I just returned from a summer lecture tour across Missouri, giving public presentations for the Civil War Roundtable of St. Louis and the U.S. Grant National Historic Site. I was also invited to speak at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield as part of the “This Hallowed Ground” speaker series sponsored by the American Battlefield Trust. The American Battlefield Trust is a national non-profit that seeks to educate the public about America’s military history and why it matters. My talk, “United in Death: The Remarkable History of the Springfield National and Confederate Cemeteries,” engaged park visitors in the stories of people and events that saved places hallowed by the sacrifices of soldiers and civilians alike during and after the Civil War. In this case, I shared the remarkable history of the first and only Confederate cemetery to be adopted by the US government and explained how and why that happened.