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Hundreds of historians urge Wal-Mart to relocate proposed development at Wilderness battlefield Date published: 12/11/2008
By CLINT SCHEMMER America's historians are coming out full force against Wal-Mart's proposed retail center in the Wilderness battlefield area. In a letter faxed yesterday to the retail giant, 253 historians urged the Bentonville, Ark., retailer to scrap its plan to build a 138,000-square-foot Supercenter at Wilderness Corner in Orange County. Among the signers are many of the nation's top historians including Virginia professors William C. Davis, Gary Gallagher and James I. Robertson, the authors of dozens of Civil War titles; two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner David M. McCullough; James McPherson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Battle Cry of Freedom"; Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns; and Edwin C. Bearss, chief historian emeritus of the National Park Service. Lee White, executive director of the National Coalition for History, said the action of such a large and diverse group shows how important the Wilderness site is to American heritage. NCH is one of the eight national and regional groups in the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition, which circulated the letter. "No one has a deeper, more abiding respect for all that this ground symbolizes than the men and women who make it their lives' work to study historic sites and events. And clearly, they understand the irreparable damage that this would do to a tangible piece of our history." Jim Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Preservation Trust, said the response illustrates the near-universal opposition to Wal-Mart's proposal in the Civil War and historic-preservation communities. In their letter, the historians call the Wilderness a "unique historical and cultural treasure deserving careful stewardship," declaring it "an indelible part of our history" made sacred by the blood shed there. Nearly 29,000 Federal and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded or captured in the intense fighting on May 5-6, 1864. The Battle of the Wilderness began the Union Army's Overland Campaign, which ended with Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. It marked the first time Gens. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant faced each other in battle.
Date published: 12/11/2008
is the only street in the United States that is a National
Historic Landmark.
Jefferson Davis has his place of honor there ,and General
Robert E Lee and all the other gentlemen who formerly held
office in the United States of America government and then
betrayed their Country and their oath of office.
I think Monument Street would be an excellent Choice for
the world's largest Walmart..
The monuments of the confederate heros could be moved
to surround the statue of Arthur Ashe...sabers drawn
we lost Salem Church this same basic way..
but why did we allow a 7-11, a Sheetz, a McDonalds and
two strip shopping centers to be built on this historic land
before we decided that WalMart was more evil?
It would seem to me that, the folks in the area who care
about history would have stood up at the time this land was
zoned for commercial - either by-right or rezone.
I hope there is a way to do the WalMart perhaps in another
location but really this was set in motion some time ago.
and it's important to protect our historical sites ,but Walteri makes a good point WHO IS LOOKING OUT FOR THE PEOPLE ON RT3 .The answer ,Walteri is not the Spotsylvania BOS thats for sure. It would have been nice if hundreds of people would have supported the folks on Burgess lane in Spotsy that the county almost condemned their homes for a BIG MALL DEVELOPER. It's not over yet, if the county can find a way to pay for it ,these people could still have their property stolen from them.
The importance of a National Park does not stop at its property line. We have a responsibility to protect the sense of time and place that is so critical to America's battlefields as well. Visitors to a battlefield as important as the Wilderness deserve better than seeing a Walmart standing guard over the park's entrance. The Wilderness is a National Park and unique to Orange and we need to protect the park for future generations. Would we build a Walmart across the street from the Grand Canyon?
tell us how many tax dollors are spend just on the Wilderness battlefield and all there little sights out there
How much have you spent on the house where Jacksons arm is at?
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