Congratulations to our newest board members Susan Meyers-Shirk, Peggy Nelson and Jane Powell. All three participated in our recent Strategic Plan initiative and are taking leadership roles as the champion for three of our action plans. Huzzah and many thanks for supporting the Friends of Stones River National Battlefield.

At our annual volunteer recognition dinner on Thursday, April 17th at Carriage Lane Inn, the Friends awarded the Volunteer of the Year to James Watson and the Partner of the Year to The city of Murfreesboro Park and Recreation, represented by Rachel Singer.
Nominee Finalists Paul Ecker, Steve Wehofer, Jerry Williams, Russell Small and the Blackman High School Junior ROTC were awarded certificates for their achievements. Congratulations to all of the volunteers.

The Friends of Stones River National Battlefield Board approved the nomination of Gia Trevino, CPA to fill a vacancy on the board. Gia's work experience includes working with not for profit organizations will be a great asset to the board. Her family has a long history connected to the battlefield and the creation of the Stones River Greenway. Congrats to Gia.

The ballot for the next election of officers and board members is mailing this June.  We will have a vacancy for the Treasurer position and we are now seeking skilled candidates to fill both the Treasurer and board positions.  If interested, please send an email with background information to [email protected]  

We are so excited to hear that the Tennessee Civil War Sites Preservation Trust has given a large grant to American Battlefield Trust to purchase over 32 acres.  The property is between Agri-Park Lane and Gresham Lane.  This will allow Interpretation of the first hours of the Battle of Stones River on lands dissected by both the Confederate and Union lines and where the Confederate assault pushed back the collapsing right flank.
When this purchase is completed, American Battlefield Trust has protected almost 80 acres of the original battlefield from future development.  The lands do sit outside the national battlefield's authorized boundaries so it will take Congressional action to add it to the park.  But the plans for both parcels are to add interpretative trails for visitor information and understanding.
We thank both TCWSPT and ABT for preserving this important history in Murfreesboro.

In case you missed the presentations this past Saturday in the National Cemetery, we are posting a new series of National Cemetery Stories on The Unknown Story.  Learn the story behind the soldiers buried in graves with no names and the factors that identified a fallen comrade.  Check it out at The Unknown Story

Check out the latest installment of the Battles Beyond Boundaries series.  This one focuses on Greshampark Drive which was the 1862 site of the Gresham House which was used as a Union field hospital.

The Friends of Stones River National Battlefield is sponsoring this Saturday's concert by the Tennessee Philharmonic Orchestra Brass quintet at 1:00PM.  Bring your lawn chair to the battlefield and enjoy this performance of Civil War era tunes.  This is one of the many ways the Friends use your membership and donations throughout the year.

The National Park Service celebrates its 107th birthday on Friday, August 25th.  A great way to celebrate is to visit a national park site near you, like Stones River National Battlefield.