Sacred Ground: How Civil War Battlefields were Remembered by Soldiers

1. Sacred Ground: How Civil War Battlefields were Remembered by Soldiers By James Conway

2. Immediately after the War As early as June of 1865 veterans began building monuments on battlefields. Cemeteries were common place around battlefields, and although this is considered consecrated ground these places were seen as places of mourning. Enterprising private citizens began to turn Gettysburg into a park. Interest groups for both sides began to build monuments.

3. How the Soldiers saw Themselves The most iconic statue was the lone citizen soldier, he represented the volunteer who risked his life for values greater than himself. In the two decades that followed the war more than two hundred of these type of statues were commissioned. Had a variety of poses, which were used for different memories of the war. This was the first war were the monuments focused on the common soldier.

4. Establishing the Memory of the Battles Veterans wanted to preserve the battlefields as a way to preserve their memories. By preserving the battlefields the veterans could make their own shared memory. Preserving the battlefields also allowed veterans to explain the soldiers experience to the public. As sacred grounds battlefields became places the represented courage, valor, and sacrifice.

5. How the Battlefields are treated today Today the battlefields are still treated as places of reverence. Monuments and statues still receive prayers and treatment as religious sites by citizens today. Reenactments help keep the memory alive and active for the modern generation. Americans from all states come to visit these sites in order to be closer to the memories of these fields.