To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edwin Cole "Ed" Bearss, in recognition of his contributions to preservation of American Civil War history and continued efforts to bring our Nation's history alive for new generations through his interpretive storytelling.

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7385 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edwin Cole ‘‘Ed’’ Bearss, in recogni- tion of his contributions to preservation of American Civil War history and continued efforts to bring our Nation’s history alive for new genera- tions through his interpretive storytelling. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 26, 2020 Mr. CONNOLLY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edwin Cole ‘‘Ed’’ Bearss, in recognition of his contributions to preservation of American Civil War history and continued efforts to bring our Nation’s history alive for new generations through his interpretive storytelling. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) Edwin Cole ‘‘Ed’’ Bearss was born June 5 26, 1923, in Billings, Montana, to Omar and Vir- 6 ginia Bearss. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jul 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7385.IH H7385 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7385 IH (2) During a 40-year career with the National 1 Park Service, Mr. Bearss distinguished himself as 2 one of America’s preeminent historians, particularly 3 in the field of the Civil War, not only through his 4 work to preserve the places in which our Nation’s 5 history was forged but also through his captivating 6 interpretive storytelling about the people and events 7 that shaped those places. 8 (3) Mr. Bearss’ lifelong passion for Civil War 9 history was kindled during his youth. Even at an 10 early age, Mr. Bearss demonstrated a knack for 11 committing facts to memory, a skill that helped him 12 win school contests in history, current events, and 13 geography. 14 (4) He graduated high school in May 1941 and 15 the following year joined the U.S. Marine Corps, 16 serving with the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion during 17 the invasion of Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands. 18 He was badly wounded in gunfire at ‘‘Suicide 19 Creek’’, Cape Gloucester, New Britain, while serving 20 with the 7th Regiment, 1st Marine Division. 21 (5) Upon returning home, Mr. Bearss attended 22 Georgetown University, obtaining a bachelor’s de- 23 gree in Foreign Service studies, and later attended 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jul 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7385.IH H7385 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7385 IH Indiana University, earning a master’s degree in his- 1 tory. 2 (6) It was during a fortuitous visit to the Shi- 3 loh National Military Park in Tennessee, on a tour 4 with the park historian, where the seeds were plant- 5 ed for Mr. Bearss’ future career with the National 6 Park Service. 7 (7) In 1955, he landed a job as park historian 8 at the National Battlefield Park in Vicksburg, Mis- 9 sissippi, where his research helped fill in missing 10 pieces of Civil War history. None were more signifi- 11 cant than the discovery of the USS Cairo, a long- 12 lost Union ironclad gunboat sunk by Confederate 13 submarine torpedoes in 1862 that was buried in the 14 mud of the Yazoo River. Mr. Bearss later authored 15 a book on the ‘‘sinking and salvage’’ of the ironclad. 16 (8) It was during his tenure at Vicksburg that 17 he met his wife, Margie, a teacher who shared Mr. 18 Bearss’ love of history. They had three children, 19 Sara, Cole, and Jenny. 20 (9) Mr. Bearss became the National Park Serv- 21 ice’s chief historian in 1981. Following his retire- 22 ment in 1994, he was recognized with the title Chief 23 Historian Emeritus, a fitting title as his research 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jul 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7385.IH H7385 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7385 IH and recounting of our Nation’s history continues to 1 this day. 2 (10) Whenever possible, he travels to our Na- 3 tion’s Civil War battlefields, helping to preserve the 4 places where history happened and make those 5 places come alive as a public historian. He once said, 6 ‘‘You can’t describe a battlefield unless you walk 7 it.’’. Anyone who has spent time with Mr. Bearss 8 touring a battlefield, sometimes braving the ele- 9 ments, enthralled by his prodigious tales regards 10 him as a National Treasure. His unique chronicling 11 of our Nation’s history has been described as a 12 ‘‘transcendental experience’’ of ‘‘Homeric mono- 13 logues’’ punctuated by ‘‘colorful, vivid images’’. Mr. 14 Bearss himself has been described as a cross be- 15 tween ‘‘a good-natured platoon sergeant and Walter 16 Cronkite’’. He lectures with his eye closed, so he can 17 ‘‘see’’ the history better, he once said. 18 (11) Mr. Bearss has received multiple honors 19 for his contributions to the preservation of our Na- 20 tion’s history: the Harry S. Truman Award in 1961 21 for Meritorious Service in the field of Civil War his- 22 tory, Man of the Year at Vicksburg in 1963, in- 23 ducted a member of the Company of Military Histo- 24 rians in 1964, the Nevins-Freeman Award from the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jul 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7385.IH H7385 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7385 IH Chicago Civil War Roundtable in 1980, the Depart- 1 ment of the Interior’s Distinguished Service Award 2 in 1983, and a commendation from the Secretary of 3 the Army in 1985. The Secretary of the Interior at 4 the time, James Watt, called Mr. Bearss ‘‘unques- 5 tionably the most productive historian in the history 6 of the National Park Service’’. 7 (12) Mr. Bearss continued to tour the country 8 well into his later years, visiting battlefields and 9 Civil War organizations, to keep America’s history 10 fresh in the minds of future generations. 11 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 12 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 13 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 14 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 15 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 16 medal of appropriate design to Edwin Cole ‘‘Ed’’ Bearss, 17 in recognition of his contributions to preservation of 18 American Civil War history and continued efforts to bring 19 our Nation’s history alive for new generations through his 20 interpretive storytelling. 21 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 22 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 23 of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 24 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jul 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7385.IH H7385 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7385 IH blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 1 Secretary. 2 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 3 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 4 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 5 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 6 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 7 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 8 and the cost of the gold medal. 9 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 10 The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national 11 medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United 12 States Code. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jul 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7385.IH H7385 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS