—as long as the NPS takes the same critical, analytical approach to its handling of all American heroes, from all groups in our society. If this is how the NPS treats the heroes associated with white Southerners, then black, Hispanic, Asian, woman etc… heroes should get the same treatment. For example, visitors to the Lorraine Motel should be asked if the U.S. should have a federal holiday for MLK, based on what we now know about his opinions on social issues, his personal conduct and how his entourage was allowed to treat women. (My answer would be yes, because MLK’s courage and accomplishments were so amazing that they outweigh his admittedly-significant personal flaws, and he made our country a much better place). Standards are only fair if they are applied equally to everyone.
The wording of the handlettered signs indicates that Park Service personnel felt entitled to take an analytical, somewhat skeptical approach to Jackson’s legacy at the very spot where he died. Did they know how this would look? Did they care? The Death Site is not a major public attraction. It’s sort of off the beaten path. Common sense would tell you that a critical mass, if not a majority, of its visitors are people inclined to think positively of Jackson. Many are, most likely, literally visiting to pay their respects to Stonewall. If I go to someone’s memorial service, and the minister chooses to use his eulogy sermon to remind the mourners of the dear departed’s earthly flaws and shortcomings, I would conclude that the minister has chosen to be a jackass.
The current administration, and millions of Americans who voted for it, are keen to push back on what they perceive as “jackassery,” wokeness and arrogance within the federal government. Now is not the time for any federal agency, the National Park Service included, to come off as entitled, arrogant or condescending.
I’m seeing several comments on here wondering what the problem is with putting signs at the Jackson Death Site, which ask about the meaning of his death and life.
Ummm….have you read the signs the Fredericksburg staff put up? https://sites.google.com/view/stonewalljacksondeathsitesigns/home?authuser=6. Pretend you were a supporter of Confederate heritage, and read those signs. What matters here is what Fredericksburg staffers chose to write on those signs.
The is just one thing that might be helpful. Here is a radical idea, how about reestablishing a proper focus on the major subjects, of which history is one, back into the school system in the country (I am not even going to mention math and reading, although being able to read at level would certainly contribute to engagement). How can you become excited about something IF YOU NEVER LEARN ABOUT IT!?. In general, the last two generations know laughably little about their own history. The number of people who cannot answer the most basic history question is troubling (and I mean basic). The curriculum and focus on the essentials has been taken over and corrupted by the special interest demographic. National test scores compared to other countries make that undeniable. Learning about history in school had a huge impact on my interest in history.
We definitely need more and better history education, and we need better civics education.
In line with Chris’s sentiments, I had the pleasure of giving a wonderful book talk on my biography of George Boutwell to a great audience at the US Grant National Historic Site at White Haven, in St. Louis, on February 16. Many thanks and kudos to Nathan Wilson, site superintendent, and his staff for all they do to take such good care of one of just many NPS treasures.
Well said. It’s vital to realise one’s assets and not take them for granted. When things are lost, it can be very hard to recover them. It’s not called “hallowed ground” for nothing.
I definitely agree with the person who stressed the need for history to be taught in schools.
Another idea is to reach out to your congressman/ senator and ask them to approach DOGE about actually visiting some of these parks and making suggestions on implementing ways the parks can be “saved”. If they are only basing their recommendations on the figures, it’s doing a great disservice to the purpose of the parks themselves, to preserve and to teach future generations.
Thank you, Chris, for making us think deeply about these matters!
I agree: each park probably has an opportunity for efficiency, but to preserve our resources, we really need to approach any cuts strategically and with careful intent, not indiscriminately.
Well said, Chris. Maybe Congress should be forced to take a 25% budget cut and staff reduction. Maybe then they might want a more considered and thoughtful approach.
Well said Chris. Of all the things for the government to take aim at and slash budget this one makes zero sense. This has zero impact on the “waste” at all while having a devastating impact on the study of history, our national parks, and countless of people’s careers and families. Congressional Salaries and the waste in departments with exponentially higher budgets would be the place to start.
At the risk of repeating what is now an intellectual cliche` “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” we are now entering the stage of historical amnesia. Unfortunately, it is not the result of an accidental brain injury, but a purposeful and malicious attempt to wipe from our collective memories what the United State stands for: resistance to oppression (The American Revolution), aid to foreign peoples who suffer from starvation and other disasters (a former US warship, Jamestown, full of aid for the starving Irish during the potato famine), the threat of military support against the foreign domination of an independent country (Phil Sheridan’s Army of Observation) on the Mexican border before the ouster of the French “Emperor” Maximillian of Mexico, and perhaps the highest moral achievement, the Emancipation Proclamation (as explained in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address). When we stand on a site preserved as a national memorial, how can it be maintained or, more importantly, explained without the personnel to remind us what principles and values that have come to be part of our national consciousness it enshrines. Eliminating personnel from the National Park Service not only hurts those whose employment have been suddenly terminated, but also begins to erase the ability to educate the visitors exactly why these sites have added to our national sense of morality. “Keep people from their history and they are easily controlled” is credited to Karl Marx who, in spite of the fall of Communism, continues to influence Russian thinking. We need it to keep from becoming a controlling principle here.
This might get lengthy, but it can’t be helped.
This is the second article posted on ECW in the last few weeks or so about this subject. I will say here what I said then, that I revere what the park service and it’s people do, and that I hate to see good and competent people lose their jobs through no fault of their own. But for those who believe we as a nation need to leave cuts to the Park Service out of any budgetary concerns, these most recent cuts for some reason rate commentary on this site, while cuts to the NPS made last year, which were mentioned in that previous article, did not. I asked then if an article had been presented lamenting those cuts, and if a link was available to it, but my question went unanswered. My search of the ECW site didn’t reveal anything about them. IF a link to any article does exist, I will stand corrected, and acknowledge it. But that said, being told to “keep your political opinions to yourself” while responding to these articles that are themselves political expressions, or at least come across as such, seems odd. To repeat: If budget cuts made now are so egregious they rate ongoing discussions, on here and elsewhere, why didn’t those previous cuts do so as well? Could it be because of the presidential administrations in place then, and now? I do believe that’s a fair and valid question.
The NPS, in the best of times, is underfunded and understaffed. I agree with and applaud efforts to ‘spread the word’ about history (and Civics) by any and all means. I also fervently wish that our parks and historical entities could be funded and staffed to all of our hearts collective desire. But the undeniable truth is that this country is in serious financial trouble. Our elected officials have been failing us for a very long time now, and “We the people” have put up with that. No cuts can be made that won’t be painful and/or deemed “unfair” to someone.
I’ve seen references to how small the percentage of the Federal budget is that the NPS and affiliated organizations and services consume. It’s the proverbial “drop in the bucket”. The PROBLEM is that you can fill and eventually overflow a bucket one drop at a time. And in the Federal budget, there are thousands, and very likely TENS OF THOUSANDS, and maybe more, ‘drops’ that add up. The people who are employed due to those other ‘drops’ are also screaming about how unfair it is to them. And it goes on and on.
I haven’t seen anything that suggests the NPS will be eliminated. But many if not most who receive Federal government money are probably going to have to do with less, at least for awhile. Yes, it absolutely sucks in so many ways. On that I think we can all agree. But addressing the insane spending HAS to start somewhere. WE the people let the national debt build up just as much as the politicians did, and WE the people thus own that debt. Future generations should not be burdened with what WE have allowed to fester!
I can’t speak for anyone else but myself because the opinions I express in this piece are my own. That said, I wrote about cuts this year because of the indiscriminate manner in which they were implemented. If there is a problem with “waste and fraud,” then identify that waste and fraud and cut accordingly and act within the confines of the law as you do so. That would take time, some negotiating with collective bargaining units, and legislation. Instead, the cuts are driven by a desire for spectacle and a need for instant gratification, even if the actual results are trivial in the context of the stated aims for those cuts. Those factors all mark a significant difference between last year’s cuts and this year’s and why the topic merited my attention.
I specifically stated my desire for readers to keep their political opinions to themselves because I did not want this to devolve into a “Trump this” or “Trump that” bunch of nonsense.
I agree that addressing overspending is a priority, and in fact, I’ve yet to meet a person who thinks trimming waste is a bad idea. It’s the execution that’s been the problem.
Well, to that, I think the only thing I can say is “thank you for making my point”. So, I will say that.
And you, Doug, make mine. I won’t say “thanks,” because I think it’s unfortunate.
LOL. Okay!
There are thousands of contractors riding on the shirttail of the United States Government over charging for everything, it needs to stop & Now is as good time as any.
Countless great interactions with NPS staff of all types.
Ive been a visitor on this site for many years and I have always enjoyed the content. This is the first time I have ever decided to comment on an article. I’m sure we don’t agree politically, I voted for a different direction for this country because I felt it was badly needed. I don’t regret my vote and will not apologize for it.
I will also say I support the National Park Service and I would never doubt the worth of its employees. I have always enjoyed visiting our sacred battlefields and national parks. As a law enforcement officer I would encourage some of these young folks who may have lost their jobs to look into joining the policing profession, most agencies are begging for folks to step forward and serve. If they have a desire to continue serving the public this would be a great step and most of them are very qualified.
Thank you for commenting!
I am in favor of govt being downsized in the right areas, but i totally agree the park service is underfunded and understaffed before any cuts were made. Maybe ECW can put out a petition for us to sign asking for more Park Service funding and adequate staff to maintain the nations parks which are national treasures.
Maybe we should just petition to get rid of Elon Musk and the DOGE