Preservation: How Things Have Changed!

Emerging Civil War welcomes back Mike Movius.

Back in 1968 Jerry Russell, a public relations specialist and political consultant from Little Rock, Arkansas, decided that the burgeoning Civil War Round Table movement might be encouraged to help preserve battlefield land. He wrote the newsletter and brashly encouraged CWRT members to write their representatives in Congress to save our hallowed ground. His annual events became known as the Civil War Round Table Congress. Sound familiar?

Well, Jerry passed away in 2003 leaving a blossoming national battlefield-preservation effort that began with the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS). A second organization emerged as the American Battlefield Protection Foundation ,which became the Civil War Trust. The APCWS and the Civil War Trust merged to become the Civil War Preservation Trust. Finally, after a couple more name changes it became the American Battlefield Trust. So much preservation and so much trust.

Today, the once mighty Civil War Round Table movement needs organizational renewal and preservation, itself. Enter Dr. John Bamberl, Wally Rueckel, Matt Borowick, Jay Jorgensen ,and myself in 2016. The juxtaposition of the term “preservation” and the involvement of CWRTs is poignant, but there is an immense amount of hope as we continue our sustainability efforts.

A couple months ago, we wanted to find out the status of battlefield preservation with CWRTs. Our survey began by asking leaders if “preservation” was in their mission statement. Although three-quarters said that it did, over 20 percent said that it did not. Of those who did not entertain preservation, several said they did not have a mission statement, while others speculated that it was either an old statement or simply an oversight.

We also asked about the focus of their preservation efforts. Half of the respondents said their CWRT’s focus was a combination of local, regional, and national. The other half were evenly split between the three. As we realize that battlefield preservation is something that CWRTs cannot achieve on their own, we asked which preservation entity was emphasized. Nearly 50 percent said it was the American Battlefield Trust, while the other half said they either did not have a focus or that it spread across the spectrum of organizations and activities.

When asked if the round table was a Battlefield Trust member, most said no due to insufficient funding, not having a CWRT treasury, or they hadn’t thought about it. What might induce their CWRT to consider becoming an ABT member, many said that it could be a matter of knowing/weighing the benefits or simply finding out more.

In retrospect, it seems that “preservation” is a fertile topic for CWRTs, their leaders, and members.

To read the detailed survey results, click the link: http://www.cwrtcongress.org/PDF/Surveys/PRESERVATION_SURVEY_RESULTS.pdf

Mike Movius is president of the CWRT Congress.