Work Begins To Interpret Pristine Mine Run Battlefield In Virginia
By Scott C. Boyd
(April 2009 Civil War News)

ORANGE COUNTY, Va. — The battlefield at Mine Run in Orange County, Va., called “pristine” by National Park Service (NPS) historian Robert E.L. Krick, and “one of the very best battlefields in the country for integrity of the site,” is the subject of an interpretive plan, thanks to a grant from the NPS.

The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) bought the bulk of the virtually unchanged battlefield, some 685 acres, in 2003 for $1.4 million (see June 2003 issue).

The $50,000 grant for the battlefield’s interpretive plan was one of 32 totaling $1,367,144 awarded last June by the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) administered by the NPS. The interpretive plan will suggest options for trails and signs that tell the story of this important battle while protecting the largely untouched ground where the Army of Northern Virginia and Army of the Potomac clashed from Nov. 27-Dec. 2, 1863.

“Mine Run was the largest campaign in Virginia during the 10-month hiatus between Gettysburg and the Overland Campaign,” according to Krick. “Actually something like one-fifth of the entire Civil War passed between July of 1863 and May of 1864, and there were only two campaigns: Bristoe Station and Mine Run.”

He considers Mine Run “an interesting window into the state of the armies.”

“It is notable today for what didn’t happen — the aborted Union attack that was planned on Nov. 30, which was very controversial at the time,” said Krick.

Cancellation of that attack probably contributed to Gen. George G. Meade being replaced by Ulysses S. Grant. “The [Lincoln] administration lost some faith in Meade because of what happened – or didn’t happen – at Mine Run,” according to Krick.

Meade had attempted to take advantage of some lightly guarded fords along the Rapidan River to attack the right flank of Lee’s army south of the river. Bad weather and prompt Confederate countermoves saved the day for Lee.

The CWPT hired History Associates Inc. (HAI) of Rockville, Md., to develop the interpretive plan for the Mine Run battlefield, including Payne’s Farm, the site of some particularly fierce fighting. Garry Adelman, senior historian and HAI’s Deputy Director, History Division, is the project leader.

He said they are in the research phase right now. “We’ve been assembling historical research from various places: Bobby Krick’s files, the Adams County Historical Society in Gettysburg and the U.S. Military History Institute in Carlisle.”

The team is trying to understand the battle well enough so they can answer three questions: (1) Where are the places most important to get people to? (2) Can we get them there? (3) How do we interpret it?

Adelman faces some challenges. “The fighting at Mine Run didn’t last very long and with the exception of roads, there are not a lot of items to which soldiers could refer that are still there.” That makes placing various aspects of the fighting on the actual land difficult.

In addition, there are gaps in the Official Records and other sources as to which units did what. “There are no real period maps that place troops and artillery units in certain areas at certain times, which makes it hard to place the actual wood lines as well, which is one thing to which the soldiers referred,” Adelman noted.

Another challenge is the “complete, absolute lack of any historic images taken at Payne’s Farm.” Adelman said there are no drawings or photos of the farm, although there are drawings of Orange Turnpike and other things associated with Mine Run.

“That’s a real interpretive challenge because wayside exhibits are really a graphic media,” he said.

“History is always rife with black holes and this site is no exception, perhaps exacerbated by the fact that the troops weren’t fighting there very long,” he observed.

The output of the project will be an interpretive plan that Adelman said will presumably include a certain number of wayside exhibits, “meaning here’s the text that would go on that wayside, here’s how that wayside is laid out, here’s the imagery that goes on that wayside exhibit.”

Additional media, such as podcasts or broadcasts, will be included if required.

“There will be, of course, discussion about the battle itself and the significance of the site and a description of the site and how it fits into the larger context of the Civil War as well as Orange County and Spotsylvania County.”

The interpretive plan will go through a process of review and comments. The draft plan will be presented at a public meeting sometime in late spring or early summer. There will also be review and comment by the CWPT and its partners before the final plan is presented. The project is scheduled to conclude by the end of the year.