Home News ACHP Chairman Nau Commends Mississippi Battlefield Preservation Effort

For more information, contact Bruce Milhans at 202-606-8513 or bmilhans@achp.gov

January 9, 2003, Raymond, MS—John L. Nau, III, Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, today commended the partnership among Federal, State, and local governments and preservation organizations that resulted in today's transfer of 470 acres of historic Civil War battleground from the Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to the Natchez Trace Parkway of the National Park Service, Department of Interior.

Mickey Black (center) , State Director of the Farm Service Agency, signs the transfer as NPS Director Fran P. Mainella, Farm Service Agency Administrator James R. Little, Assistant Agriculture Secretary Lou Gallegos, and ACHP Chairman John L. Nau, III, applaud. (Photo courtesy of Greg Jenson, The Clarion-Ledger)

"This action preserves for the American public this place, which is vital to the understanding and interpretation of the Vicksburg Campaign and the outcome of the Civil War," Nau said.

"The decision that was made here helped shape what our nation is today. For generations to come, people will have the opportunity to visit and learn from this important addition to our National Park system. The Nation, the State of Mississippi, and nearby communities like Raymond, Port Gibson, and Vicksburg will long benefit from this historic occasion."

In 1863, following the Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, St. Mark's Episcopal Church (left) served as a hospital to treat wounded Union soldiers. On Jan. 9, 2003, the National Register property hosted the ceremony in which 470 acres of historic Civil War battleground were transferred from USDA ownership to the National Park Service, to be incorporated into the Natchez Trace Parkway.
(Photo: NPS)

The land transfer ceremony was held in Raymond, MS. Also participating were Director Fran P. Mainella, National Park Service; Assistant Secretary for Administration Lou Gallegos, USDA; Administrator James R. Little, Farm Service Agency, USDA: Mayor Isla Tullos, Raymond; Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Ken P'Pool, Mississippi Department of Archives and History; President James Lighthizer, Civil War Preservation Trust; various local, State, and Federal representatives, and preservation organizations.

The land transfer site includes the Dillon Plantation, where General Ulysses S. Grant was headquartered the night of May 12, 1863. It was there that General Grant, in consultation with General William T. Sherman, decided to redirect his army's advance and move against the nearby Mississippi capital, Jackson. This decision ultimately led to Federal forces' July 1863 capture of the city of Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi River, severing the Confederate States of America and denying its military forces the use of the river.

An independent Federal agency, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) promotes historic preservation nationally by providing a forum for influencing Federal activities, programs, and policies that impact historic properties, advising the President and Congress, advocating preservation policy, improving Federal preservation programs, protecting historic properties, and educating stakeholders and the public. For more information, visit the ACHP's Web site at www.achp.gov.

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Updated January 10, 2003

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