Civil War Helena is up and moving as Cathy Cunningham confirmed Tuesday night at the city council session. Cunningham explained that there are currently two projects in the works including Battery C at the entrance of Yorkshire and Freedom Park, which is slated to be dedicated during Black History Month in February. Cunningham stated that her presence at the council meeting was to request that the council affirm the projects that are currently being worked on and to provide a progress update for each project. According to Cunningham, Battery C’s property was donated to the city in the 70s by Gibson Turley and is one of four earthen batteries erected by the Union Army is 1862, when it briefly fell to the Confederates during the Battle of Helena on July 1863. “Battery C and the interpretation of Battery C is a major key element of the Civil War Helena Project,” said Cunningham. According to Cunningham, Southern Bancorp Community Partners will soon be requesting the city council to deed part of the property of Battery C to them, which they will then, in turn by the end of 2013, develop that land as a public park to be deeded to the Delta Cultural Center. Cunningham explained that this will be the same process that was advocated with Fort Curtis as it will be deemed a non-profit and allow them to write the grants and be granted the funding needed to develop the park.
