[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 63 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4676-S4677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. Robb, and Mr. McConnell):
  S. 955. A bill to allow the National Park Service to acquire certain 
land for addition to the Wilderness Battlefield in Virginia, as 
previously authorized by law, by purchase or exchange as well as by 
donation; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


                       longstreet's flank attack

  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 our country's finest strategic maneuvers occurred. 
On the hallowed land of Wilderness, Virginia occurred one of the 
greatest tactical stratagems in military history. Snatching the 
initiative to turn the tide of battle, Lt. General James A. Longstreet, 
under the command of General Robert E. Lee, forced back Union forces 
directed by General 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 hard 
scrabble 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 Gen. 
Longstreet, who, like General 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 102nd Congress would have allowed the Park

[[Page S4677]]

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.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 955

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ADDITION TO WILDERNESS BATTLEFIELD, VIRGINIA.

       (a) Removal of Condition on Battlefield Addition.--Section 
     2(a)(2) of Public Law 102-541 (16 U.S.C. 525k note; 106 Stat. 
     3565) is amended by striking ``: Provided,'' and all that 
     follows through ``Interior''.
       (b) Authorized Methods of Acquisition.--
       (1) Acquisition of certain lands by donation.--Section 3(a) 
     of Public Law 101-214 (16 U.S.C. 425l(a)) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new sentence: ``However, the 
     lands designated `P04-04' on the map referred to in section 
     2(a) numbered 326-40072E/89/A and dated September 1990 may be 
     acquired only by donation.''.
       (2) Removal of restriction on acquisition of addition.--
     Section 2 of Public Law 102-541 (16 U.S.C. 525k note; 106 
     Stat. 3565) is amended by striking subsection (b).
       (c) Technical Correction.--Section 2(a) of Public Law 101-
     214 (16 U.S.C. 425k(a)) is amended by striking 
     ``Spotslyvania'' and inserting ``Spotsylvania''.
                                 ______