| Over the past several years, the FSCWS -- through site identification, working with local governments, and solicitation of contributions, grants and other assistance including an innovative proposal for the Virginia Army National Guard to train its Combat Engineers here in Stafford -- has gotten over 41 acres of land and access easements set aside and secured over $1,100,000 dollars worth of materials and labor to build this park. Phase I park construction was completed last July over 18 days by 120 soldiers from the Virginia Army National Guard’s (VA ARNG) 276th Engineering Battalion. This effort utilized grants we procured including one for 5,000 tons of stone products from Vulcan Materials Inc., and one for $35,000 in pipe from Americast of Hanover, as well as assistance from the FSCWS and Stafford County personnel. Now 175,000 square-feet of road and parking areas are cleared and grubbed, 358 truckloads of debris have been removed, and two-million pounds of gravel and all of the concrete pipe have been delivered. Erosion and sediment controls are in. Our request for Phase II ARNG support in 2012 is in, has successfully completed initial review, and we are looking forward to their return in July 2012 when they will complete final grading, emplace and compact the aggregate for the park’s roads, and dispose of remaining debris, all while honing their combat-engineering skills. |
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The Friends of Stafford Civil War Sites (FSCWS), a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit, is seeking financial assistance to complete construction and open this truly unique Civil War public park. This park, now over 50 percent complete, is the first to focus on the winter encampments of 130,000+ Union soldiers in Stafford County, Va., during 1863. This period was aptly described by soldiers of the Army of the Potomac then and throughout their lives as their “Valley Forge.” Here they recovered from devastating defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and from the debacle of the Mud March. Despite these setbacks, that Army departed Stafford in June 1863 to win at Gettysburg and beyond. The sacrifices, training, and reorganizations that took place in the Stafford encampments were critical to the war’s outcome. One cannot truly understand the soldiers’ experience on either side without understanding the role encampments played in their training, organization, and sustenance between fighting seasons. We hope you will help to tell this story by contributing to our park construction effort, which, once completed, will ensure the preservation of multiple sites in a public park for all. |
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