(Reprinted from the Richmond Times Dispatch, July1, 2008)


Your new field commander
Richmond's leader of battlefield parks calls it a dream job

 LINDSAY MACHAK
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

David Ruth can remember visiting Gettysburg, Pa., as a child and aspiring to be a historian -- or a professional athlete.

His early interest in the Civil War and passion for visiting historical battlegrounds led him to land his dream job as superintendent of Richmond National Battlefield Park.

"Sports and history are the two things that I really love," he said. "I knew I could never be a professional athlete, so I chose to be a historian."

When Ruth, 54, was promoted from assistant superintendent of the park to superintendent, he became responsible for managing 13 battlefield sites and six visitor centers, as well as land that hasn't been opened to the public yet.

The park has currently protected about 2,000 acres in Richmond and in Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties, Ruth said.

Ruth said his main objective in his new position is to preserve as much of the remaining undeveloped 7,300 acres of historic land in the Richmond area as possible through buying sites from willing sellers.

"Richmond is a growing urban area," he said. "There's certainly active development taking place, and we are trying to preserve the history."

The most recent purchase by the park is a 400-acre site called Frayser's Farm Battlefield in eastern Henrico, which was home to one of the most important Civil War battles between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Union Gen. George B. McClellan, Ruth said. The National Park Service Web site states 6,500 casualties were suffered on the property.

After purchasing such a property, historians and park employees go over the site and study every aspect of its history before developing trails and visitor centers.

Ruth said his favorite site of all of the park's areas is Tredegar Iron Works, the Confederacy's premier iron-manufacturing center.

However, he said he visits the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in Jackson Ward at least once a week. That's an independent park that Ruth also co-manages. The site was home for 30 years to Walker, who fought for the rights of women and blacks during her life from 1867 to 1934. Walker was the first black woman to charter a bank -- the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, in 1903.

"It's a place for reflection, for me to realize that my problems are nothing compared to what she faced," Ruth said.

Ruth's predecessor, Cynthia MacLeod, worked beside Ruth for 18 years. She left for a new opportunity at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, and Ruth was promoted last month from assistant superintendent to succeed her.

MacLeod said she too is hoping to see more Richmond area land preserved.

"I'm hoping to see them researching the history of the Rural Plains property that was donated in Hanover County," she said of the site that holds an 18th-century home and a Civil War battlefield.

"I'm ready to see them researching that property and working out the interpretation and making that property ready to have more visitors."

Ruth said getting people to appreciate the parkland and its history is a priority.

His biggest fear in taking the superintendent job was that he wouldn't be able to be involved with the public and interpreting sites and would be stuck doing administrative tasks. However, as he is settling in, he realizes that's not the case.

"One of the things I really want to try to do is build better opportunities for visitors to understand and appreciate our lands that we are trying to protect," he said.

The biggest challenge Ruth is facing is trying to get people to understand the relevance that Civil War battlefields have in today's society.

"The issue of a nation coming into conflict with itself and finding a resolution and ending up being stronger is a story that resonates throughout the world," he said.