News

Pea Ridge National Military Park Changes Operating Hours

Many visitors to Wilson's Creek NB also visit Pea Ridge National Military Park. Visitors to Pea Ridge should note recent changes to that park's operating hours. These changes include:

The park grounds are open 8:00am to 5:00 p.m., Monday - Saturday. CLOSED SUNDAYS.

The Visitor Center is open 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday - Saturday with some seasonal exceptions. The Visitor Center is CLOSED SUNDAYS AND MONDAYS, as well as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and ALL FEDERAL HOLIDAYS.

For further information, please call the park at 479-451-8122, ext. 227.

SPRINGFIELD MAN ADMITS REMOVING REMAINS

OF CONFEDERATE SOLDIER FROM

WILSON'S CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD

MUST PAY RESTITUTION, PERFORM COMMUNITY SERVICE

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Springfield, Mo., man has admitted to removing human remains from the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.

Coy Matthew Hamilton, 31, of Springfield, must pay $5,351 in restitution to the National Park Service and perform 60 hours of community service as conditions of avoiding federal prosecution.

"It's a serious offense to disturb an archeological site and to remove remains or artifacts," Ketchmark said. "We hope this incident will serve to educate the public about the laws that protect our priceless archaeological resources."

Hamilton admitted that on Feb. 27, 2011, he and a friend found the remains while canoeing down Wilson's Creek, through the National Battlefield, looking for archaeological artifacts. Recent heavy rains had eroded parts of the riverbank, and during the early afternoon, Hamilton saw a bone sticking out of an eroded embankment by the creek. Hamilton attempted to remove the bone, breaking it in the process. He then began digging into the embankment, removing additional bones. Ten days later, Hamilton, through an intermediary, turned the bones in to the National Park Service, which administers the National Battlefield. He was identified during the ensuing investigation.

"Wilson's Creek National Battlefield was established to preserve and commemorate this important event in our nation's history," remarked Superintendent Ted Hillmer. "Hamilton's actions were contrary to the core purpose of the battlefield. National Parks and other federal lands are for the public to use and enjoy, however, the protection of archeological resources, which are irreplaceable, is of special importance to us."

In April 2011, Dr. Caven Clark, cultural resource management specialist with the National Park Service, performed an emergency restoration and repair of the excavation site and authored a report on the find. According to Dr. Clark's report, the skeleton (which was only 29 percent complete) was that of a person at least 20 years old at the time of death. Gender could not be determined. During the excavation of the remaining skeleton, eight handmade, machine-tooled, bone buttons were found next to the skeleton's ankles. These buttons were manufactured between 1800 and 1865. The buttons determined the age of the site, and are consistent with buttons used during the Civil War. The buttons appear to be attachments for instep tabs typically used by mounted troops during that period.

The date of the Civil War battle was Aug. 10, 1861. The remains were found in a location that would have been in an area of intensive fighting. Mounted, infantry, and artillery units were in and near the vicinity of the find, which was just north of a road crossing the creek. The shallow grave suggested an expedient but respectful interment, head to the west in concert with Christian practices of the time. Finally, differential disposal of the dead following the battle suggest that this individual was part of the Confederate forces killed during the battle and quickly buried thereafter.

Hamilton signed a pretrial diversion agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, in which he admitted that he disturbed an archeological site and removed human remains from federal lands managed by the National Park Service. This conduct could have been prosecuted as a violation of the Archeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA), a federal law providing criminal penalties for excavating, damaging, or removing any archaeological resource located on public lands or Indian lands without a permit, and for trafficking in archaeological resources removed in violation of ARPA. Under federal law, Hamilton could have been subjected to a prison sentence of up to two years, and a fine of up to $20,000.

Hamilton agreed to pay $5,351 in restitution, which reimburses the government's costs of restoration and repair of the site. Additionally, Hamilton will perform 60 hours of community service under the supervision of the National Park Service.

The federal pretrial diversion program is an alternative to prosecution which seeks to divert certain offenders from traditional criminal justice processing into a program of supervision and services administered by the U.S. Probation Service. In the majority of cases, offenders are diverted at the pre-charge stage. Participants who successfully complete the program will not be charged or, if charged, will have the charges against them dismissed; unsuccessful participants are returned for prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the National Park Service, Investigative Services Branch.

CIVIL WAR MUSEUM CLOSES, NEW VISITOR CENTER EXHIBITS
TO BE CONSTRUCTED

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield announces the closing of the Civil War Museum on December 1, 2011, when the collection will be taken off display for cleaning and conservation work. The Civil War collection will return to public display, in new exhibits, at the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Visitor Center in 2013.

The museum objects currently exhibited have been on display since 1992. Many are in need of conservation treatment and new exhibit mounts to ensure long-term preservation. During this transition phase, a team of National Park Service museum conservators from Harpers Ferry Center for Media Services in West Virginia will examine the condition of objects such as textiles (flags and uniforms), leather accoutrements and firearms. Some cleaning will be performed at the park, with more in-depth treatment accomplished in the Harpers Ferry conservation laboratories.

The museum closing also allows the consolidation of visitor services that will streamline park operations. "These exhibits are a temporary step while the park, along with the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Foundation, continue to work towards a long-term goal of a future wing of the Visitor Center that will focus solely on the Civil War in the Trans Mississippi West," according to Superintendent Ted Hillmer. "This change in operations is a step toward achieving a goal identified in the park's General Management Plan."

The museum building will be converted to office space for the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network staff, currently stationed at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in office trailers.

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
Plans New Visitor Center Exhibits

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield is embarking on a project to update the Visitor Center and incorporate the park's Civil War Museum objects.

With a goal to display as many of the objects as possible from the current museum, project completion will allow all visitors access to all the available services in one facility, including an award-winning film, the Civil War Museum collection, and the John K. and Ruth Hulston Civil War Research Library. Today only 10 percent of park visitors take time to tour the current museum. During the exhibit development process, the Visitor Center will also be renovated to upgrade interior physical security, to improve accessibility by individuals with disabilities, and prepare the museum collection for display.

From September 13-15, 2011, park staff met on-site with the contracted exhibit design firm from Fairfax, Virginia, to begin the design process. The project will be in development over the next year. In addition to park staff, seasonal staff, park volunteers, and Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Foundation members participated in the planning effort.

"Exhibit projects are a collaborative effort," says Roberta Wendel, Interpretive Media Specialist with the National Park Service (NPS) Midwest Regional Office in Omaha, overseeing the project. "We have and will continue to involve a variety of subject matter experts throughout this project. Members of the Foundation certainly have a wealth of experience with the Civil War collection that can inform the stories told in the exhibits."

The park's collection contains an outstanding array of historic objects relating to the war west of the Mississippi, including the sword belt and sash of Arkansas Confederate General Patrick Cleburne, the telescope of abolitionist John Brown, and the flag of the Confederate "Cherokee Braves." These artifacts and archival records within the museum collection represent a nationally prominent and comprehensive documentation of the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi West. The NPS purchased the Wilson's Creek Civil War Museum and museum collection in August 2005 because of its critical value in interpreting the Battle of Wilson's Creek and the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi West.

A CALL TO ACTION

On the eve of our centennial, the employees of the National Park Service have imagined our second century of public service and charted a path to help us achieve that vision.

A Call to Action offers tangible, concrete ways for us to work together to transform our organization to make sure that we are ready for a future that is, in so many ways, different from our past. It includes bold new ideas and expands on terrific ideas that are already field-tested.

A Call to Action also signals the start of a strategic integration of national parks and National Park Service community-based programs. This will increase our reach and better leverage our resources to invite the American people to learn more about our mission and join us in the stewardship of our nation's most incredible places.

Every park, every program, every employee, and every partner has a role in this Call to Action. For it to succeed, for the National Park Service to succeed, we need your creativity, innovation, and dedication to make these action items real in your park or your program.

In this watershed moment, like no other time in our history, we have an opportunity to reflect on, celebrate, and build on our accomplishments as we prepare to serve for a second century. Please answer the call. For more information, click here.

Director Jon Jarvis

CIVIL WAR 150TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

For more information on Missouri 150th events, go to http://mocivilwar150.com.

Marker Dedicated Near Dug Springs Skirmish Site

On October 7, 2008, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources dedicated a new interpretive marker commemorating the August 2, 1861 skirmish at Dug Springs, near Clever, Missouri. Those present for the dedication included Larry Toll, professor of history at Evangel College and member of Phelps Camp, Sons of Union Veterans (Union soldier); Jim Denny, historian, Missouri Department of Natural Resources; Alison Dubbert, historian, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and Robert Clanton, member of Phelps Camp, Sons of Union Veterans (Missouri State Guard soldier). The marker is along the Wire Road on the south side of the Clever Middle School.

 

 

Ted Roller

 

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
Visitor Center Interpretive Film

The Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Foundation and Wide Awake Films of Kansas City have produced a new 29-minute interpretive film about the August 1861 campaign. The film is currently being shown in the Visitor Center. An extended version is now available for purchase. Photos from the filming may be seen by clicking here.