Wilderness Battlefield Friends seek volunteers to help with Park Day

Contributed
Published: April 3, 2008

The Wilderness Battlefield will be one of 110 Civil War battlefields, parks and historical sites that are participating in the Civil War Preservation Trust’s (CWPT) Park Day 2008 on Saturday, April 5.
On Park Day, thousands of volunteers throughout the United States work together to clean up and repair facilities, exhibits and grounds that represent historical significance.
Friends of Wilderness Battlefield (FoWB) is coordinating the activities on the Wilderness Battlefield, which is the largest of the four battlefields that make up the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The volunteers who participate in the Wilderness cleanup that day will receive a free t-shirt, donated by the History Channel and CWPT. This is the 11th year that Park Day has been sponsored by those two organizations.
Craig Rains, chairman of FoWB’s Park Day 2008, said volunteers were needed to pitch in that day.
“This will be a great time for hands-on participation by people who care about preserving the Civil War history of this part of Orange and Spotsylvania counties,” Rains said.
“Even something as simple as picking up trash along the highway is paying tribute to the thousands of men who fought in this horrible battle that helped shape our country.”
Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts who take part will receive a patch from CWPT, while supplies last. FoWB will provide free water and snacks to all volunteers.
Wilderness Battlefield projects will include pickup on roads throughout the battlefield, painting of the National Park Service exhibit shelter on Saunder’s Field, repairing and repainting a foot bridge at Saunder’s Field and painting metal signs denoting entrenchments along Hill-Ewell Drive. Other projects will include cleanup of the Longstreet wounding site on Orange Plank Road and the parking area of the Vermont monument at the intersection of Brock Road and Orange Plank Road. Other projects may be developed.
Volunteers should bring work gloves. The National Park Service is providing trash bags for those who will pick up litter and furnishing paint and paint brushes for those doing painting projects.
Rains said volunteers from as far away as North Carolina and Ohio volunteered to participate on the Wilderness battlefield last year. In addition, 18 Cub Scouts and parents from Spotsylvania County joined to clean up the Saunder’s Field portion of the battlefield.
Rains said local volunteers for the April 5 event should meet at 9 a.m. at the Wilderness Battlefield Exhibit Shelter, located on Route 20, about two miles west of the intersection with Route 3 at Wilderness. Extra parking will be available along Hill-Ewell Road at Saunder’s Field. In case of inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled for April 19.
To begin the day, a local historian will give the volunteers a brief overview of the importance of the Battle of the Wilderness, which was fought in May, 1864 and was the first time Generals Grant and Lee faced each other on the battlefield.
For more information on the National Park Day 2008 project, go to the Civil War Preservation Trust and http://www.civilwar.org/parkday.
CWPT is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its goal is to preserve the nation’s endangered Civil War sites and to promote the appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism.
Friends of Wilderness Battlefield is a nonprofit volunteer organization with members in 29 states and three countries. Its mission is to preserve, promote and protect the historic Wilderness battlefield, along with the history of its battles and the soldiers and area citizens whose lives were affected by the events of that time. Visit http://www.fowb.org for more information about FoWB and its events.
For more information about Park Day 2008 at Wilderness Battlefield, contact Craig Rains at 540-972-2844 or by e-mail at .