PICTURE—Captain and Mrs. Max Sanchez designate the contribution of the 30-volume set of books to the Averasboro Battlefield Museum in front of the Generals of Averasboro Bulletin Board in the Museum.

The Averasboro Battlefield Commission announces today that the Averasboro Battlefield Museum has recently received its 50,000^th visitor since the museum opened in 1999.

The museum uses an automated count as well as a book sign-in account to determine the exact number of visitors. During the museum’s 10 years of existence, on the many numerous events the Averasboro Battlefield Commission has held, not all of the Averasboro Battlefield visitors visit the museum to get counted, therefore the actual visitor count to the Averasboro Battlefield would far exceed the 50,000 visitors to the museum.

Sanchez is from Lutz, Florida, and has been a frequent visitor since coming on his first visit several years ago. Captain Max Sanchez is a military hero in his own right having served his country during the 1960’s and 1970’s. He served in the Vietnam conflict with the III and IV Army Corps of Vietnam in the Armor Division. A much decorated soldier, he received the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantry Men’s Badge, the Vietnamese Service Medal, the Vietnamese Campaign Ribbon, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

Sanchez, who is an avid student of the Civil War, came to visit the museum, almost as an afterthought, since it is some distance from the U. S. Interstate-95 on which he travels regularly through Dunn on his journeys from Florida. Once he came into the museum, the museum tour guide,  the late Gerald Mann, made such an impression on Captain Sanchez, not only with the tour he gave, but with his knowledge of the Civil War, that Sanchez became a benefactor and frequent visitor to the museum and battlefield.

Sanchez has made several contributions for the sustenance and preservation of the museum, but recently he has been contributing items from his personal collection of materials on the Civil War. In 2008, he contributed his collection of many videotapes on various battles and aspects of the Civil War. On this trip, Captain and Mrs. Sanchez brought his personal 30-volume set of books entitled “Official Records of the War of the Rebellion” to donate to the Averasboro Battlefield Museum Library for its use.

Captain Sanchez said, “Once I made my first visit and was befriended by Gerald Mann, I knew that I had to come back and that I had to help in any way I could for this Averasboro Battlefield Commission to continue to operate this museum. The Commission’s all-volunteer staff is a devoted group of individuals who tell the story of the Civil War with much passion. Mrs. Sanchez and I are delighted that we could become a part of all the good things that are going on here.”

C.C. Livingston, the Director of Operations for the Averasboro Battlefield Commission to include the museum, said, “Captain and Mrs. Sanchez are two of the finest friends we have. We are so happy that they have personally adopted Averasboro and are helping us to tell the story of the battle that was held here. We will put to good use their most recent gift.”

The Averasboro Battlefield Museum attracts a steady flow of several hundred visitors to the museum each month, accounting for many of the 50,000. When events, such as re-enactments are held,  several thousand have been known to visit the Battlefield and area over a two-day weekend.

The Averasboro Battlefield Commission celebrated its 50,000th confirmed visitor to the Averasboro Battlefield Museum with a visit by a Florida man and his wife. Retired U.S. Army Capt. Max Sanchez and his wife Caridad visited the museum earlier this month while passing by on one of their many trips up Interstate 95. The Sanchezes first visited the museum several years ago on a lark during one of their trips and have stopped by several times since. As it happened, the Sanchezes stopped by on just the right day to be counted as visitors Nos. 50,000 and 50,001. "Mrs. Sanchez and I are delighted that we could become a part of all the good things that are going on here," Mr. Sanchez said. Mr. Sanchez, who is an avid Civil War buff, has made several contributions to the museum over the years and recently donated items from his own Civil War collection to the museum. The donations include videotapes about various battles and a 30-volume set of books titled "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion." "Once I made my first visit and was befriended by (late tour guide) Gerald Mann, I knew that I had to come back and that I had to help in any way I could for this Averasboro Battlefield Commission to continue to operate this museum," Mr. Sanchez said. "The Commission's all-volunteer staff is a devoted group of individuals who tell the story of the Civil War with much passion." Averasboro Battlefield Museum Operations Director C.C. Livingston said he and the other members of the commission are always thrilled to see Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez. "Capt. and Mrs. Sanchez are two of the finest friends we have," Mr. Livingston said. "We are so happy that they have personally adopted Averasboro and are helping us to tell the story of the battle that was held here." The Averasboro Battlefield Museum attracts a steady flow of several hundred visitors to the museum each month, accounting for many of the 50,000, museum officials said. When events, such as re-enactments are held, several thousand have been known to visit the Battlefield and area over a two-day weekend, so the number over a 10-year period is most likely significantly higher since many visitors on those days do not sign the guest register or have their visit counted by the museum's automated counter. The museum has been in operation for 10 years.