[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 37 (Monday, March 5, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2133-H2134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       FIRST AND SECOND BATTLES OF NEWTONIA, MISSOURI, STUDY ACT

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 376) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
including the battlefields and related sites of the First and Second 
Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during the Civil War as part of Wilson's 
Creek National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related 
sites as a separate unit of the National Park System, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 376

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

     SECTION 1. NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY, 
                   NEWTONIA CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELDS, MISSOURI.

       (a) Special Resource Study.--The Secretary of the Interior 
     shall conduct a special resource study relating to the First 
     Battle of Newtonia in Newton County, Missouri, which occurred 
     on September 30, 1862, and the Second Battle of Newtonia, 
     which occurred on October 28, 1864, during the Missouri 
     Expedition of Confederate General Sterling Price in September 
     and October 1864.
       (b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection 
     (a), the Secretary shall--
       (1) evaluate the national significance of the Newtonia 
     battlefields and their related sites;
       (2) consider the findings and recommendations contained in 
     the document entitled

[[Page H2134]]

     ``Vision Plan for Newtonia Battlefield Preservation'' and 
     dated June 2004, which was prepared by the Newtonia 
     Battlefields Protection Association;
       (3) evaluate the suitability and feasibility of adding the 
     battlefields and related sites as part of Wilson's Creek 
     National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and 
     related sites as a unit of the National Park System;
       (4) analyze the potential impact that the inclusion of the 
     battlefields and related sites as part of Wilson's Creek 
     National Battlefield or their designation as a unit of the 
     National Park System is likely to have on land within or 
     bordering the battlefields and related sites that is 
     privately owned at the time of the study is conducted;
       (5) consider alternatives for preservation, protection, and 
     interpretation of the battlefields and related sites by the 
     National Park Service, other Federal, State, or local 
     governmental entities, or private and nonprofit 
     organizations; and
       (6) identify cost estimates for any necessary acquisition, 
     development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance 
     associated with the alternatives referred to in paragraph 
     (5).
       (c) Criteria.--The criteria for the study of areas for 
     potential inclusion in the National Park System contained in 
     section 8 of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5) shall apply 
     to the study under subsection (a).
       (d) Transmission to Congress.--Not later than three years 
     after the date on which funds are first made available for 
     the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to 
     the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources of the Senate a report containing--
       (1) the results of the study; and
       (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 376, introduced by the gentleman 
from Missouri (Mr. Blunt). This legislation would direct the National 
Park Service to conduct a study to determine how best to protect the 
sites related to the First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri.
  Two Civil War battles were waged near Newtonia which lies in Newton 
County, Missouri. The first, on September 30, 1862, involved 4,000 
Confederate troops and 6,500 Union soldiers, and it is believed to be 
the only Civil War battle in which full American Indian units fought on 
both sides of the conflict.
  The Second Battle of Newtonia occurred on October 28, 1864, and 
involved 1,500 Union cavalry engaging a Confederate Army returning from 
the unsuccessful Missouri and Kansas Campaign of Confederate General 
Sterling Price.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend and congratulate my colleague, Mr. 
Blunt, for this bill. A hearing was held on a nearly identical measure 
last Congress, and that bill eventually passed the House. We strongly 
support H.R. 376 and urge its adoption by the House today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 376 introduced by the 
distinguished minority whip, Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri. It 
would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
resource study to determine the suitability of designating the First 
and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, as a part of Wilson's Creek 
National Battlefield or as a separate unit of the National Park System.
  I support this bill. I commend the leadership and persistence of Mr. 
Blunt on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to, at this time, yield to the sponsor of the 
bill, the minority whip, such time as he may consume, Mr. Blunt of 
Missouri.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and thank 
the subcommittee chairman and the committee for bringing this bill to 
the floor.
  The language we are discussing today is designed to authorize a study 
by the National Park Service to determine the feasibility of creating a 
new Civil War battlefield at Newtonia, Missouri, or bringing those 
battlefield lands under the management of the Wilson's Creek National 
Battlefield near Springfield and also near the Newtonia battlefield 
site.
  This measure is a necessary first step to determine if this 
battlefield, as I believe it will, fits the criteria necessary for 
being preserved as part of the National Park System. I believe the 
study will find that the two Civil War battles at Newtonia, like the 
Manassas Battlefield south of where we are now, hold a unique place in 
American history and are worthy of protection in the National Park 
Service system.
  Two important battles were fought at Newtonia during the Civil War, 
one in 1862, where large numbers of American Indian troops on the 
Confederate side and the Union side, actually fought each other in 
battle. It was the largest of the rare engagements where native 
Americans fought on both sides in the Civil War. My understanding is 
that this is the place where those troops actually fought each other.
  Two years later, in 1864, the last battle of the Civil War west of 
the Mississippi was fought at Newtonia as Confederate forces withdrew 
from Missouri after their defeat at Westport. Tennessee, Missouri and 
Virginia had the most battles in the Civil War, and this was the final 
battle in our State.
  This legislation has really been strongly supported by the local 
community, as has the idea of preserving this battlefield. The Newtonia 
Battlefields Protection Association has spearheaded preservation 
efforts at Newtonia. In 2002, the association acquired 11 acres of the 
battlefield, along with the Ritchey Mansion, which is on the National 
Register of Historic Places for around $300,000. A year later, I 
delivered a ceremonial check for about half of that from the American 
Battlefield Protection Program to reimburse the local group that had 
put this association together.
  The National Park Service rated the 1864 battlefield as a Priority I 
for preservation and the 1862 site as a Priority II. These sites are 
largely similar. They overlap in some places, but they are right next 
to each other.
  A review by the National Park Service found the 1964 battlefield 
faced a greater threat from development. The not-for-profit Newtonia 
Battlefields Protection Association was formed in 1994 to work on 
funding to preserve the battlefields. In addition, the National Park 
Service has provided archaeological and historical surveys and 
assessments of the battlefield.
  I think this study will answer the questions that need to be answered 
before any further steps are taken. I am grateful to the committee for 
bringing this legislation to the floor today. If this study is agreed 
to by both bodies, it might even be funded in this year's appropriation 
process.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 376.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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