NOTE: A copy of this letter was forwarded by Mr. Stark to the Friends of Resaca with a personal note that simply reads: "Keep up the good fight!"
May 21, 1999
The Honorable Roy Barnes, Governor
State of Georgia
203 State Capital
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Dear Governor Barnes:
I am concerned that the Civil War Battlefield at Resaca, Georgia will fall to a developer's bulldozer unless immediate steps are taken by the State of Georgia to prevent this. The Battle of Resaca is one of the first battles which I learned about as a boy in Cleveland, Ohio. Two of my ancestors, one who was my great-grandfather, served in the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. One of the rare stone markers on the battlefield is one which marks the position of the 103rd O.V.I. of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 23rd Army Corps (Army of the Ohio). I took on the task of writing my M.A. in History thesis, "History of the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1862-1865," at Cleveland State University in 1986. In it I devoted an appropriate number of pages to the May 14, 1864 Battle of Resaca and learned that the 103rd O.V.I. sustained 7 dead and 74 wounded. Of the 363 men who assaulted the Confederate works, 81 men, or 22% became casualties. To commemorate this battle, Levi Scofield, company commander of the 103rd O.V.I. and then 23rd Corps Engineer, was a sculptor in civilian life. After the war Scofield sculpted the greater-than-life sized figures for the Cu8yahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument which stands on the southeast quadrant of Cleveland, Ohio's Public Square. The scene on the north face of the Monument is entitled, "The color Guard." which was Scofield's depiction of the color guard of the 103rd O.V.I. at the Battle of Resaca on May 14, 1864.
I have not been able to identify the names of all the men depicted in the scene but two. Sergeant Martin Streibler and Corporal Andrew Clingman are the two. Both were killed and lie in Chattanooga National Cemetery. All of the others were wounded. I made sure that both men were included in the current edition of Dictionary of Cleveland Biography for which I contributed entries (1997).
The descendants of the 103rd O.V.I. Memorial Foundation maintains a museum on the property. The Battle of Resaca is a key event in the history of the regiment because after May 14, 1864 a slow but steady deterioration of the unit's aggregate enrollment began which would continue to sap its strength until the end of the war. Descendants remember Resaca.
The State of Georgia, and the United States of America can't afford to lose the heritage of the Resaca battlefield. It must not be lost to future generations. I hereby request that the State of Georgia take the property by power of eminent domain to preserve it for all times.
Sincerely,
William C. Stark
Fairview Park, Ohio
