[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12217]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING THE LIVING LEGACY TREE PLANTING PROJECT

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 16, 2014

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Journey Through 
Hallowed Ground Partnership's ``Living Legacy Tree Planting Project.''
  This project is an ambitious effort to plant one tree for every one 
of the 740,000 soldiers who died during the Civil War along the Journey 
Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway, which runs from 
Monticello, Virginia to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When completed, the 
byway will become the world's first 180-mile landscaped alley. More 
importantly, it will serve as a living memorial to those who died 
during our nation's most difficult trial and a sober reminder of the 
enormity of its cost.
  Each tree planted will be dedicated to an individual Civil War 
soldier and will be ``geotagged'' to make a number of historical 
resources, such as the soldier's pictures and personal writings from 
the war, electronically available to visitors and researchers. The 
project has drawn enthusiastic volunteers from communities around the 
country and has recently partnered with Ancestry.com to supplement the 
quality of the information provided on each soldier.
  I submit the following article from the Washington Post and ask my 
colleagues to join me in recognizing the important efforts being made 
by the Journey Through Hallowed Grounds Partnership to honor those who 
paid the ultimate price for freedom and liberty.

                [From the Washington Post, July 9, 2014]

                 A Living Tribute to Civil War Soldiers

                          (By Wesley Robinson)

       The newest trees along U.S. Route 15 come with stories of 
     Civil War troops.
       One freshly planted rising sun redbud in Leesburg, Va., 
     honors Joseph T. Bosworth, a young man from Massachusetts who 
     fought with the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry. He died at the 
     Battle of Antietam.
       A young sassafras nearby was dedicated to Daniel M. 
     Barringer, who joined the Confederate Army in Corinth, Miss., 
     fought with the 17th Mississippi Company and is buried in 
     Union Cemetery in Leesburg. He was wounded at the Battle of 
     Fredericksburg and died about a month after he was 
     discharged.
       They are among 1,413 trees that have been planted so far to 
     commemorate the Civil War dead through the nonprofit Journey 
     Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) Living Legacy Tree Planting 
     Project. Though organizers acknowledge that the $74 million 
     plan is ambitious, their aim is to plant a tree for each of 
     an estimated 740,000 troops killed in the War between the 
     States.
       Cate Magennis Wyatt, founder and president of the Journey 
     Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, said the trees--each 
     funded by a $100 donation--are being planted along a 180-mile 
     stretch from Thomas Jefferson's Albemarle County estate, 
     Monticello, to Gettysburg, Pa.
       Visitors can search an interactive online map that shows 
     each tree and includes details about the person it honors.
       The tree-planting project came about after then-Gov. Robert 
     F. McDonnell asked communities to plan an unusual way to 
     observe the sesquicentennial of the war, which was fought 
     from 1861 to 1865, Magennis Wyatt said. She said her group, 
     which is dedicated to historic preservation, wanted to do 
     something other than a ``flagpole or another monument,'' 
     eventually arriving at the idea for the tree allee.
       ``My joke was that God had spoken to her through a burning 
     redwood bush,'' said Peter Hart, an arborist and volunteer 
     with JTHG.
       When the project began, Magennis Wyatt noted, the number of 
     Civil War dead was estimated at 620,000. Now historians put 
     it at 740,000. Organizers said they are considering tagging 
     existing trees to advance the goal of recognizing as many 
     troops as possible. At a dedication ceremony last month, at 
     Oatlands Historic Home and Gardens in Leesburg, Magennis 
     Wyatt noted that there was not nearly enough room to plant a 
     tree every 10 feet along the entire 180-mile route.
       Many of the trees are redbuds, but the project is also 
     using a variety of maples, eastern red cedars and flowering 
     dogwoods. Hart, who took part in the selection process, said 
     they picked colorful variations but also hearty trees that 
     can flourish next to a well-traveled roadway, where they must 
     withstand heat from the pavement, high winds and road salt.
       Christopher Shott of New Bedford, Mass., said he came 
     across the project online and decided to donate a redbud to 
     honor Bosworth.
       Shott doesn't have any direct family ties to the Civil War; 
     his relatives came to the United States later. Still, he felt 
     a kinship with Bosworth because they had lived in the same 
     town, Swansea, Mass.
       ``He made me feel like I have a connection to the Civil 
     War,'' Shott said.
       One of the challenges the project faces, organizers said, 
     is collecting information about the slain troops. Magennis 
     Wyatt said about half of the soldiers died anonymously. She 
     said there was no American Red Cross, government-issued dog 
     tags or comprehensive registry. Wartime contributions of 
     Native Americans, African Americans and women went largely 
     unheralded.
       The project has joined with Ancestry.com and Fold3.com to 
     provide biographical sketches of the troops. It is uploading 
     biographical information to the Web site and trying to verify 
     information with descendants, historians and others.
       At last month's dedication ceremony, for 500 recently 
     planted trees, Jimmy Cunningham, 14, presented his research 
     on Barringer. Jimmy, who lives in Leesburg, has attended a 
     JTHG summer camp for the past three years and will serve as a 
     junior counselor this summer. He was asked to participate in 
     the research project by the JTHG staff and teamed up with his 
     grandmother to investigate Barringer's life.
       Jimmy found that Barringer was injured in battle but died 
     after he had been discharged. The death was attributed to 
     ``leprosy'' and ``disease of the head.'' Jimmy also learned 
     that Barringer's father was a wealthy man, which raised 
     questions about why he went to war.
       ``It stimulated a lot of conversation in our home,'' said 
     MaryKirk Cunningham, Jimmy's mother.
       Cunningham said her son's research also helped him become 
     interested in family history. An ancestor on her side, 
     Briscoe Goodhart, was a member of the Loudoun Rangers, a 
     partisan cavalry unit that fought for the Union in the Civil 
     War.
       ``For us, it's really great. . . . He went beyond our 
     family but stayed connected to his nana through our family,'' 
     Cunningham said.
       Michelle Kellogg, director of the JTHG National Heritage 
     area, said the stretch where the trees are being planted, 
     rich with historic sites, is a fitting place for such a 
     tribute. She noted the region's nine presidential homes and 
     high concentration of Civil War battle sites.
       ``This region is essential in helping Americans and 
     visitors understand our history,'' Kellogg said.
       The Hallowed Grounds partnership was created several years 
     back by Magennis Wyatt, a former Virginia secretary of 
     commerce, and others worried about development's effect on 
     the historic area. They were motivated, in part, by Disney's 
     attempt in the 1990s to create a historic theme park in the 
     region and by proposals to build a casino in Gettysburg and 
     condos near Monticello.
       ``It was apparent that we were taking a lot for granted,'' 
     Magennis Wyatt said, ``not just the bricks and mortar but the 
     people who lived on this land and created this country.''
       Ellen Vogel, a landscape architect with the Virginia 
     Department of Transportation, said another challenge of the 
     project is finding enough space for the trees in the 
     corridor, about half of which is in Virginia. She said VDOT 
     worked to provide the necessary guidance and flexibility.
       ``It's great that Virginia has a scenic byway. There are so 
     few of those across the country,'' Vogel said. ``But we have 
     a lot of history here. I think it's fitting.''
       Hart's great-great-uncles Charles and William Davis and 
     Jason Hart were killed in the war. His great-great-
     grandfather James Hart was wounded twice but survived.
       ``You combine my love for my family history and my love for 
     trees and this living legacy project has captured me,'' Hart 
     said.
       Shott, who flew to Virginia for the ceremony last month, 
     said he visited Bosworth's grave in Sharpsburg, Md., early 
     that Sunday to pay his respects before going to see the 
     rising sun redbud planted in the soldier's honor.
       ``I just try to understand why they did what they did to 
     the point they'd die for something they believed in,'' Shott 
     said. ``The least we can do is remember them.''

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