Money needed to preserve and promote Battle of Monterey Pass

By Jennifer Fitch/Herald Mail/February 3, 2010

BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, PA. — Donations are being accepted to preserve and promote the Battle of Monterey Pass, possibly through the acquisition of land in Washington Township, Pa.

The Washington Township Supervisors, on behalf of the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association, established an account for tax-deductible donations toward land acquisition and markers for the Civil War battle.

One part of the proposal involves purchasing a lot near Rolando Woods Lions Club Park, Township Manager Mike Christopher said. The privately owned property was appraised for about $100,000, he said.

“There’s no particular time frame right now,” Christopher said.

Preservationist and historian John A. Miller said the site could be used for a monument being purchased by a Michigan organization wanting to honor their state’s cavalrymen who fought in the Battle of Monterey Pass.

A requirement is the monument is to be placed on ground owned by state or local government, Miller said.

Awareness of the Battle of Monterey Pass heightened in 2006 during a “discovery weekend,” providing an impetus for its proponents to work with other organizations in the years since.

The battle on July 4 and 5 of 1863 involved Franklin and Adams counties in Pennsylvania and Washington and Frederick counties in Maryland. Miller said the Battle of Monterey Pass was the only Civil War battle fought on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.

“Weather conditions and terrain paid such a big role,” Miller said, saying panicked horses flipped wagons off mountain cliffs during the retreat.

Miller, who developed a 28-mile driving tour for the battle sites, said he envisions a day when visitors can stop their vehicles at several points to learn about what happened. A few markers are in place, but Miller said they need to be more consistent.

He hopes to fulfill many of the items in the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association’s conceptual plan before the battle’s sesquicentennial in 2013.

Better highlighting the Battle of Monterey Pass could help to tie the Gettysburg, Pa., attractions to offerings in other communities and boost the economy on and around South Mountain, Miller said.

“Since 2006, we have hosted 10,000 people,” he said.

On the net: www.washtwp-franklin.org

Washington Township and Monterey Pass Battlefield Association partner to preserve history, purchase battlefield site

By Matt McLaughlin, The Record Herald 1/30/2010

Wayne Heights, Pa. -

John A. Miller, shows the Monterey Pass Battlefield Boundaries during a Washington Township Supervisors Workshop. Photograph: By Matt McLaughlin, The Record Herald

Almost everywhere, irreplaceable historic landmarks are falling victim to development or apathy, but municipal officials in Washington Township and local historians are taking steps to preserve a unique piece of American history.

John Miller, founder of the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association, spent more than an hour with the Washington Township Board of Supervisors Friday afternoon, discussing the group and the Civil War Battle of Monterey Pass, part of which was fought in Blue Ridge Summit. During the course of his presentation he outlined the association’s plans for the future, which include establishing a battlefield site.

As a result of the Friday meeting and previous talks between the association and the board, the township has offered to help the group by seeking funds to purchase land for the establishment of a battlefield site in Blue Ridge Summit.

Mighty battle

The Battle of Monterey Pass, fought July 4 and 5 in 1863, began in Fountaindale as Confederate forces limped back to the South after the Battle of Gettysburg. It was the second-largest conflict fought on northern soil during the Civil War and the only one fought on both sides of the Mason Dixon Line.

Most all of the confederate artillery pieces, wagons and wounded [MPBA Editors note: some of the wounded did go through Monterey, most went through Cashtown with General Imboden] retreating from Gettysburg passed through Monterey. It was an agonizing experience that was well documented in written firsthand accounts, according to Miller.

“Never shall I forget that night’s march,” wrote John Marye, of the Fredericksburg Artillery. “Their cries and appeals to their comrades to leave them by the roadside or else shoot them and end their misery ring in my ears to this day.”

Areas of interest

The future goals of the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association include preservation of battlefield land, development of a signage network, construction of a visitor center, providing more historical interpretation and obtaining funds to meet other goals.

“Our number one goal is to identify and raise awareness to educate the public about the historical Civil War significance of the Monterey area,” Miller said.

One of the group’s short-term goals for this year is expand its historical interpretation, a form of teaching that involves reenactment and is sometimes called living history.

“We want to start directing some of the interpatation [MPBA Editors note: interpretation] programs to the children,” Miller said.

Other, more ambitious, goals will require help from its many partners and Washington Township.

One of the things Miller asked for Friday was a fund to be set up by the township so the municipality can serve as the nonprofit recipient of donations, which the board quickly agreed to put on the agenda for its next meeting.

With the township acting as the recipient for the association, donations will be tax-deductible.

“Research materials — that is the biggest thing we’re hurting with right now,” Miller said.

The reason for this problem is that many materials are located in collections that cost money to make copies of or even look at, Miller said.

A piece of history

But the biggest development to come out of talks between the township and the battlefield association is the municipality’s agreement to look for grant and other funding to purchase property in the area of Rolando Woods [MPBA Editors note: Lions' Club] Park in Blue Ridge Summit for a battlefield site.

Miller began looking for a battlefield site in the fall when he was approached by the state of Michigan’s Civil War Round Table about placing a marker in Blue Ridge Summit for the men of Michigan who fought in the battle.

To receive the marker, the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association first needed an actual piece of the battlefield, because of Michigan state requirements.

If the township is able to secure funding for the battlefield property, it would own the site, but a committee made up of the association and its partners would be responsible for its planning and operation, Washington Township Manager Mike Christopher said.

The township has already begun asking legislatures about funding for the property and also is looking for money from various foundations. It is also possible that someone with the money, interest in history and perhaps a desire to name the site could donate the money needed to buy the property, Christopher said.

On the net: www.washtwp-franklin.org