[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 160 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S13191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FORT UNION NATIONAL MONUMENT

 Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I would like to honor and give 
special attention to New Mexico's Fort Union National Monument in Mora 
County. Located in the Mora Valley between the Santa Fe and Sangre de 
Cristo mountains, Fort Union established in 1851, dates back to New 
Mexico's territorial days, protecting the area's inhabitants and trade 
routes.
  This year Fort Union has initiated a new effort called ``The New 
Mexico Volunteers Living History Program.'' Volunteers in this program 
will depict the Hispanic soldiers of the 1st New Mexico Volunteers, who 
were enlisted and stationed at Fort Union during the Civil War. One of 
the current volunteers is a direct descendent of the 1st New Mexico 
Volunteers. With some training and drilling, Fort Union hopes to begin 
presenting living history programs depicting the 1st New Mexico 
Volunteers in early spring next year at Fort Union as well as other 
local venues. Fort Union has also reinstated nighttime candlelight 
tours, and also hopes to provide a public venue for night sky viewing 
while partnering with local colleges and universities to interpret the 
skies, and be used as a classroom venue complementing science 
curriculums.
  I am proud of the work being done at Fort Union to reach out to the 
community and provide a glimpse of our historic past. The upcoming 
activities at Fort Union remind us of our rich history in New Mexico, 
and I commend the staff at the Fort for their efforts and their hard 
work to further integrate the unique history of the Fort into the 
surrounding area and expand their role as a resource for local students 
and residents. I look forward to the advancement of this program in the 
months to come.

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