Response from Gettysburg's Superintendent over Gettysburg fixing "Southern bias"

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<center>Response from Gettysburg's Superintendent over Gettysburg fixing "Southern bias" </center>

Thank you for your letter regarding interpretation at Gettysburg National
Military Park and other Civil War sites. Unfortunately, the very brief
newspaper article released by the Reuters wire service, picked up by CNN,
and published in several newspapers around the country, didn't even begin
to do justice to my long conversation with the reporter about our plans to
expand - not change - our interpretive programs. I can assure you that
attention-grabbing phrases and headlines such as "fixing 'Southern bias' at
battlefields" were the reporter's or editor's words, not mine.

As Paul Harvey would say, I'd like to take a few minutes to outline "the
rest of the story" which didn't make it into print. The mission of
Gettysburg National Military Park - the reason this battlefield was
established by Congress - is "to preserve and protect the resources
associated with the Battle of Gettysburg and the Soldiers' National
Cemetery and provide an understanding of the events that occurred here
within the context of American History."

The first part of that mission - the preservation of the battlefield itself
- is our highest and most important priority, and one which many folks like
you from the Civil War community are helping us achieve.

The second part of that mission - providing understanding of the events
that occurred here - was the subject of my conversation with the reporter.
As I informed him, by an Act of Congress in 1990, Gettysburg NMP was
directed to interpret "the Battle of Gettysburg in the larger context of
the Civil War and American history, including the causes and consequences
of the Civil War and including the effects of the war on all the American
people." In 1999, a Congressional report added that Civil War
battlefields such as Gettysburg should "recognize and include" in our
interpretive programs "the unique role that the institution of slavery
played in causing the Civil War?"

With considerably more space in our planned new museum, it is possible to
expand (not change) our interpretive programs in response to these
Congressional mandates. The expansion will not mean an end of the
interpretive stories we have always told, for the central story of
Gettysburg will always be the story of the battle. We will continue to
tell the stories of tactical movements, the decisions of generals, the
engagements of opposing units, and the heroism and valor of individual
soldiers, both Union and Confederate.

But unless we can provide some understanding of why these two mighty armies
collided on this battlefield in the bloodiest battle in American history -
and what it all meant - then surely these men would have struggled and died
in vain. We are convinced that we can best honor both their struggle and
the overwhelming significance of that struggle in the course of American
history by putting the Battle of Gettysburg into the context of the causes
and consequences of the Civil War.

One of those causes, somehow, was slavery, as assuredly as one of the
consequences of the war was the abolishment of slavery. Whether slavery is
considered as an economic issue, a states rights issue or a human rights
issue, a war which began as a struggle over union or disunion evolved into
a war which destroyed the institution of slavery in our country and granted
citizenship to four million Americans. Yet most southerners were not
slaveholders and most northerners were not abolitionists. Each of the
165,000 soldiers at Gettysburg had his own compelling reason for taking up
arms. It is important that we tell as many of those stories as possible in
order to build a greater understanding of the people, the time, and the
issues.

Gettysburg holds a unique military position and historical perspective in
the war. The battle itself became to be known as one of the "turning
points" of the war, and the Gettysburg Address focused the nation's
attention on the cost, the meaning and the consequences of the war. When
President Lincoln spoke of a "new birth of freedom," he laid down a
challenge which is still with us today.

We are convinced we will not detract from the sacrifice and bravery of the
soldiers who fought here by telling this expanded story. Rather, we think
we can build a better understanding, a new appreciation and a new respect
for those who fought here and for what they believed in. And I can
personally guarantee that these stories will be told without bias or
prejudice towards any man, north or south, black or white, dead or alive.

I hope this information helps address your concerns. Thank you for your
interest in the National Park Service.

Sincerely,

Dr. John A. Latschar
Superintendent