Incorporating the historic Newtonia battlefields and the Richey Mansion into the National Park Service’s efforts to preserve important Civil War sites had appeared on a fast track after the proposal won approval in the U.S. House in December.
But things have changed in Congress and the plan has been reintroduced by its champion, Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-7th District.
Still, there is reason for confidence and optimism to believe that the Newtonia battlefields will wind up one day being nationally recognized, perhaps folded into the management of the Wilson’s Creek battlefield in Springfield.
On the plus side is the fact last month’s proposal passed with bipartisan support.
Furthermore, a good case can be made on behalf of the historical significance of the battlefields.
The first battle of Newtonia, on Sept. 30, 1862, was the first — or, at least, believed to be — in which American Indian troops, led by Indian officers, met in bloody combat against each other. That alone makes the site historically valuable or, as Kay Hively, who represented the Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association, noted: “... the site best suited to tell the story of Native American participation in the Civil War.”
On Oct. 28, 1864, Gen. Stirling Price’s retreating Confederate troops were attacked by Union cavalry in what was the final engagement between Northern and Southern soldiers in Missouri. It also is recognized as among the last Civil War battles west of the Mississippi.
Part of the battlefields and the Richey Mansion are being protected by the Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association. But federal oversight and assistance are needed for long-term preservation of these unquestionably historic fields of conflict from the encroachment of modern-day expansion. They should be protected by the National Parks Service.
