[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 34 (Monday, February 27, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H1324-H1326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SHILOH NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT AND PARKER'S
CROSSROADS BATTLEFIELD DESIGNATION ACT
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 88) to modify the boundary of the Shiloh National Military
Park located in Tennessee and Mississippi, to establish Parker's
Crossroads Battlefield as an affiliated area of the National Park
System, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 88
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Shiloh National Military
Park Boundary Adjustment and Parker's Crossroads Battlefield
Designation Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Affiliated area.--The term ``affiliated area'' means
the Parker's Crossroads Battlefield established as an
affiliated area of the National Park System under section 4.
(2) Park.--The term ``Park'' means Shiloh National Military
Park, a unit of the National Park System.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 3. AREAS TO BE ADDED TO SHILOH NATIONAL MILITARY PARK.
(a) Additional Areas.--The boundary of Shiloh National
Military Park is modified to include the areas that are
generally depicted
[[Page H1325]]
on the map entitled ``Shiloh National Military Park, Proposed
Boundary Adjustment'', numbered 304/80,011, and dated July
2014, as follows:
(1) Fallen Timbers Battlefield.
(2) Russell House Battlefield.
(3) Davis Bridge Battlefield.
(b) Acquisition Authority.--The Secretary may acquire lands
described in subsection (a) by donation, purchase from
willing sellers with donated or appropriated funds, or
exchange.
(c) Administration.--Any lands acquired under this section
shall be administered as part of the Park.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF AFFILIATED AREA.
(a) In General.--Parker's Crossroads Battlefield in the
State of Tennessee is hereby established as an affiliated
area of the National Park System.
(b) Description.--The affiliated area shall consist of the
area generally depicted within the ``Proposed Boundary'' on
the map entitled ``Parker's Crossroads Battlefield, Proposed
Boundary'', numbered 903/80,073, and dated July 2014.
(c) Administration.--The affiliated area shall be managed
in accordance with this Act and all laws generally applicable
to units of the National Park System.
(d) Management Entity.--The City of Parkers Crossroads and
the Tennessee Historical Commission shall jointly be the
management entity for the affiliated area.
(e) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may provide
technical assistance and enter into cooperative agreements
with the management entity for the purpose of providing
financial assistance with marketing, marking, interpretation,
and preservation of the affiliated area.
(f) Limited Role of the Secretary.--Nothing in this Act
authorizes the Secretary to acquire property at the
affiliated area or to assume overall financial responsibility
for the operation, maintenance, or management of the
affiliated area.
(g) General Management Plan.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
management entity, shall develop a general management plan
for the affiliated area. The plan shall be prepared in
accordance with section 100502 of title 54, United States
Code.
(2) Transmittal.--Not later than 3 years after the date
that funds are made available for this Act, the Secretary
shall provide a copy of the completed general management to
the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate.
SEC. 5. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.
(a) No Use of Condemnation.--The Secretary of the Interior
may not acquire by condemnation any land or interests in land
under this Act or for the purposes of this Act.
(b) Written Consent of Owner.--No non-Federal property may
be included in the Shiloh National Military Park without the
written consent of the owner.
(c) No Buffer Zone Created.--Nothing in this Act, the
establishment of the Shiloh National Military Park, or the
management plan for the Shiloh National Military Park shall
be construed to create buffer zones outside of the Park. That
activities or uses can be seen, heard, or detected from areas
within the Shiloh National Military shall not preclude,
limit, control, regulate, or determine the conduct or
management of activities or uses outside of the Park.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. McClintock) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs.
Torres) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 88, introduced by Representative Marsha Blackburn
of Tennessee, expands the boundaries of the Shiloh National Military
Park to include 2,126 acres of battlefields in Corinth and designates
the Parker's Crossroads Battlefield as an affiliated area of the
National Park System.
The Battle of Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles in the history
of this Nation and a turning point of which it was once said that,
after Shiloh, the South never smiled again. The Battle of Parker's
Crossroads was fought later that year and, though not as decisive a
battle as Shiloh, was worthy of preservation in remembrance of the
fallen.
I would like to add something on a personal note. I would like to
speak of Private James H. Ewing, of the Third Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Regiment, the fifth of 10 children of James and Agnes Ewing of Marshall
County, Iowa. The family had begun in Ohio and journeyed to the
frontier of Iowa, following Horace Greely's advice to go west and grow
with the Nation. In 1861, that Nation was torn apart by secession.
James Ewing met President Lincoln's call to defend her and was 24 years
old when he was killed on April 6, 1862, at Pittsburg Landing on the
first day of the Battle of Shiloh.
The words of his younger brother, John, written 64 years later, in
1926, expressed both the enduring anguish of that loss with equal parts
of enduring pride, saying: ``Brother James gave up his life at the
Battle of Shiloh . . . fighting to save our free government.'' That
free government survived because of the sacrifices and suffering of
these brave young men, and I am honored to speak the name of one of
them in this Chamber today.
Private James H. Ewing is one of 3,584 courageous Americans whose
graves our Nation has cared for and honored through the generations
that have followed at Shiloh. This bill assures that several more of
the battlefields they struggled on will be preserved in a cohesive
unit. Our family remains proud of him to this day and grateful to
Congresswoman Blackburn for bringing forward this bill to assure that
the sacrifices, gallantry, and idealism of those young men who
struggled at Bloody Shiloh shall never be forgotten by their larger
family, the American people.
This bill would preserve approximately 2,126 acres of that
battlefield associated with the Siege of Corinth, including the Fallen
Timbers, Russell House, and Davis Bridge Battlefields. The National
Park Service determined that each of these sites provides extensive
opportunities for visitor use and interpretation or the potential for
archeological research. An identical version of this legislation passed
the House of Representatives last Congress.
I commend Representative Blackburn for her work to preserve these
historically significant sites, and I urge my colleagues to vote in
favor of this measure.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
By expanding the boundaries of the Shiloh National Military Park in
the State of Tennessee, H.R. 88 will assist the National Park Service
in its efforts to preserve lands and share the history of the Civil War
for generations to come.
The bill adjusts the boundary of the park to include several sites
identified in the 2004 boundary expansion study conducted by the
National Park Service. This bill also establishes the Parker's
Crossroads Battlefield as an associated area of the National Park
System.
Between the Union and Confederacy, Parker's Crossroads saw over 700
Americans lose their lives in the war for our Nation's future.
Preserving this site will provide even broader opportunities to
commemorate and learn from the legacy of the Civil War.
The emphasis that we all need to place on preserving our country's
history cannot be overstated. The Civil War is a chapter in our
national story that continues to shape the thoughts and actions of this
country over 150 years after its conclusion.
The struggles and personal conflicts faced by millions of soldiers
and the impact on families throughout and after the war have provided
us with many lessons, lessons that continue to remain relevant today.
Only through learning from our past will we learn how to be a better
and stronger nation in the future.
Parks, such as Shiloh National Military Park, offer countless
opportunities for us to explore the rich history and lessons of the
past. These opportunities are most effective when visitors to sites can
immerse themselves in the full setting of the area and gain a true
understanding of the historical context, something that this expansion
of the Shiloh National Military Park will achieve.
I would like to thank Representative Blackburn for her hard work and
commitment to protecting the historical resources in her State, and I
urge my colleagues to support this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the author of this
measure.
[[Page H1326]]
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California
for yielding the time.
I do encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.
Recently, National Geographic ranked this as the third best Civil War
site to visit--the third best--and there is a reason for that. It is
because of the dedication of the National Park Service personnel that
are there at the Shiloh battlefield and the local volunteers from
Tennessee and Mississippi that work to preserve and to enhance.
Mrs. Torres was so right when she talked about the relevancy of the
site and the opportunity for introspection and remembrance and the
importance of preservation and the lessons that can be learned as
individuals go and visit this park. It is significant, and in our Civil
War history it is significant that we preserve this and work with the
National Park Service.
The Battle of Shiloh was fought on April 6 and 7 in 1862. It was the
bloodiest battle of the Civil War up to that point: 23,000 Americans
died. General Grant's Union Army was victorious. The Confederate forces
withdrew to Corinth, and the outcome of the battle eventually led to
the fall of Vicksburg in July of 1863. This permanently divided the
Confederacy and crippled the Southern war effort.
As we look at this legislation that goes around this battlefield, it
does preserve the historical legacy of Tennessee, of Shiloh, and of our
Nation. It gives the Park Service the authority that they would like to
preserve more than 2,100 additional acres of the historic Shiloh
National Military Park.
As the gentleman from California said, Fallen Timbers, Davis Bridge,
and Russell House are all included in this, as well as Parker's
Crossroads Battlefield, which would be named an affiliated area.
As we look at visitors to our Nation's park, the Shiloh National
Military Park welcomes more than 500,000 visitors each and every year.
I thank my colleagues for the time and the support.
Mrs. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to again thank Representative
Blackburn for her efforts, and I urge adoption of this bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I would join in asking for adoption of
this measure.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 88.
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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