CivilWar3

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[|Saving America's Civil War Battlefields: Civil War Trust] Dr. James McPherson [|American Civil War] Author Unknown The Civil War and the Wars of the Nineteenth Century. Britian, Reed. 1999. [|Civil War] Author Unknown [|Death and the Civil War] Author Unknown The Civil War. Tackach, James. 2004 Dear Congress,

America's history is resembled by numerous monuments and memorials across our nations capital. However, Washington D.C fails to have any representation of a war that plays a vital role in the type of country America is today. It is imperative to build the Civil War Memorial to not only show the historical significance of the war, but to also pay respect to the many soldiers who lost their lives fighting. The Civil War Memorial has many different complex layers that each represents something important. It is a time for reflection and remembrance. Many lives were lost in the different battles across the country. However, the memorial is also a time to celebrate the country’s step forward. The overall design is one that would change the tone of the National Mall and would provide another great monument to the already important list. In between the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and The Constitution Gardens Pond, a monument stands, encircled by walkways. Directly across the road from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, The Civil War Memorial rests before the Reflecting Pool. As spectators move from the solemnness of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, they will continue with the same serenity and peace to the Civil War Memorial. The Spectators will see the isolation that the war had, both on the outer country level, and the inner soldier level. Many soldiers returned with different scars. Some lost limbs, others lost their mental ability. When the soldiers returned home, they felt that they couldn’t connect with their peers. As the spectators are completely isolated from the rest of The Mall, they will feel the same feeling.  As spectators approach The Civil War Memorial form the encircling walkways, they see a massive dome held up by eight pillars isolated amongst a sea of water. The New World was surrounded by water on all sides. There was no outside help and this left the U.S. alone to fight its internal turmoil. The Civil War Memorial is an island surrounded by water on all sides, representing the isolation that the U.S. felt during this war.  As the spectators cross one of the eight stone bridges approaching the monument, they gaze down into the water that contains fish and other natural beings representing the rebirth that the country had after the war. As they continue to cross the stone bridge, they get a sense of the unevenness and the different levels. They continue to walk up the steps. As they do this, they feel they are on a different level from the rest of the rest of the world, the same isolation that the soldiers felt from everyone else. As the spectators walk in between two of the massive stone pillars, they see that water runs down the walls of them. The eight pillars represent the most important battles if The Civil War. These battles are: The Battle of Fort Sumter, The Battle of Shiloh, The Battle of Gaines’ Mill, The Second Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, The Battle of Fredericksburg, The Battle of Gettysburg, The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, and the Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. At the bottom of each of these pillars, a large number is engraved. It will not be explicitly explained, but rather just there. As the spectators circle the statue of the soldiers, they start to realize that each and every one of these numbers represents the number of lives lost in each of these major battles. There is water running down each pillar leaving the viewers with a feeling of calmness. As their gaze follows the path of the water, they realize that all of the water leads towards the center of the dome, where a massive statue stands. The sound of the rushing water adds to the serenity and the respectfulness of the memorial.  The spectators get their first real glance at the magnificent structure as they gaze upward towards the engravings on the ceilings. Both the Confederate and the Union flags are crossed representing the main conflict. Surrounding the engraving of the flags, many depictions of the different battle scenes lay. One of the most important features is that of the African American soldier. This war is one of the first American wars that African Americans have helped fight in. There will be different African American soldiers engraved throughout the wall, showing the significance of this event as it was another step towards racial equality. Another important thing to notice is the type of burial. Due to the lack of laws about burial of fallen soldiers, soldiers were just laid to rest anywhere. It is important to show the horrific events of this war because without showing them, history could risk the chance of repeating itself. Although the engravings on the ceiling might not be of the happiest, they represent the mood of the memorial: respectful, serene, and remembrance. On the first flat layer of the dome’s roof, the flags of each of the states are engraved in the stone, giving tribute to all those who contributed. Whether there was an enemy or not, it was still a country fighting against itself. The entire memorial is made of stone due to the sleek, yet jagged surface of the material. On the outside, the war seemed like a normal war, however, it was much more gruesome than that. Over 620,000 lives were taken from The Civil War. Brothers were fighting brothers and friends were fighting friends. It also will help project and echo the sound of the flowing water, enhancing the serenity feeling.  As the spectators continue onto stone bridges, they can see that the water is rushing beneath them coming from all pillars, showing that all of the battles together make up the entire war. Without each person’s individual contribution, the war would not have been what it was. It takes a group of individuals to make a whole. The eight walkways continue down differentiating themselves from the flowing water beneath. All things lead to the heart of the battle.  The spectators finally reach another circular walkway over the water that surrounds the focal point of the memorial. Standing amongst the viewers, two soldiers, one from the Union and one from the Confederate, stand shoulder against shoulder with grimaces upon their faces. They are both leaning on each other to symbolize the struggles of the war. Brothers were fighting against brothers. From the end of their bayonets, the Confederate and the Union flags hang respectively. Many people might feel that it is not appropriate to fly the Confederate flag; however, the point of flying it is very different from the normal reason of “flying” flags. Originally the flags were flown to represent loyalty and to show that someone agrees with those ideals and their beliefs. However, each flag is flown in the memorial to honor those who have fallen.  Spectators can circle the statue and then return back out the walkways. As they go across the lake, they will see the happiness of the fish and the other natural wildlife in the pond representing the Reconstruction Period of the United States. As the spectators leave this memorial, they get a sense of re-balance as they see the reconstruction and the rebirth of the wildlife. The image of kids feeding the ducks and the fish returns and the spectator has gone into the turmoil and returned, just like the United States did.