[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13869-S13870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       THIRD BATTLE OF WINCHESTER

   Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the brave Confederate and Union soldiers who fought in a turning-point 
battle 131 years ago today near Winchester, VA. The Third Battle of 
Winchester claimed more than 9,000 casualties and led to the burning 
and massive destruction of the Shenandoah Valley, which had effectively 
served as the Confederate Army's breadbasket, supplying food and 
materials that were critical to the war effort.
  It is fitting that today the House of Representatives, under the 
skillful leadership of Representatives Frank Wolf, passed H.R. 1091, 
which contains title IV, a section containing the Shenandoah Valley 
National Battlefield Partnership Act. I have introduced the same 
legislation here in the Senate. I note to my colleagues that we passed 
this bill by unanimous consent last year and I hope we will take the 
same step this year.
  Mr. President, the Civil War is an important lesson for America and 
indeed, the rest of the world.
   Here we are, 131 years since the War Between the States, and the 
same type of fighting and carnage that wrought havoc on Winchester and 
valley towns like New Market, Toms Brook, Port Republic, and Cedar 
Creek, is brutally being carried out in the Balkans today.
  I have traveled five times to the war-torn Bosnian region. About 4 
weeks ago I was there with my good and courageous friend Senator Kerrey 
of Nebraska. We were in Croatia, right on the border with Bosnia. We 
went through villages that had been ravaged by cannons and soldiers.
  Senator Kerrey and I visited a refugee camp and talked with a doctor 
who appeared to be the spokesman for his group.
  I asked this doctor, ``Can you explain to me why we are here, in this 
century, fighting this type of war of wanton destruction between people 
who live in villages and towns together and who live inside the same 
country.''
  The doctor answered by saying, ``Senator, go back and study the 
origins of your Civil War.''
  His answer, Mr. President, is the reason we must pay tribute to our 
heritage by preserving our Civil War battlefields in the Shenandoah 
Valley. We must preserve these battlefields so that we may create a 
better understanding in successive generations. The threats to the 
United States today are unlike World War I and World War II. The 
threats today are from the weapons of mass destruction, but also from 
the cultural and religious civil wars that take place throughout the 
world.
  As we see in Bosnia and the Balkans today, these internal civil wars 
can boil over into neighboring countries and indeed, into Western 
Europe and North America.
  The lessons for future generations are how best we can deter these 
wars from taking place. How best we, as a nation and leader of the free 
world, can step forward and try and bring about peace. Often the 
teachings and understandings begin hear at home and on hallowed ground 
like the Shenandoah Valley battlefields.
  Mr. President, yesterday I attended the dedication of the Third 
Battle of Winchester. It was a great pleasure to be among so many 
friends and to join in the celebration of preserving that historic 
battlefield.
  The commitment by local government and private preservation groups 
has energized me to ensure that the battlefields in the valley receive 
their long overdue national recognition.
  Mr. President, I ask that my remarks from yesterday's ceremony be 
printed in the Record.
  The remarks follow:

Remarks by Senator John Warner on the Dedication of the Third Battle of 
                     Winchester September 18, 1995.

       Good Morning, Director Kennedy, Director Diehl, 
     distinguished guests and ladies and gentleman.
       I want to join in applauding the tenacity of Congressman 
     Wolf for successfully bringing the parties to agreement, the 
     generosity of Dave Holliday as a responsible steward of this 
     historic property, the commitment of the APCWS for effective 
     preservation efforts here and throughout Virginia, and the 
     responsiveness of the Civil War Trust for recognizing the 
     urgency of preserving this unspoiled ground.
       In the many years that I have traveled throughout the 
     Valley, I have heard first-hand the heroic stories passed 
     down from generation to generation about this war of valiant 
     military strategies and brave personal sacrifices.
       Many persons unfamiliar with the deep, intergenerational 
     scars marking this period often ask, ``why now''? Why, after 
     more than a century, stoke the coals of resentment associated 
     with the most divisive conflict in our history?
       It is not about reviving old hostilities, but of 
     remembering, and paying homage, to old hurts.
       So many families, so many businesses were destroyed or 
     damaged irrevocably by forces beyond their control.
       Innocent civilians bore the burdens of ``the burning.''
       No one who lived in this valley escaped some vestige of the 
     misery which plagued the area throughout the conflict. Their 
     descendants share the pain and the pride today.
       This region suffered severely from the destruction caused 
     by the 100 engagements that occurred here. Throughout the 
     war, Winchester was pivotal to both sides, having changed 
     hands seventy-six times.
       The epic ebb and flow of Confederate and Union forces 
     during this conflict, however, is eloquently preserved in 
     books by America's most respected historians--Bruce Catton, 
     Shelby Foote, Douglas Southall Freeman, and Jim McPherson--
     and on film for the benefit of future generations. 

[[Page S13870]]

       So I often marvel at the passion and the emotion that this 
     chapter in our Nation's history still stirs in the hearts of 
     so many of us.
       I have come to know that it is the love of this land which 
     brings us together today.
       It is this land which allows us to visualize the fierce 
     battle between Sheridan and Early.
       It renews our respect for our forefathers whose lives were 
     changed forever by this war.
       It is the preservation of these battlefields to serve as 
     outdoor classrooms so that our children may understand the 
     sacrifices that were made for a cause to which each side was 
     deeply committed.
       It is the land that will remain long after we are gone. And 
     it is the land that we must protect so that these events will 
     not be forgotten.

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