The casualties were astounding, a stouinstounding to soldiers, generals and those left back home. Amidst the staggering losses at cole harbor, for every soldier killed, wounded or captured, there was a family. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters that also felt the loss. The loss of the men that fell at cole harbor in the spring of 1864 reverb rasreverberated thr kmunlts a communities across the north and south. The battlegrounds left indelible kbag impacts on the living left behind. So, too, were the believes of the men who fought that bloody spring. Indeed, in spite of so many lost lives, those believes and ideas about nation, government and home became even more deeply enslie enshrined in the hearts and minds of those left to fight on tonight to reflect upon and learn from today. Writing soon after the war with a perspective on hindsight. Sally putnam came to believe that in its own unique way, cole harbor had been a landmark event in the 1866 Campaign AcrossCentral Virginia. She wrote, the battle of cold harbor forever removed the impression of general lees army and ended the attempt to take richmond from the north side. The barefooted, ragged, illfed rebel army which had been under fire for more than a month had achieved a succession of victories unparalleled in the history of modern warfare. However, putnam also noted the resolution of the union army and its leader, saying the most striking feature in the character of this distinguished federal army seems to be quiet determination and indomitable perseverance and energy. Under similar disappointment, another would have had his courage so shaken that he would gladly have foregone an undertaking that promised so little fulfillment and success. He had received, from the battle of the wilderness to that of cold harbor, repeated and powerful repulses. His losses in men were unparalleled in the whole history of the struggle, but his perseverance was undisturbed. That quiet determination of Ulysses Grant so evident to a noncombatant in richmond fought on in the army. The rank and file gained renewed energy from recognizing grants tenacity of purpose. The reflection on the men was perfectly explained by a fellow officer named adams. He wrote that the army of the potomac had literally marched in blood and agony from the rabbit end to the james. All this fighting has been unsuccessful fighting. Hard, brutal, barren pounding, yet we have a great fighter in grant. He takes ahold of his work as one having confidence in himself and not the least afraid of his adversary. He is bold and takes great risk, thus inspiring confidence in his army. One can see that grant believes in incessant fighting and marching as producing necessary results, not only on his own army but on the enemy. If his army is fought and worked out and exhausted and needs rest, it is not only likely that the enemy, with his smaller numbers, is even more so. And so the moment of greater exhaustion becomes that of the greatest effort. The battlefields are quiet and even alluring today. It is a notion that the men who fought here believed in something truly worth suffering and do you go for that draws us to this place. For each of us as we leave here this evening, we depart with the sacred responsibility to remember those who fell here and to ponder each for ourselves how we can properly honor those sacrifices and the legacy of what happened here. To them, we owe a great debt. Two years ago, we concluded each of our seven days battle commemorations with taps which we called a salute to the soldiers. We will do so again tonight. It is moving. It is deeply appropriate at this place and at this time. It is for them. Ladies and gentlemen, that ends our formal program tonight. I want to thank you all for being with us. It doesnt end the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of cold harbor. There are a few more programs to occur, and i believe that the church has been so kind to display a few more of our 16 colored pages of Upcoming Events and programs, so please take them with you, and well certainly be here to answer any questions, and thank you again for making the switch from cold harbor to fairmount, and we are so grateful to the folks at the church for all theyve done for us this last week. Again, thanks so much. [applause] our special American History programming in prime time continues tuesday night at 8 00 eastern when we look at the battle of fort stevens, when Confederate Forces under general early turned offenses before turning back in 1864. We go to the monocacn, two events that threatened the na s nations capitol. And at 9 55, with david floyd, the civil war defenses. At 10 25 p. M. , well hear if city park officials on the role of d. C. s civil war 40s and park forts and parks, how theyve been preserved for the last 50 years. All of that this month on cspan3. Heres more to add to your reading list. Cspan3s sundays at eight. I knew there was a risk in the bohemian, but i decided to take it. It stopped me from being bored, stopped other people from being boring to a certain extent. It made the evening go on longer to prolong the conversation, tone hans the momento enhance the moment. If i was asked if i would do it again, the answer is yes, i would quit earlier, possibly, to go ahead with the whole thing. Its not easy for my children to hear. I sound irresponsible to say i would do it all again to you. At the same time, it would be hypocritical to say i would never touch the stuff. Because i did know. Everyone knows. The soviet union and the soviet system in europe contained the seeds of its own destruction. Many of the problems we saw at the end begin at the very beginning. I spoke already about the attempt to control all institutions and control all parts of the economy and political life and social life. One of the problems is when you do that, when you try to control everything, then you create opposition and potential dissidence everywhere. If you tell all artists they have to paint the same way and one artist says, no, i dont want to paint that way, i want to paint another way, you have made him into a political dissident. If you want to subsidize housing in this country, and we want to talk about it and the populist agrees its something we want to subsidize, put it on the Balance Sheet and make it clear and make it evident to everyone aware of how much its costing. But when you deliberate through these thirdparty enterprises, fannie mae and freddie mac, when you deliberate through a Public Company with private shareholders and executives who can extract a lot of that subsidy for themselves, that is not a very good way of subsidizing home ownership. Christopher hitchens, Anne Applebaum and Gretchen Morgensen in sundays at eight now available at your favorite bookstore. Officials from the park service commemorate the beginning of the Overland Campaign which took place in may and june of 1964. The ceremony contains keynote remarks by James Robertson who explains the strategy of ulysses s. Grant against the confederates and how the campaign impacted the war as a whole. This event took place in spotsylvania, virginia, in fred lixburg and spotsylvania Military Park. Its just under an hour. As the armies of grant and lee marched in may of 1864, more than the outcome of battles, the tally of victory or defeat depended on their efforts. From the new york herald, april 13, 1864. Upon the campaign were about to engage, there depends the greatest issues upon which men ever went into battle. We fight for the principles of free government and for the existence of a nation whose institutions are the hope of the downtrodden people of every land. Our success in this Campaign Must ensure the integrity of the United States by the final overthrow of the rebellion. Success will give a new life to our country and a new faith to the stability of free governments to the world. It will also determine the next presidency as certainly as if the votes were counted. But if we fail in this campaign, that failure will be the greatest disaster in modern history. Upon general grant, there now concentrates the deepest interest with which the world ever watched the actions of a single soldier. He is the foremost man in the greatest contest of the age. When the nation and the world wanted to know how the civil war was going, they looked to virginia. That spring, robert e. Lee and his army shown clearly as the confederacys greatest hope. Ulysses s. Grant had come east to manage the armies in virginia, but ulysses s. Grant had never met robert e. Lee in battle. At charlottesville, a charlottesville newspaper editor wrote in april, the conflict has, in a sense, narrowed down to virginia and to this campaign. Uncertainty reined in new York Financial markets. Gold inched upward towards 200 an ounce. The looming Union President ial election gave confederates hope. From the richmond examiner, april 6, 1864. There is a pleasing prospect of collapse and ruin, both financial and political, for the yankee nation in this very year. It is due and overdue. But we must not forget to bring an account to a complete and final liquidation. We have to do our part, and our part is one crushing and crowning victory. And so the armies came. Welcome to all of you. Were very glad youre here. My name is john hennessy. Im Senior Leader in spotsylvania. We welcome you to the assess i sesquicentennial of the park here. Mike kacaldwell is here this morning. Superintendent lucy lawless at fredricksburg and spotsylvania park, frank oreilly, one of the historians here at fredricksburg. And our musician today is ray scott. If ever a single place reflect how this war came to be, this place is it. By the time the armies came to grapple over this piece of spotsylvania farmland in may of 1864, the stakes were so large, the previous investment so big that neither side would let go. This war was no longer a conflict about succession or even union. It was also about freedom, the extent and nature of the American Government and the future of the United States striving for an identity and strength on the word stage. Ulysses s. Grant came to virginia in 1864 with a relentless determination matched only by the common soldiers he commanded. The man who had the most invested and the most to lose by the effort. Robert e. Lee, by 1864, bore the weight of all confederate aspirations with an army no less determined than grants but increasingly unable to fulfill the political, social, cultural and economic hopes of a nation. Today we begin telling this story. We hope you will join us again and again over the coming days and weeks. John ashley is a student from Prospect Heights middle school in orange, virginia. Hes one of nearly 400 seventh graders from Orange CountyPublic Schools participating in the journey through Hallowed Grounds of the student, by the student, for the Student Service learning project this year. The awardwinning project of the student, by the student, for the student, which john will tell you about, is in its sixth year and has been partnering with nps areas throughout the 150th observance from gettysburg to Harpers Ferry and in 2014 spotsylvania Military Park. John ashley, who will also lead us in the pledge of allegiance today, is joined by jesse coin, the director of programs of the journey of Hallowed Ground. John . Can i ask that we all stand and remove our hats for the pledge of allegiance . I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Dilapidation and decay marked the course of everything on lord hill. People were gradually falling into ruins. An air of suffocation came on. The wind has a particular howling sound as if ghosts and witches were reining over. What supplies us with a womans unionist account of the civil war in 1864. She is my topic for the journey through Hallowed Grounds of the student, by the student and for the student project. In this project students script, film and edit many movies or podcast about the civil war in this region. This project has not only taught me the historical facts of the civil war but the all so often untold event that must be dug out of primary sources. These are things not simply found in a textbook because they cannot be put into words but are definitely stories to be shared. Vodcasts from this years project will focus on john w. Patterson, a colonel who lost his life on the first day of fighting, may 5, and sent his family into ruins. Burke, an africanamerican who joined the fight against slavery. The use of pontoon bridges in crossing the river and the constitutionality of succession. These experiences and stories which take history out of the textbooks and turn them into something that is alive would not be found by me or any students without the of the student, by the student and for the student project. For that reason, i would like to thank the journey of Hallowed Ground group, the fredricksburg and Spotsylvania NationalMilitary Park for expanding my knowledge and the knowledge of all those viewers of these vodcasts. I am sure they will thank you, too. [applause] how many of you are descendants of participants in this battle . A pretty broad number. We hope youll announce yourselves as you go on our programs. One of the things weve learned over time is that other members of the audience like to rub elbows with dna that has historical relevance. So we hope you will announce yourself as we go. We are pleased today to have join us today the regional director of the northeast region of the National Parks service, Mike Caldwell. To most of the world, director doesnt make your blood stir, but think about his job for a moment. In the National Parks service, Mike Caldwell is responsible for some of the most famous, cultural and National Treasures on the face of the earth from the bridge it conquered to Independence Hall to thomas he had edisons laboratories to gettysburg, and of course fredricksburg and spotsylvania as well. Hes served nearly 25 years in the National Parks service, a career built largely on historical parks such as valley forge and new bedford, waling. They demand a spirited and incredible work force, but by far is the role as advocate of the parks as community and within the government. Mike caldwell is a native of alexandria now residing near philadelphia. We are glad to have him with us here today. Mike . [applause] thank you, john. First, i think we should give another round of applause for john ashley. That was phenomenal. [applause] im here representing the secretary of the interior, sally jewell, director john jarvis of the National Parks service on behalf of the entire department of the interior and the National Parks service, i welcome you to these events as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Overland Campaign. We begin this morning with what certainly is the most expansive commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the civil war, continuing all the way to the battle of the crater to the end of july. For civil war enthusiasts, which i see many in the audience, i saw you on the way down i95 as well in many of the rest areas. For many of the civil war enthusiasts, the National Parks service will have many events in the coming months and the couple years ahead. They will honor the stories of the soldiers to be sure, but also the places and the larger stories that reveal the full reach and human impact of the civil war in the 1864 Overland Campaign. This effort is not ours alone in the National Parks service. It takes many partners to make things like this happen. Communities along the road from richmond and petersburg, communities and partners have risen up to help us celebrate the civil war sesquicentennial. The friends of the wilderness battlefield, the city of richmond and the American Civil War center at treteger, petersburg, fredricksburg, the Central Virginias battlefield trust. All these and many more have stepped up to help americans connect with their shared history. Id like to give a round of applause to all the partners that have helped make this happen. [applause] no place in america suffered the repeated affliction of war like Spotsylvania County did. Fought battles, the place of armies for most of two careers, it was a transformative event thatuc posed unrest for residen and brought freedom for 600 slaves who lived here. Abraham lincoln, in the midst of the civil war, right about the time thatc the seeds of petersburg began, he signed a bill giving yosemite to the state of california, really starting what we now know as the National Parks system. And here we are today in part of that National Parks system. Today spotsylvania is part of the same system as yosemite, as yellowstone, as many of the areas that we fondly have either visited or we share in their pre