I believe the only way to completely put this matter to rest is a complete archeological study of the Round Mountain and its environs. If someone with contacts at the OSU History as well as Archeology departments could convince them to fund a summer camp project it would go a long, long way towards settling this issue. Maybe Ralph Jones or someone else who has strong ties to the OHS can take the lead of at least guide someone through the red tape. This is the only way there is a chance to get the survey done. There will be a lot of pre-work to be done by military historians to examine all of the written evidence to determine potential campsites and movements of both Confederate and Loyalist Indians. I agree that the Payne County site is probably out of the running as being much too far to the west. I know that Ken Martin of our bulletin board has some preferences which I believe are further north than the Tower site. Those locations should be considered as well. Personally, I like the Tower site but I still have an open mind about the location. Working at National Park Service battlefields I have learned that it takes many hours to painstaking research which is then backed up by archeology to determine a location of an event. I have also learned that eyewitness reports, especially those made many years later, are very unreliable. Most soldiers didn't know where they were and were easily confused by smoke, fear, or other battle stresses.

The second problem is going to be gaining access to those properties since most of the potential locations are on private land. The first thing they believe is that once their land is determined to be battlefield land, they will be overrun by metal detectors or other unwanted visitors. Next they will believe that someone like the Civil War Trust, or a government agency is going to take their lands by condemnation. Believe me, I have been through this quite a few times. The final result of all of this may be that the Round Mountain battlefield will remain a mystery.

Chief Ranger Michael J. Manning
National Park Service
Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Tennessee