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Former President Jimmy Carter offers support for historic preservation in Fredericksburg area and hopes his new book, 'The Hornet's Nest,' promotes interest in the American Revolution Date published: 11/28/2003 By MICHAEL ZITZ Perhaps it's no surprise that Jimmy Carter, a small-town Southern boy who owes much in his own life to a sense of place and permanence, is siding with advocates of slow growth. The former president, who recently authored a book about the Revolutionary War, has fired a shot in the 21st-century battle between developers and preservationists. He says it's important to protect the integrity of historical sites in the Fredericksburg area. "I'm strongly on the side of preserving those precious areas," Carter said during a recent telephone interview with The Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg is one of the cradles of the Revolution and the site of a number of important Civil War battles. Carter said he once visited the area years ago, when it was rural and home to numerous farms. Last month the Plains, Ga., native spoke at an event in his home state intended to help the owners of historic family farms ward off sprawl. In recent years, rapid development has threatened to encroach on George Washington's boyhood home at Ferry Farm and on Aquia Church, both important sites in the Colonial period in Stafford County. Civil War sites at Salem Church and Chancellorsville also have been points of contention in Spotsylvania County--where the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday night to reduce by nearly one-half the number of houses that can be built without rezoning. Now the first president, who grew up at Ferry Farm, plays a part in the Carter's new book. Gen. George Washington is one of the figures in "The Hornet's Nest--a Novel of the Revolutionary War," the first work of fiction written by a president. It's based on historical fact, but there are also fictional characters. During the interview, Carter said Washington "never really fought a major battle," but won the most important fight of all--the one to keep the his men together. "He skirmished at Trenton and Princeton, but he was primarily engaged in preserving his army," Carter said. Part of "The Hornet's Nest" deals with the way Washington was forced to cope "in a fairly brutal way" with what Carter said were "horrendous desertions" by his men.
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