Promise of Action

Round waited an entire decade from his first appearance before Congress until April 1912 when the full House Committee on Military Affairs conducted a hearing on H.R. 1330, the ninth incarnation of H.R. 277. Submitted by Rep. Charles C. Carlin of Alexandria, Virginia, Rixey's successor, H.R. 1330 provided for the secretary of war to purchase sufficient lands around the 1865 monuments and to build roadways from the property to public highways. The bill recognized that United States troops had erected the Henry Hill and Groveton monuments following the conclusion of the Civil War, and that the federal government had never obtained legal title to this land. H.R. 1330 also acknowledged the interest of veterans organizations in further memorializing the Manassas landscape and provided for the establishment of a commission to consider the perpetual care of additional monuments erected by these groups. [23]

Discussion in the 1912 hearing embodied many of the central issues that battlefield preservationists encountered in trying to obtain park designations, namely, justification of national significance and demonstration of reasonable cost. Round addressed the first concern by gathering a diverse group of supporters who testified to the patriotic reasons for having Manassas formally acknowledged and preserved by the federal government. But, as Thomas H. Lion of Manassas recognized, Congress also placed importance on "practic[ing] economy" when deciding how best to display national pride. Committee member Lynden Evans (D-Ill.) agreed with Lion and admitted that "patriotism is a valuable sentiment" that should be kept "alive in the hearts of the people," but he also wondered what exactly Round's group wanted done and how much it would cost. Questions then proceeded to uncover what parcels of land the government should buy at what price and where access roads should be placed for what distance. [24]

Land costs consumed the remainder of the hearing, though committee members agreed in the end that the proposal deserved further investigation. At the heart of the discussion, Congress wanted to know at what price the Henry heirs would sell their land. Committee members understood that the historical associations of the 128-acre farm justified some increase in price over comparable lands in less historically significant areas, but they questioned the reasonableness of paying more than $100 per acre, the amount paid for the New York monument land. Acting as a legal representative for the Henry family, Round defended the $20,000 amount the Henry heirs requested, which equaled about $156 per acre, by reminding Congress that the family had cared for the Henry Hill monument long after the federal government had abandoned it. In Round's mind, the historic value of the land justified am amount ten times over the $50 per acre other farms might receive. [25]

Attainment of battlefield park status appeared closer when Congress passed and the president signed into law the Manassas bill on 3 March 1913. Under the provisions of P.L. 412, the War Department appointed a board of three officers who surveyed the site, interviewed the land owners, and attempted to obtain a reasonable purchase price for the 128-acre Henry Farm and the identified 145 acres of the Dogan Farm. Still representing the Henry family, Round continued to justify in correspondence to the board $20,000 as a reasonable price for the historically significant land. The Dogan family agreed to sell their 145 acres, which included the Groveton monument and a section of the unfinished railroad where fighting in the second battle ensued, for $80 an acre. [26]

Success seemed imminent when the War Department submitted its report in December 1913 recommending that the federal government repair and preserve the two 1865 monuments and purchase the lands on which they stood. By obtaining these two tracts, the board noted that "ample means" would then be provided for the protection of the monuments and for allowing visitor access to the "principal points" of historic interest associated with the two battles of Manassas. In its opinion, acquisition of additional lands for memorial purposes was not warranted. However, Congress failed to act on the board's recommendation as international events turned its attention away from commemoration of past wars to the demands of World War I. [27]

George Carr Round, who died in 1918, did not see the Manassas battle fields he had fought so long to preserve attain park status. A year before his death, he made one more public plea, in a Manassas Journal pamphlet titled "Is the United States Too Poor to Own Its Own Monuments?" Driven by the knowledge that he and his fellow remaining Civil War veterans were quickly passing away, he pleaded that Congress replace this "National Disgrace" with a park. He argued that while the United States expended "billions for preparedness in the future," the nation should devote a few thousand dollars to preserve the Manassas monuments as "lessons for posterity." The Manassas battlefields traversed a few more curves along the national park route before the federal government satisfied Round's pleas. [28]