Men ever went into battle. We fight for the principles of free government, and for the existence of a nation whose institutions are the hope of the downtrodden people of every land. Our success in this Campaign Must ensure the integrity of the United States by the final overthrow of the rebel down. Success will give a new life to our country, and a new faith to the stability of free government to the world. It will also determine the next presidency as certainly as if the votes were counted. But if we fail in this campaign, that failure will be the greatest disaster in modern history. Upon general grant there now concentrates the deepest interest with which the world ever watched the actions of a single soldier. He is the foremost man in the greatest contest of the age. When the nation and the world wanted to know how the civil war was going, they looked to virginia. That spring, robert e. Lee and his army showed clearly as the confederacies greatest hope. Ulysses s. Grant had come east to manage the armies in virginia, but ulysses s. Grant had never met robert e. Lee in battle. At Charlottesville A charlottesville newspaper editor wrote in april, the conflict has, in a sense, narrowed down to virginia. And to this campaign. Uncertainty reigned in new York Financial markets. Gold inched upward towards 200 an ounce. The looming Union President ial election gave confederates hope. From the richmond examiner, april 6th, 1864. There is a pleasing prospective collapse and ruin both financial and political for the yankee nation in this very year. It is due and overdue. But we must not forget to bring an account to a complete and final liquidation. We have to do our part, and our part is one crushing and crowning victory. And so, the armies came. Welcome to all of you. Were very glad youre here. My name is john hennessy, im the chief historian at fredricksburg and spotsle vina National Military park and we welcome you to the opening of the sesquicentennial of the 1864 Overland Campaign. Before i really get started id like to introduce our guests here. Some we see further introduction as we go. Our great and honored guest is dr. James robertson, formerly of Virginia Tech, one of virginias great historians. Mike caldwell the regional director of the northeast reege of National Park service is here this morning. Superintendent lucy lawliss at fredricksburg and spotsylvania National Military park and Ashley Whitehead luskey, from Richmond National battlefield. And frank owe riley one of the historians here at fredricksburg. And our musician today is ray skon. If ever a single place reflects what this war came to be, this place is it. By the time the armies came to grapple over this piece of spotsylvania farmland in may of 1864 the stakes were so large the previous investment so big that neither side would let go. This war was no longer a conflict about secession, or even union. It was also about freedom, the extent and nature of the emerging government and the future of a United States striving for an identity and strength on the world stage. Ulysses s. Grant came to virginia in 1864 with a relentless determination matched only by the common soldiers and commanders. The men who had the most invested and the most to lose by the effort. Robert e. Lee by 1864 bore the weight of all confederate aspirations with an army no less determined than grants but uncreasingly unable to fill the social, cultural and economic hopes of a nation. Today we begin telling this story. We hope you will join us again and again over the coming days and weeks. John asley is a student from Prospect Heights middle school in orange, virginia. Hes one of nearly 400 seventh graders from Orange CountyPublic Schools participating in the journey through Hallowed Grounds of the student, by the student, for the student, Service Learning project this year. The Award Winning project of the student, by the student, for the student, which john will tell you about, is in its sixth year and has been partnering with nps areas throughout the 150th observance from gettysburg to harpers ferry, antietam and in 2014 with fredricksburg and spotsylvania National Military park. John ashley will also begin by leading us in the pledge of allegiance today, joined by jesse ocain the director of Educational Programs for the journey through Hallowed Ground. John . Can i ask that we all stand, and remove our hats for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Delapization and decay marked the course of everything at old laurel hill. Both people and place are gradually falling into ruins. An air of suffocating loneliness reigns, as the shades of everything come on. The wind has particular howling sound, as if ghosts and witches were mourning over the sad remains. This is a quote from catherine coos diary which supports us which supplies us with a womans and unionist account of the civil war in 164. She is my topic for the journey through Hallowed Grounds of the student, by the student, and for the student project. And this project students script, film, and edit mini movies, or broadcasts about the civil war and this region. This project has not only taught me the historical facts of the civil war, but the also often untold events that must be dug out of primary sources. These are things that are not simply found in a textbook because they cannot be put into words. But are definitely stories to be shared. Broadcast from this years project will focus on john w. Patterson, a colonel that lost his life on the first day of fighting, may 5th, and sent his family into ruins. Burke, an africanamerican, who joined the fight against slavery. The bloody intersection of orange pike road and brock road. The use of pontoon bridges in crossing the Rapidan River and the constitutionality of secession. These experiences and stories, which take history out of the textbooks, and turn them into something that is alive, would not be found by me, or any students, without the of the student, by the student and for the student project. So for that reason, i would like to thank the journey for Hallowed Ground group, the fredricksburg and spotsylvania National Military park, for expanding my knowledge and the knowledge of all those viewers of these broadcasts. I am sure they will thank you, too. [ applause ] how many of you are descendants of participants in this battle . Pretty broad number. We hope youll announce yourselves as you go on our programs. One of the things weve learned over time is that other members of the audience like to rub elbows with dna that has historical relevance. So, we hope you will announce yourself as we go. We are pleased today to have join us today the regional director of the northeast regent of the National Park service Mike Caldwell. In most of the world the term regional director is not a pause, doesnt make your blood stir. But think about his job for a moment. In the National Park service, Mike Caldwell is responsible for some of the most famous cultural and natural treasures on the face of the earth. From the bridge at concord to Independence Hall to Thomas Edisons laboratories, to skyline drive on shenandoah and the hallowed fields of gettysburg and of course fredricksburg and spotsylvania, as well. Hes served nearly 25 years in the National Park service, a career built largely on historical parks like valley forge, fort stan wicks, mon casey and new bedford waling. Regional directors do a lot of things, of course, including managing a spirited and committed workforce. But by far the most Important Role is an advocate for the parks in communities with farthern partners and within the government. Mike caldwell is a native of alexandria now residing near philadelphia. We are glad to have him as our regional director but more than that we are glad to have him here with us today. Mike . Thank you, john. First i think we should give another round of applause for john ashley. That was phenomenal. [ applause ] im here representing the secretary of the interior sally jewell, director john jarvis of the National Park service, and on behalf of the entire department of the interior and the National Park service, i welcome you to these events as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Overland Campaign. We begin this morning with what certainly is the most expansive commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the civil war. Continuing all the way to the battle of the crater at the end of july for civil war enthusiasts, which i see many in the audience, i saw many of you on the way down, 95 this morning as well. In many of the rest areas. For many of the civil war enthusiasts, the National Park service will have many commemorative events in the coming months, and the couple years ahead. They will honor the stories of the soldiers to be sure, but also the places, and the larger stories that reveal the full reach and human impact of the civil war and the 1864 Overland Campaign. And this effort is not ours alone in the National Park service. It takes many partners to make things like this happen. Communities, along the road from richmond and petersburg, communities and partners have risen up to help us celebrate the civil war sesquicentennial. The friends of the wilderness battlefield, the city of richmond, and the American Civil War center at tredegar, petersburg, fredricksburg, the Central Virginia battlefields trust and all these and many more have stepped up to help americans connect with their shared history. Id like to give a round of applause to all the partners that have helped make this happen. [ applause ] no place in america suffered the repeated affliction of war like Spotsylvania County did. Four battles, a continuous presence of armies for most of two years. It was a transformative event that imposed suffering on most residents, and brought freedom for the more than 6,000 slaves who lived here. 150 years ago Abraham Lincoln in the midst of the civil war actually right about the time that the siege of petersburg began, he signed a bill giving yosemite to the state of california. Really starting what we now know is the National Park system. And here we are today, in part of that National Park system. Today spotsylvania is part of the same system as yosemite, as yellowstone, as many of the areas that we fondly have either visited, or we share in their preservation. And in the midst of the civil war president lincoln had the foresight to start to preserve these places, these special places that we still save today. As part of the National Park system, places like gettysburg and spotsylvania will forever be an important part of our shared national identity. Thousands of visitors from around the world visit these sites, and other civil war sites year after year so that we will never, ever forget what happened here. And why are we constantly drawn to remember . Josh wow chamberlain who many of you know is a college professor, a soldier, a colonel and then a general after the war became a great advocate for the preservation of special places like we are on today. He explained, perhaps, better than anyone else his own connection to the great fields of the civil war. He said, in great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. So think about that. Something stays. Understanding this is no academic exercise. The required no great study. It requires only your presence, like that of today. It requires a place to remember. It requires your minds eye and the when the words of those who were here, like we heard when we kicked off the ceremony today. As you come to these places to celebrate this commemoration, or even if you are just out here on your phone, you know what Joshua Chamberlain was referring to. You understand what he was referring to. In the northeast region as john was highlighting we go from maine to virginia we care for many natural and Cultural Resources including many key Historic Resources that make up our collective history as a nation. They tell our nation it is an area where we were born and it is where our country came of age in the northeast. The nature of our business is that we cannot imagine these places alone. Thank you for keeping these National Treasures vivid, and viable, in the changing world that we live in. That so many of you are here this morning, and that so many thousands of you will be in the coming days and weeks that follow in the footsteps of history, and that you visit places like this speaks well to your commitment to the National Park system. On behalf of secretary jewell and director jarvis, i offer profound thanks to all of you for caring enough to join us today, as we commence the nations remembrance of the 1864 Overland Campaign. And id like to spend out a special thank you to lucy lawliss and her staff, as well as the many National ParkService Volunteers here, who are here every day of the year so that we will never forget. Thank you. [ applause ] from home towns like rich field, connecticut, and madison, mississippi, they came. Soldiers, and those they left behind home sensed that the Spring Campaign of 1864 in virginia would be unlike any that had preceded it. From the newark, new jersey sentinel of freedom may 3rd, 1864. The impending tempest. The quiet which prevails in our armies is justly felt to be the hush which foreruns the tempest. The war will soon be poured out with unprecedented violence. The magnitude of the events which are now being shaped has produced a great feeling of deep solemnity in all thoughtful minds and even the giddy and thoughtless are rendered comparatively sober and sedate. None are so stolid of intellect or dull in feeling as to be unaffected by the tremendous issues which are now at stake, and the terrific tragedy that is about to be enacted. Years after the war, a soldier from georgia bid his fellow soldiers to remember the beginning of the Overland Campaign. Dont you remember the long row . Do you remember how brigade after brigade filed into the road . Do you remember the march from orange courthouse to the wilderness . When, while passing over some elevated point, you could look three or four miles in front, and see the long line of confederates with their guns glittering in the sunlight. And the same to be seen by looking behind you. Do you remember how that inspiring scene made us think we could whip the world. We are a remembering people. In this tumultuous world of trauma and turmoil we insist not on forgetting, but remembering. It may seem odd to some of us that we do this. But again, and again, and again, over weeks and decades, and centuries, we remember. We are a remembering people. On 9 11, we remember. On patriots day, we remember. Pearl harbor day, we remember. Memorial day, we remember. We remember those who perished, certainly. We pray for those injured, and those left behind. Their lives and families changed forever. But we also recall those who by their acts demonstrate the fundamental goodness of people. Those who aid the injured, those who rush to protect our people and our nation. Those who, caught in the midst of horror, show courage enough to act not solely in their own interests, but in the interests of others. We are a remembering people, because in some way, in many ways, we know that remembering, though sometimes painful, heals us. As a people we should remember far more often, and forget far less. Today, this week, this spring, we come together on these virginia battlefields to remember. We do this for many of the same reasons we pause every 9 11, though our personal connection to these civil war stories is separated by a generation. We pay respect, we convey honor, we seek understanding. But we do more than that. This spring on the 150th anniversary of the 1864 Overland Campaign, our National Park service asks us to remember not just as individuals, but as a nation. To reflect on not just the acts of participants, acts both noble and harsh, but to reflect together on our on our nations winding complicated road forward to this day. Let us recognize the civil war was not just an accumulation of milestones, dates, places, but a moving, Massive National transformation. We learn, we understand, and i hope we come to value our nation as a result of the shared experience. We do these not me