Monument and Landscape Restorations

Restoration is a long, precise and deliberate process—one that requires much of the work to be done by hand.  Using the same materials for the replica pieces as in the original construction is critical to the authenticity of the work and the monument itself. Maintaining that originality is costly, but necessary, to keep alive the spirit of those Civil War veterans who came together at Crawfish Springs in 1889 to break bread and make peace in the shadow of Chickamauga Battlefield.

Each monument is a unique design approved by veterans of both sides of the war, steadfast in their desire to commemorate the battles that took the lives of so many of their brothers in arms and in the belief that the Park should be set aside as a memorial for both the Blue and Gray. Over 1,400 features were carefully placed within the Park boundaries, creating a historical representation of the states, regiments, and soldiers that fought in the Campaign for Chattanooga. On this hallowed ground, where those who once fought laid down their arms and came together as a reunited nation, no monuments that glorify people or the conflict are found, now and forever. National Park Partners will help preserve these memorials as the veterans intended, in honor of our United States.

CCNMP’s Acting Chief of Resource Management, Julia Poland, is tasked with prioritizing repairs within the Park boundary, based on the urgency of the repair and availability of funds. The Thomas W. Jewell Memorial Fund for Landscape and Monument Restoration was established in 2009 by the Friends of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (one of the antecedent organizations combined to create National Park Partners) to enhance the capacity of the National Park Service to maintain these important memorials as authentically as possible.

Contributions from individuals, businesses, and foundations led to restorations at Chickamauga Battlefield including the Lytle Monument, the Florida Monument, the Tennessee Confederate Infantry Monument, and the iconic Wilder Tower. The Ohio State Monument on Missionary Ridge was restored through the Jewell Fund in 2014, through a partnership with a 4th grade school in Reynoldsburg, OH.

To donate to this important work of monument and landscape restoration, please visit our contribution page and follow the instructions at the end of the process to designate your gift as a donation to the Jewell Fund. Thank you for your support!