Washington, DC – A proposal that won House approval last month, has been reintroduced in the 110th Congress by Southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt. The measure would require the National Park Service to conduct a study to determine the best method of protecting the 1862 and 1864 Civil War battlefields at Newtonia, Missouri.

Blunt explained, "The area around the Civil War battlefields will see lots of pressure in the next decade for residential and commercial expansion. The proposal submitted last year won bipartisan House approval, but was not considered in the final days of the Senate session. I an encouraged by the progress we made last year and will work again this year to see the effort fulfilled."

Blunt's proposes preservation of the battlefields as a new park, or management of the Newtonia battlefields by the National Park Service at Wilson's Creek Battlefield near Springfield. The National Park Service rated the 1864 battle a Priority I and the 1862 battle a Priority II for protection from development.

Kay Hively, representing the Newtonia Battlefield Protection Association, told a Congressional panel in September that the Newtonia battlefields deserve preservation by the National Park Service. Hively told the House panel, "While Native American soldiers fought in many battles, the first battle at Newtonia was unprecedented to have Native American units on both sides, led by Native American officers such as the great General Stand Watie. Newtonia is clearly THE site best suited to tell the story of Native American participation in the Civil War."

The 1864 battle was the last battle in Missouri, a state that had more Civil War battles than any other state besides Virginia and Tennessee. Approximately 350 soldiers were casualties (killed and wounded) on both sides in 1862, and 650 casualties were reported in the 1864 battle.

For a dozen years the Newtonia Battlefield Protection Association has led efforts to preserve the battlefield with the purchase of 11 acres and the National Historic Register’s Ritchey Mansion that was both a headquarters and hospital in both battles.