[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S1698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. Robb):
  S. 1735. A bill to allow the National Park Service to acquire certain 
land for addition to the Wilderness Battlefield, as authorized by 
Public Law 102-541, by purchase or exchange as well as by donation; to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


                 longstreet's flank attack legislation

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
which will preserve a site of great historical importance. The legacy 
of Civil War battlefields must be perpetuated, not only to commemorate 
those who lost their lives in this tragic epoch, but also to consecrate 
land upon which some of our country's finest strategic maneuvers 
occurred. On the hallowed land of Wilderness, VA occurred one of the 
greatest tactical stratagems in military history. Snatching the 
initiative to turn the tide of battle, Lt. Gen. James A. Longstreet, 
under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee, forced back Union forces 
directed by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, in an advance known as 
``Longstreet's Flank Attack.''
  Mr. President, this legislation will allow the Park Service to 
acquire this stretch of land, which will serve to complete Wilderness 
Battlefield. The legacy of the Civil War is far-reaching. A war which 
wrought such destruction has been the source of much fascination for 
scholars and amateur historians. The Battle of Wilderness is legendary 
for the tactical skills employed and the caliber of the soldiers who 
fought. There, among the tangled forests and twisted undergrowth, the 
Union Army, numerically superior and well supplied, were forced into 
confrontation with General Lee's hardscrabble Confederate troops. It 
would be one of the last battles in which Lee's incomparable martial 
machine would force Grant's Army of the Potomac to withdraw. It is also 
the site of the wounding of General Longstreet, who, like Gen. 
Stonewall Jackson, was wounded by friendly fire. Though Longstreet's 
injury was not mortal, the genius of the cadre of officers under the 
command of Lee dwindled. Thus would begin the twilight of the 
Confederacy.
  Legislation passed in the 102d Congress would have allowed the Park 
Service to acquire this land by donation. Despite numerous efforts, the 
Park Service has been unable to accomplish this. The legislation at 
hand would amend Public law 102-541 to allow the Park Service to 
procure the land by purchase or exchange as well as donation. The 
heritage and history which dwell amongst the interlaced undergrowth of 
this land deserve our recognition. I look forward to the swift passage 
of this bill.
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