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Subject: [OHMAHONI] Re: OHIO-SAVE YOUR HISTORY-SAVE BUFFINGTON ISLAND-OHIO'S ONLY CIVIL WAR BATTL...
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 19:50:38 EST
Forwarding this for all interested.
Mary Ann H.
Listowner
<< Dear Fellow Ohio Citizen's,
My Name is John Rawdon, I have resided in Akron, Ohio for over 30+
years.
In that time I had never known that Ohio had in its possession a civil
war battlefield.
Buffington Island is it's name, and it's located in Meig's county Ohio.
In the less than 2 years that I've known of the battlefield, I have put
together a report on it, which took about a year to research. The
support I have received over it was so great that a gentleman built me a
website with the report, so folks can access it .The site contains
rosters links to as many units involved in the battle as I could find.
The importance of this will be explained in this letter.
This is all the result that this Battlefield is in danger of being
destroyed by a Gravel Mining co. named Shelley Gravel co. The Gravel
Company owns the site , privately, and has every right to do with it as
they feel free to. The historical importance of this site, is only
overshadowed by the humanitarian importance of the site.
As in any battle there are casualties, and Buffington Island was not
exempt. It is said that no less than 60 men are buried on the field at
Buffington Island. These are men from both sides of the war, and range
from many states.
This is what originally brought me to build my report. Only about 20 of
the men are identified, but no one is really sure where they are.I ma
hoping that someone might find their relative at Buffington Island.
The Gravel Company has agreed to set aside 40 acres that they say was
where the heaviest fighting was done & where the men are said to be
buried. A study was done that determined that this might not be correct.
They also have agreed that an archeologist be on hand when new ground is
broke , and work must stop if any historical items are uncovered.
In addition to the civil war aspect, the battlefield also sets next to
what was once a ford across the Ohio River. An Indian mound resides on
the 4 acre memorial to the battlefield, and several Indian sites have
been said to be found on the battlefield.
Is this what we really what for ourselves as Ohioians?
We have been given the responsibility as people to care for our fallen
dead, and we are about to bulldoze them for gravel.
Never mind the fact that the site is truly unique, as we dont have
another battlefield in Ohio.
Work is beginning at Buffington Island to begin the gravel mining
operations, I implore you as Ohioans, not to set back & let this happen,
without voicing your opinion. IF YOU SIGN- BE SURE TO LIST YOUR STATE-
I , at this time have a petition out , to show your support. Please get
behind this, if this site is far from you, dont think that your local
history is safe from what will happen to Buffington Island. Big Business
has no shame when it comes to chasing the Almighty Buck. The support for
the battlefield has been nationwide, and we should as a state should
save this site for the emmense learning & historical aspects of it, and
certainly not if only out of due respect for the men buried there.
Certainly , there are states out there that would give their eye teeth
to have what we are willing to destroy.
I shall say that I am working on this alone, and that, other than APCWS,
I belong to no organizations. I have been in contact with the Meigs
County Pioneer & Historical Society , which has a case in court,
challenging the laws stating about gravel mining operations, and how
they shall reclaim the land when they are done. They have been working
on the issue at Buffington Island the longest, and are probably, the
most educated in the issue as a whole.
I intend to send this petition to any and all politian's I can, and am
in the process of emailing the latter to, hopefully , make them aware of
the opinions of those signed on the petition.
Below is a bit from the Meigs Society, for those that are interested in
helping with the fight for Buffington Island.
Thank You For Your Time
John A. Rawdon
3471 Ellen dr
Akron, Ohio 44312
(330) 628-8138
VISIT THE SAVING BUFFINGTON ISLAND WEBSITE
http://www.geocities.com/buffington_isle/
SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE BUFFINGTON ISLAND
http://www.petitiononline.com/Buff/petition.html
I hate to sound like a sales man, but the Meigs County Pioneer &
Historical
Society has a lawsuit in court right now against the
Shelley Gravel co. It is basically the ONLY thing standing in the way
of them &
their gravel, and the gravel company truly fears it. The Society has
been in the
fight since around 1987 and have organized the annual reenactment of
the battle
in the summer ( this year July 14-16). Their lawsuit hinges on the
fact, that
unlike strip mining, which has laws requiring reclamation, gravel mining
has
none of these laws. But there is one "snag" in the law for the gravel
company.
The lawsuit hinges on previously untested part of the law that says that
"the
gravel land must be put back to its ORIGINAL purpose". Defenders of the
battlefield contend that the original purpose of that land is a
battlefield, and
battlefields cannot be restored once destroyed with 100-foot deep pits.
The Society is currently about $3000.00 in debt to their lawyer despite
the
lawyer cutting his fees in half. If funds do not become available, the
society
will have to bow out. They are non-profit and are not not able to use
the
society's money for this cause. I plan to contribute to them because
they are
sincere & have stated that they have even gone into debt themselves on
this
issue. In addition, this society is the ONLY organization in this fight
that has
legal council on hand for the fight.
I am currently about to email about 50 papers in Ohio to drum up vocal
support
for the battlefield. Unfortunately, more than half of Ohio is ignorant
to the
battlefields existence. I believe in my heart that "Big Business" and
corrupt
politics has coerced our state government to try to let this historic
landmark
slip away quietly in chase of the almighty dollar. It is the only answer
to the
reason our state would let such a precious historic site go and has been
so
grossly unloyal & uncaring to the
men that are buried on the battlefield.
So to answer your question, education & money are the keys to this
battle...Send
out this or your own email to anyone you know. People must know what is
at
stake & sadly enough, will have to pay to keep what should
not have to be paid for. If everyone that signed the petition was to
send just
$10.00, that would be over $22,700.00 , enough to farther forward on
this fight. It
is sad, but this fight comes down to money. Thank you very much
for your time. Johnny---------
Here are the folks I've mentioned: The Meigs County Pioneer & Historical
Society
P.O Box 145
Pomeroy, Ohio 45769
Margaret Parker, President
OR
Keith Ashley, Trustee
Checks can be written to Buffington Island Battlefield Preservation
Fund,
c/o Meigs County Historical Society, P.O. Box 145, Pomeroy, OH 45769.
All money
donated to this fund has been and will
continue to be used for the preservation effort. Monies have been and
are also
raised through special fund raising projects of the
Meigs County Historical Society. No funds from the general treasury of
the
Meigs County Historical Society are used, except for
sponsorship of the annual reenactment of the Battle of Buffington
Island, held
the third weekend in July at Portland, where the battle
happened.
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