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thedrifter
10-08-09, 07:37 AM
National Public Lands Day needs attention

10/7/2009 By Lance Cpl. Lucas G. Lowe , Marine Corps Base Quantico

The training grounds of Officer Candidates School are haunted by the ghosts of the American Civil War. Because of this people like John H. Hayes, the base archaeologist, have taken special interest in preserving the lands that were once host to both Union and Confederate camps.

National Public Lands Day began in 1994 and keeps the promise of the Civilian Conservation Corps whose activities in the 1930s and early-‘40s were aimed at protecting America’s natural heritage, according to www.publiclandsday.org. This year, 150,000 volunteers around the nation worked in more than 2,000 locations.

Hayes and three other individuals, retired Lt. Col. Ken Curry, Bill and Anne Utley, met on Saturday to lay geotextile material on existing parts of an OCS trail that was home to the 2nd Tennessee Volunteer Regiment from 1861 to 1862 and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The site is one of the best preserved winter camps from the first year of the Civil War, said Hayes.

Due to erosion, however, parts of the trail have become virtually
unusable.

“This is the first small step toward solving the issue of erosion,” said Hayes.

For Curry, originally from Mississippi, soil is not the only thing being eroded in Quantico – it’s also a piece of history in which he has a personal stake. Curry’s family line originated in the Manassas area, and many of his ancestors fought brother-against-brother on both sides of the Mason-Dixie Line. Later the family migrated west to Springfield, Ill., before finally settling in the South.

“It’s amazing what you find out,” said Curry, who spent many years researching his family lineage, now standing on the site where, it is probable, some of his own progenitors clashed against one another 148 years ago.

Hayes expressed some disappointment at the unexpectedly small turnout for this year’s project.
“I didn’t think there would be a lot of people, but I also didn’t think there would be this few,” he said.

Despite its numerical disadvantage, the group managed to lay several hundred square feet of geotextile matting before leaving the site. Hayes hopes to garner more participation for future National Public Lands Day-related projects.

If you are interested in volunteering for this or similar projects, Hayes can be contacted at 703-432-6781.

Ellie