On Saturday March 31, 2007, the National Park Service, in cooperation with Eastern National, the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Middle Tennessee State University, the Friends of Stones River National Battlefield and Teaching American History: Cumberland River Valley Consortium Project, will present a symposium that addresses battlefield preservation and Civil War commemoration during the 80th anniversary year of the establishment of Stones River National Battlefield. In addition to excellent speakers, this year’s event features the battlefield’s most popular public tour and rousing music by the Olde Towne Brass Band of Huntsville, Alabama.

The day will begin at 8 AM in the Rutherford County Courthouse with registration followed by four speakers beginning at 9 AM:

Miranda L. Fraley, Tennessee State Museum, and Jim B. Lewis, Stones River National Battlefield will present, “Remembering Stones River: From Burying Ground to National Battlefield”

Karen L. Cox, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, “Honoring the Generation of the Sixties: Women’s Role in Vindicating the Confederacy”

William A. Blair, Pennsylvania State University, “The Politics of Commemorating the American Civil War”

In the afternoon, participants will gather at the rostrum in Stones River National Cemetery for two Civil War music concerts presented by the Olde Towne Brass at 1 PM and 3:15 PM. A park ranger led walk to Hazen Brigade Monument, the oldest intact civil war monument in the nation, will be offered at the same times as the concerts. Beginning at 1:45 PM, participants will have a chance to experience Hallowed Ground: A Living History Tour of Stones River National Cemetery. This program, normally offered on selected Saturday evenings during the summer, is one of the most popular interpretive events at Stones River National Battlefield.

The registration fee is $10 and. For more information or a registration form, call 615-893-9501 or visit http://histpres.mtsu.edu/tncivwar/new/index.html on the web.