National Parks

Harriet Tubman was one tough lady. She escaped slavery, fleeing an Eastern Shore plantation. She was a leader in the Underground Railroad, traveling at night under the North Star — probably along the Choptank River — hiding at safe houses along the path to freedom. During the Civil War, she saw duty as a spy, assisting Union forces that raided plantations and freed slaves along the Combahee River in South Carolina. Tubman played an outsized role in American history, a contribution that is recently (and belatedly)

.—Fifty years ago this week, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation creating the Cape Cod National Seashore, which protects a 44,000-acre stretch of land across six towns ranging from the northernmost tip of Provincetown some 40 miles south to include the barrier beaches and coastline here in sleepy Chatham, situated at the Cape's "elbow. " With the benefit of a half-century's hindsight, the creation of the National Seashore seems a remarkable achievement. This is most obviously true for the Cape, its residents and the millions of people who come here every summer to swim, sail, fish or just relax in the sand with a book and a cold drink.

Few historical figures are deserving of greater public recognition and tribute than Maryland's own Harriet Tubman. Although typically mentioned in history books as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, the many accomplishments over her long life — and her connection to her native state — are not widely known or adequately appreciated. That's why Congress should move forward with a proposal to create a national park in her name on the Eastern Shore. It is a rare opportunity to right a historical wrong — to set aside the land where Ms. Tubman was born and raised and toiled as a slave so that future generations might walk in her footsteps and develop a deeper understanding of this remarkable woman.

We love to travel. We love our national parks. And we love a good argument. So there's a lot to embrace in the new book National Geographic's "The 10 Best of Everything: National Parks. " But there's some stuff to pick at, too. For example, seeing Acadia top the list of best places to watch sunrise and sunset made me smile. But after leafing through the book, I was disappointed that my favorite Revolutionary War battlefield — Cowpens — didn't make the cut. But Bob Howells seems pleased by both reactions.

You get two battles for the price of one at Manassas National Battlefield Park, about 25 miles southwest of Washington. These rolling fields and woodlots in northern Virginia were the scene of the first major clash between Union and Confederate armies. And the railroad junction here was of such strategic importance that the two armies staged a rematch a little over a year later. Many Americans on both sides had thought that this feud over slavery and states' rights would be quickly resolved.

The site of the largest and most storied of all Civil War battles, Gettysburg National Military Park has the grandest visitor center of the battlefield parks. The 22,000-square-foot museum features relics and interactive exhibits on the struggle, a film and the restored Cyclorama, a 360-degree painting done in the late 19th century depicting Pickett's charge — the climactic, futile attempt by Lee's army to break the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded then by Gen. George G. Meade. Practically surrounding the old town, Gettysburg battlefield park almost requires locomotion to see it all. The park service offers guided bus tours, escorted auto tours and a self-guided auto tour, with short walking trails along the way. For the hardy, though, there's a trail guide put together by the Boy Scouts of America that covers hiking most of the battlefield.

We mean no disrespect to John Hanson, a Colonial-era planter from Charles County whom most Marylanders haven't heard of, much less most Americans. He was a dedicated champion of American liberty from Great Britain and served in a variety of political posts during the Revolution and its aftermath, culminating in a one-year term as the first president of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation. But the idea of replacing him as one of Maryland's two representatives in the U.S. Capitol's Hall of Statuary with Harriet Tubman is a good one. Hanson shares Maryland's allotment of two statues with Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and arguably the most important figure in the state during the era. No one is considering him for removal from the hall.

Richard E. Barrans, a retired chemical engineer and World War II veteran, died Jan. 14 of heart disease at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 86. Mr. Barrans, the son of an electrical engineer and an English teacher, was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The family later lived in LaGrange, Ill., where his father worked for Western Electric Corp., and came to Baltimore in 1930 when his father was assigned to the company's Point Breeze works. The family settled on an 80-acre parcel of property on Providence Road near Towson, which they later developed into a tree farm.

America's third national park, Yosemite, the home of spectacular waterfalls, silent groves of ancient trees and an unequaled alpine wilderness, celebrated its 120th birthday this month. The place John Muir considered "nature's temple" was arguably where the national park idea was born — a uniquely American concept whose enduring meaning is being proved again in the midst of an economic downturn, as millions of families have flocked to Yosemite and other parks to make memories that will last their lifetimes, to reconnect with nature and our shared history.