When It Comes to Sight Lines In Civil War-era National Parks Is Not Without Controversy
When General Robert E. Lee's troops were battling the Union forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862, his cannons atop Lee's Hill and nearby Howison Hill had clear lines of fire.
Those views were made possible by "pioneers," special troop detachments whose jobs entailed building breastworks and clearing trees to provide open lines of fire for the artillery. So good were they at their tasks, and so brutally effective was the cannonry, that the general was heard to mutter, "It is well that war is so terrible, or we would grow too fond of it."
Today, quite a few of those sightlines at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park are heavily overgrown, making it impossible for visitors to clearly visualize the battlefield that once sprawled before General Lee. Park Superintendent Russ Smith realizes the problem, and has plans to clear some of the vegetation to recreate some of the views General Lee and his cannons had.
"Our tree clean-up and trimming contract is finally in place. Opening up the vista from Lee Hill is part of that project," says Superintendent Smith. "We found it will be a bit of a challenge to make much headway since the trees are so large. We'll see what we can do. We'd hate to have to take mature trees down completely."
Indeed, National Park Service managers are pretty careful when it comes to dealing with troublesome trees. Historically, the Park Service's role has been to be thoughtful when it comes to tinkering with the environment.
Read entire article at National Parks Travel
Those views were made possible by "pioneers," special troop detachments whose jobs entailed building breastworks and clearing trees to provide open lines of fire for the artillery. So good were they at their tasks, and so brutally effective was the cannonry, that the general was heard to mutter, "It is well that war is so terrible, or we would grow too fond of it."
Today, quite a few of those sightlines at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park are heavily overgrown, making it impossible for visitors to clearly visualize the battlefield that once sprawled before General Lee. Park Superintendent Russ Smith realizes the problem, and has plans to clear some of the vegetation to recreate some of the views General Lee and his cannons had.
"Our tree clean-up and trimming contract is finally in place. Opening up the vista from Lee Hill is part of that project," says Superintendent Smith. "We found it will be a bit of a challenge to make much headway since the trees are so large. We'll see what we can do. We'd hate to have to take mature trees down completely."
Indeed, National Park Service managers are pretty careful when it comes to dealing with troublesome trees. Historically, the Park Service's role has been to be thoughtful when it comes to tinkering with the environment.