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City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

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  • City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

    On the westernside of Savannah, Georgia off of Dean Forest road, sits a track of land which the city of Savannah bought in 1999. This tract of land held the Owens Plantation, a Rev. War tavern site, Union seige lines and Kilpatricks camps after the fall of Savannah in 1864.
    Right now, the Savannah/Chatham county police department has a stable on the property. But in about four years, the city wants to turn the whole site into a landfill. The city knows about the history of the site, but they do not care. They are more interested in digging out the land, selling the dirt, and filling it with trash.
    In the last twenty years, most of the lines on the western part of the city have been destroyed. This is one of the only tracts of land that has survived the building boom of the 1980's and 1990's . In the last ten years, a plantation site with a large British Base was destroyed for the dirt just across Salt Creek from this site. Guess who bought the dirt? The state of Georgia for a new mega industrial site. The DNR Archeologists went out there and said the site was not deemed important to save. They were looking for prehistoric Native American artifacts. And, it was an election year and the powers that be wanted nothing to slow down the building of the new mega site.
    You should have seen the one of a kind American and British artifacts that were saved by artifact collectors before all the soil was dug out. Historians could have learned so much about British and American soldiers in the southern campaign of the American Revolution from this site. The destruction of that site sould have been a crime.
    So, who do you contact to try and save the site? The city will not help. They want the trash. And getting help from the State of Georgia, the state is almost broke. They will not help. Who do you turn too?
    Yours,
    Ken Myers
    Ken Myers

  • #2
    Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

    If you have ever taken a trip through Savannah you will find situations like this all over the city. Savannah is a very historical city, it played major roles from early Indians through the Civil War. One of my best friends who lives in Savannah took me on a tour of the city on my last visit and we hit almost every known civil war camp, battery, and any other important sites from Richmond Hill to north of the city and from Tybee Island to an hour and a half west. Almost every site we went to is now a subdivision. Several of these subdivisions are built on earthworks that are still there. Speaking of Landfills, the site where the Federals fired upon Ft. Pulaski from on Tybee island was once a landfill, but has now been made into a park. What I was getting at is there is a lot more problems with the destruction of historic sites in Savannah then just this one case.
    -Brandon Hand
    48th NY Co. F
    Unit Clerk/Newsletter Editor

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    • #3
      Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

      Hmmm, my brother-in-law -- a Savannah city official -- is pretty good friends with the historian Danny at the local fort. I'm in Colorado on vacation right now but I will gently try to get my inlaw's thoughts when I get home. Perhaps he can/will influence the elected politicians to do the right thing.
      Paul Hadley
      Lincoln, Neb.
      Paul Hadley

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

        Danny Brown is a great guy, and a great Historian, I will second that he would be a great go to guy to at least voice your concerns.
        -Brandon Hand
        48th NY Co. F
        Unit Clerk/Newsletter Editor

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        • #5
          Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

          Mr Myers
          Has their been a city council vote or a planning commission recommendation yet on this? How did you come across the information?
          Drew Gruber
          Drew

          "God knows, as many posts as go up on this site everyday, there's plenty of folks who know how to type. Put those keyboards to work on a real issue that's tied to the history that we love and obsess over so much." F.B.

          "...mow hay, cut wood, prepare great food, drink schwitzel, knit, sew, spin wool, rock out to a good pinch of snuff and somehow still find time to go fly a kite." N.B.

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          • #6
            Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

            Yes, I have known Danny for over 25 years. I remember when he worked at Fort Pulaski, and I worked with him when I was with the state DNR at Fort Morris. Tally Kirkland, who works down at McAllister now, trained me to be a ranger at Fort Pulaski in the early 1990's.
            The state DNR is almost broke. It is having a hard time operating its own sites. Danny would try, but he will not get that far. The state cannot get the Resaca battlefield off of the ground. I have lived here in Savannah for over 40 years. I know how the area operates. To save the site we will need to get an organization out side of the city to get it in the papers. That is why I am asking about organizations outside of Savannah.
            Yours,
            Ken Myers
            Ken Myers

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            • #7
              Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

              who do we contact to start this process of saving the works, if anyone or if it is still possible? I would like to try.
              Thomas J. Alleman
              "If the choice be mine, I chose to march." LOR

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              • #8
                Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

                well, first i would start calling congressmen and state reps..also contact the CWPT and other organizations....get some local civil war groups together and start doiong preservation marches??? Just tossing ideas out there, I live in Pennsylvania, so i'm not much help, but i hate to see things like that happen..

                maybe get a local university to do some archealogical excavations in the area and see what kind of civil war and rev war artifacts turn up, trying to prove that its a site to keep
                Rob Riley

                1st NC Sharpshooter Btn
                CSS Chicora Landing party
                15th NJ Infantry

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

                  Start with the basics. Chain of title; who owns it, whats the land value, how many acres, any easements? Find out in the jurisdictions comprehensive plan if/what that property is zoned for and its recommended use. Cross your fingers it hasn't been relic hunted. Call the State Historic Preservation Office or Department of Historic Resources and present them with the information available. Ask for any documentation of that or similar properties. Compare that area to the NPS, American Battlefield Protection Program maps available on their website, or in this case since Ga isnt done, give them a call.


                  Keep all this together and then start going through the jurisdictions planning and city council meeting minutes to see if there is a public source for the information. The personal tips are where it starts but a public and credible threat is very helpful if not imperative.
                  Drew

                  "God knows, as many posts as go up on this site everyday, there's plenty of folks who know how to type. Put those keyboards to work on a real issue that's tied to the history that we love and obsess over so much." F.B.

                  "...mow hay, cut wood, prepare great food, drink schwitzel, knit, sew, spin wool, rock out to a good pinch of snuff and somehow still find time to go fly a kite." N.B.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

                    Since landfill's are my buisiness(regulating-not building) here are a few thoughts- how big is the area-anything under 10 acres cannot really be profitably operated as a landfill.
                    What type of landfill-sanitary(ie-household garbage, etc) or Demolition/construction-get the local residents involved in a NIMBY protest or group(not in my backyard).
                    All landfill's, except those limited to natural earth materials, require a permit meeting the requirements of EPA's RCRA subtitle "D" rules or the state equivilent, if the state is an "Authorized" state-one with it's own environmental regulatory division and rules(which must meet or exceed the requirements in RCRA subtitle 'D')-Check and see who has issuing authority, the state or EPA-make your concerns known there.
                    Raise money and hire your own archeo consultant to do a report and assessment of the site-(There is at least one reenactor who frequents this site who does this for a living.) Present your findings at the public comment meeting -keep an eye out for the notice in the paper, probably buried back in the classifieds or buisiness section-most papers routinly put public notices in the same general part of the paper.

                    remember-politicians respond best to voter threats, not reason- get your NIMBY group started as soon as possible-be very vocal-schedule a rally at the site with lots of people and contact the media-
                    Leland Hares, 10th Tennessee (U.S.)

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                    • #11
                      Re: City of Savannah to turn Union seige lines and camp into land fill

                      Perhaps one may contact the Georgia Battlefields Commission.

                      Roy Queen

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