[Senate Report 114-321]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 594
114th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 114-321
======================================================================
SHILOH NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT AND PARKER'S
CROSSROADS BATTLEFIELD DESIGNATION ACT
_______
September 6, 2016.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1943]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1943) to modify the boundary of the
Shiloh National Military Park located in the States of
Tennessee and Mississippi, to establish Parker's Crossroads
Battlefield as an affiliated area of the National Park System,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill,
as amended, do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
1. On page 2, line 18, strike ``April 2012'' and insert
``July 2014''.
2. On page 3, line 11, strike ``April 2012'' and insert
``July 2014''.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1943 is to modify the boundary of the
Shiloh National Military Park located in the States of
Tennessee and Mississippi, to establish Parker's Crossroads
Battlefield as an affiliated area of the National Park System.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Civil War battle of Shiloh was fought from April 6 to 7
in 1862. The Federal Army of the Tennessee, under the command
of Major General U.S. Grant, was surprised by an attack led by
Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, and after General
Johnston's fatal wound, General P.G.T. Beauregard. General
Grant had led his Army into Tennessee, and was waiting to join
forces with the Army of the Ohio under General Don Carlos
Buell. Initial Confederate attacks inflicted large losses on
Grant's troops, but they were able to hold a defensive line
until reinforcements from the Army of the Ohio joined to force
the retreat of the Confederate army.
Shiloh was the bloodiest battle in American history to that
date. The savagery of the battle shocked observers and the
casualties totaled more than 23,000 soldiers. The following
day, General Grant ordered General Sherman to locate the
Confederate forces to determine whether they were regrouping to
attack again. Approaching the Confederate Camp, the infantry
troops under General Sherman were nearly ambushed trying to get
through a field of fallen timbers. Losing roughly 100 men,
General Sherman was able to push through and confirm that the
Confederates were on the retreat.
Shiloh National Military Park currently preserves 5,442
acres of the battlefield and is considered to be one of the
best preserved battlefields in the United States. This site
does not include the entire area of the battle, the Fallen
Timbers Battlefield, or the line of march of the Federals and
Confederate forces.
S. 1943 would add 2,100 acres to the 5,442 acres that
comprise Shiloh National Military Park, and would incorporate
some pivotal areas of the Battle of Shiloh that currently lack
adequate preservation, including the battlefields at Fallen
Timbers, Russell House, and Davis Bridge. The bill would
establish the Parker's Crossroads Battlefield as an affiliated
site of the National Park System. S. 1943 also would establish
an affiliation of the National Park System of nearly 350 acres
of land where the December 31, 1862 Battle of Parker's
Crossroads occurred between Confederate forces under General
Forrest and two Federal brigades under the command of General
Sullivan.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1943 was introduced by Senator Alexander on August 5,
2015. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S.
1785 on March 17, 2016.
A companion bill, H.R. 87, was introduced in the House of
Representatives by Representative Blackburn on January 6, 2015.
The Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on H.R. 87 on
February 11, 2016. The House Natural Resources Committee
reported H.R. 87, as amended, on March 16, 2016, and the House
of Representatives passed the bill as amended, by voice vote on
June 7, 2016. H.R. 87 was referred to the Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources on June 8, 2016.
In the 113th Congress, Senator Alexander introduced S.1785,
on December 10, 2013. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a
hearing on the bill on July 23, 2014 (S. Hrg. 113-493). A
companion bill, H.R. 63, was introduced in the House of
Representatives by Representative Blackburn on January 3, 2013,
and was referred to the Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation on January 31, 2013.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on July 13, 2016, and ordered S. 1943
favorably reported as amended.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on July 13, 2016, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
1943, if amended and described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
During its consideration of S. 1943, the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources adopted two amendments to modify
the dates of two maps used to describe the acquisition.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides a short title for the measure.
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 provides the definitions of key terms.
Section 3. Areas to be added to Shiloh National Military Park
Section 3(a) modifies the boundary of the Shiloh National
Military Park to include the Fallen Timbers, Russel House, and
Davis Bridge Battlefields.
Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to acquire the land
by donation, purchase from willing sellers with donated or
appropriated funds, or exchange.
Subsection (c) directs that the acquired lands shall be
administered as a part of the Park.
Section 4. Establishment of affiliated area
Section 4(a) establishes Parker's Crossroads Battlefield as
an affiliated area of the National Park System.
Subsection (b) provides a map-based description of the
affiliated area.
Subsection (c) authorizes the management associated with
the addition of the affiliated area.
Subsection (d) deems the City of Parkers Crossroads and the
Tennessee Historical Commission to be the joint management
entity for the affiliated area.
Subsection (e) authorizes the Secretary to provide
technical assistance and enter into cooperative agreements with
the management entity.
Subsection (f) clarifies that the Act does not authorize
the Secretary to acquire property at the affiliated area or to
assume overall financial responsibility for the affiliated
area.
Subsection (g) directs the Secretary, in consultation with
the management entity to develop a general management plan for
the affiliated area and to transmit that plan to the
Congressional committees of jurisdiction within three years of
receiving funding to carry out the Act.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 5, 2016.
Hon. Lisa Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1943, the Shiloh
National Military Park Boundary Adjustment and Parker's
Crossroads Battlefield Designation Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Hadley
(For Keith Hall).
Enclosure.
S. 1943--Shiloh National Military Park Boundary Adjustment and Parker's
Crossroads Battlefield Designation Act
S. 1943 would revise the boundary of the Shiloh National
Military Park in Mississippi to include three additional Civil
War battlefield areas over approximately 2,100 acres. The bill
stipulates that the National Park Service (NPS) may acquire the
additional land through donation, with donated funds, with
appropriated amounts, or through a land exchange. The bill also
would designate Parker's Crossroads Battlefield in Henderson
County, Tennessee, as an affiliated area of the National Park
System and would direct the NPS to develop a management plan
for the area.
Based on recent sale prices of comparable tracts of land in
the areas where land would be purchased, and information from
the NPS, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would
cost $2 million to $5 million over the 2017-2021 period,
assuming the land was acquired with appropriated funds over the
next five years. Based on information from the NPS, the cost of
developing the management plan required by the legislation
would be insignificant.
Because enacting S. 1943 would not affect direct spending
or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting S. 1943 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2027.
S. 1943 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would benefit the City of Parker's Crossroads and the Tennessee
Historical Commission by authorizing federal assistance for the
management of an historic battlefield. Any costs incurred by
those entities under cooperative agreements with the NPS would
result from participation in a voluntary federal program.
On April 21, 2016, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
87, the Shiloh National Military Park Boundary Adjustment and
Parker's Crossroads Battlefield Designation Act, as ordered
reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on March
16, 2016. The two pieces of legislation are similar and CBO's
estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 1943. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 1943, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1943, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the
March 17, 2016, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S.
1943 follows:
Statement of Peggy O'Dell, Deputy Director for Operations, National
Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the
Interior on S. 1943, a bill to modify the boundary of Shiloh
National Military Park in the States of Tennessee and
Mississippi, to establish Parker's Crossroads Battlefield in
the state of Tennessee as an affiliated area of the National
Park System, and for other purposes.
The Department supports S. 1943 with technical amendments.
S. 1943 would add three sites related to the Siege and
Battle of Corinth to the boundary of Shiloh National Military
Park. In 1991, the ``Siege and Battle of Corinth Sites'' was
designated a National Historic Landmark. The Corinth
Battlefield Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-271)
authorized the creation of the Corinth Unit, as part of Shiloh
National Military Park, to ``interpret the Siege and Battle of
Corinth and other Civil War actions in the area in and around
the city of Corinth, Mississippi.'' The legislation defined a
large partnership role with state, local, and private park
partners in the planning, development and interpretation of the
unit. The law also authorized a special resource study to
identify and determine any other areas that would be
appropriate for inclusion in the unit.
The ``Corinth Special Resource Study and Boundary
Adjustment Environmental Assessment,'' completed in 2004,
identified 18 sites that have a high degree of integrity and
significant resources that would provide opportunities for
public enjoyment, and recommended that these be included in the
boundary of the Corinth Unit of Shiloh National Military Park.
In 2007, Congress amended the Corinth Battlefield Protection
Act of 2000 (Public Law 110-161, Section 127) to expand the
boundary of the Corinth Unit of Shiloh National Military Park
to include 12 of those sites.
S. 1943 would modify the boundary of Shiloh National
Military Park to include three of the six remaining sites
identified in the 2004 special resource study. These three
sites--the battlefields of Fallen Timbers, Russell House, and
Davis Bridge--would contribute significantly to telling the
remarkable story of the United States Army's Mississippi Valley
Campaign during the Civil War, especially the Battle of Shiloh,
Tennessee, and the Siege of Corinth, Mississippi. The
Mississippi Valley Campaign was a major milestone on the road
that led to the final success of the Union Army in the war and
the ultimate reunification of the nation.
The first battlefield that S. 1943 would include in
Shiloh's authorized boundary is Fallen Timbers. On April 8,
1862, after two days of fierce fighting at Shiloh, Major
General Ulysses S. Grant dispatched Brigadier General William
T. Sherman on a reconnaissance to investigate Confederate
intentions. Sherman encountered a large Confederate field
hospital protected by a force of Southern cavalry under
Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest in an area called
Fallen Timbers. Sherman advanced against the Confederate force
and captured the field hospital with its surgeons and about 250
wounded Southern soldiers and about 50 wounded U.S. soldiers
that had been previously captured by the Confederates. After
this engagement, the Confederates retreated to Corinth and
Sherman returned to Shiloh Church. Thus, the final shots of the
Battle of Shiloh were fired at Fallen Timbers. A cautious and
methodical U.S. Army advance would mark the beginning of the
advance upon, and siege of Corinth.
The Fallen Timbers Battlefield site consists of 468 acres
of agricultural and forested land, a small portion of which is
developed. The Civil War Trust has acquired approximately 270
acres of this land with the intention of donating it to the
federal government. The remaining 198 acres that would be
included in the boundary are in private ownership.
The second battlefield that S. 1943 would include in
Shiloh's authorized boundary is the Russell House. On May 17,
1862, during the advance upon Corinth, U.S. forces, led by
Major General Sherman, fought a Confederate brigade and
compelled the Southern force to abandon its strong outpost at
the Russell House situated on the Tennessee-Mississippi state
line. Because the position possessed a great natural strength,
Sherman's men lost no time fortifying it and driving the enemy
further south toward Corinth.
The pastoral setting of the Russell House Battlefield
retains a high degree of integrity, contains the extant remains
of field fortifications, and has high potential for
archeological survey and research. The approximately 666-acre
tract that would be included in the boundary is in private
ownership.
The third battlefield that S. 1943 would include in
Shiloh's authorized boundary is Davis Bridge. On October 5,
1862, U.S. troops attacked a retreating Confederate force at
Davis Bridge on the Hatchie River. The Federals drove the
Confederates back across the river, seized the bridge, and
charged into a thicket east of the river. Confederates
defending the heights overlooking the crossing to the east
inflicted heavy casualties on the Federals and checked their
further advance, thereby permitting the defeated Confederate
force to retreat south into Mississippi. The engagement at
Davis Bridge was the last Confederate offensive in Mississippi.
In 1998, a 598-acre portion of the Davis Bridge Battlefield
was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The
bridge across the Hatchie River has long since washed away and
the banks of the river have undergone erosion, but the 1,090
acres proposed to be included in the park boundary retain a
high degree of integrity with much of the acreage remaining in
agricultural cultivation or woodlands. The State of Tennessee
owns approximately 845 of these acres. An approximately five-
acre plot, which is a contributing property to the Siege and
Battle of Corinth National Historic Landmark, has been donated
to the National Park Service by the Davis Bridge Memorial
Foundation.
If this legislation is enacted, we anticipate that we would
acquire the majority of land by donation and that we would not
develop visitor services or facilities at the three sites for
the foreseeable future. Therefore, land acquisition and
development costs would be minimal. Our current estimate for
administrative costs associated with land donation at the three
sites is $60,000 to cover title searches, environmental site
assessments, and closing actions, subject to the availability
of appropriations.
S. 1943 would also establish Parker's Crossroads
Battlefield in the State of Tennessee as an affiliated area of
the National Park System. The bill designates the city of
Parkers Crossroads and the Tennessee Historical Commission as
the management entity for the affiliated area and authorizes
the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical assistance
and enter into cooperative agreements with the management
entity for the purpose of providing financial assistance for
the marketing, marking, interpretation, and preservation of the
affiliated area. As an affiliated area, Parker's Crossroads
Battlefield would continue under non-federal ownership and
management, but the owner would be required to administer the
site consistent with laws applicable to units of the National
Park System.
Affiliated areas comprise a variety of locations in the
United States that preserve significant properties outside of
the National Park System. Some of these have been designated by
Acts of Congress and others have been designated
administratively. All draw on technical assistance or financial
aid from the National Park Service.
The Parker's Crossroads Battlefield is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places and is significant for its
role in the military history of the Civil War and its
archeological potential to yield information concerning the
battle. The Parker's Crossroads Battlefield was the final
engagement of Confederate now-Brigadier General Nathan Bedford
Forrest's West Tennessee raid of December, 1862, which resulted
in the disruption of Major General Ulysses S. Grant's supply
lines as his army advanced towards Vicksburg. Forrest's raid
and the simultaneous destruction of Grant's supply depot at
Holly Spring, Mississippi, caused Grant to end his overland
campaign against Vicksburg.
Since the battle, the area has remained largely in
agricultural fields and forests consistent with its appearance
in 1862, and the site retains a high degree of integrity. It is
likely that the site contains physical remnants of the battle
that can provide information concerning troop movements and
areas where primary fighting occurred. The site is known to
contain the remains of soldiers who were killed during the
fighting and other burials may have also occurred there.
We recommend amending both of the dates of the map
referenced in S. 1943 to allow for more current maps to be
substituted. Those amendments are attached.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be happy
to answer any questions you or any members of the subcommittee
may have.
proposed amendments to s. 1943, shiloh national military park boundary
adjustment and parker's crossroads battlefield designation act
On page 2, line 18, strike ``April 2012'' and insert ``July
2014''.
On page 3, line 11, strike ``April 2012'' and insert ``July
2014''.
Explanation
The above amendments would update the map references to
more current maps.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered
reported.
[all]