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Jim Vitaletti carries Kaitlyn Hickey, 5, during a tour
Gov. Bob McDonnell talks to landowner Frank Wagner and Wagner's wife, Margot (right), at yesterday's ceremony.
Visitors tour the 85-acre Wagner Tract, the latest addition to the Chancellorsville battlefield in western Spotsylvania.
National Park Service historian Frank O'Reilly explains |
They gathered under a crisp blue sky on a small Spotsylvania County farm to remember what happened on the spot 147 years ago, and to ensure that no one ever forgets.
About 200 people, including Gov. Bob McDonnell and House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford, were there to celebrate the protection of the Wagner farm, and pave the way for the preservation of other hallowed ground still left in Virginia.
The occasion was an out-door bill signing east of Wilderness Baptist Church on State Route 3 where Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's daring May 1863 flank attack gave the South one of its greatest victories.
"In Virginia, we're blessed with so many incredible natural resources
"Today is about not only historic preservation, but also about land conservation, environmental protection and a step toward my goal of creating 400,000 acres of open space protected during my administration."
The visit was one stop on McDonnell's Earth Week tour around the state commemorating conservation efforts and Earth Day.
Seated next to McDonnell were State Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, and Del. Chris Peace, R-Hanover, sponsors of Senate Bill 614 and House Bill 717. The bills, passed unanimously by the General Assembly, permanently authorize the Virginia Civil War Sites Preservation Fund.
A grant from the fund helped the Civil War Preservation Trust purchase the Spotsylvania farm from Frank Wagner, a Fredericksburg veterinarian, and his wife, Margot. The couple continue to live on the property under a lease-back agreement.
The Wagners moved to the land in 1985. At the time, Wagner said, he wasn't fully aware of the significance of the land, which sits inside the Chancellorsville battlefield national park boundary.
"We've learned a lot more about it since then. It's pretty neat. It's nice to see the land preserved."
The Washington, D.C.-based CWPT paid $2.1 million for the property. The state grant was augmented by a federal transportation grant, and donations.
The governor announced $300,000 in new grants for seven properties. Five will be preserved by CWPT and two by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation in partnership with the Department of Historic Resources.
Howell praised public- and private-sector efforts that made the Wagner deal possible.
Still, Howell noted, "Each day in Virginia, we're losing about 30 acres of battlefield to development. There's about 50,000 acres left to preserve, so we've got our work cut out for us."
Howell was an architect of Virginia's Land Preservation Tax Credit, an incentive program credited with protecting tens of thousands of acres from development.
Howell said such efforts pay dividends, especially with the Civil War sesquicentennial on the horizon. The 150th anniversary commemoration begins next year and runs through 2015.
With more Civil War battlefields than any other state, "It's a tremendous educational opportunity [for Virginia] and a chance to examine the war from many perspectives," he said.
Not to mention economic benefits.
"People from all over the country--all over the world
Mark Ellis, 55, of Spotsylvania, took time off from work to attend the program and a tour offered by National Park Service historian Frank O'Reilly.
"I've always been a history buff. This is an important day," said Ellis, who has both Union and Confederate ancestors.
Donald Dihlmann, 14, was there with 16 other eighth-graders from St. Patrick School on nearby Elys Ford Road.
"People fought and died here and it's really important to keep the property safe, so that no one builds on it and disturbs it."
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com
The Battle of Chancellorsville began May 1, 1863, and lasted almost three days. It was considered Gen. Robert E. Lee's greatest victory.
Lee divided his army in the face of superior Union forces, sending Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson on a 12-mile flanking march around the Army of the Potomac.
National Park Service historian Frank O'Reilly led a tour on the Wagner Tract yesterday.
Here's his description of some of the key action, with the Confederates unexpectedly swinging in from the West to deliver a staggering blow to the unsuspecting Union Army:
"Five p.m., May 2. Gunfire erupts out in front of you." Within minutes, "the union line dissolves. One Union soldier said the Confederates struck like an avalanche. Another likened them to being a bolt of thunder on
a clear day."
"Twenty-thousand screaming Confederates struck the Union flank and destroyed their defenses. Confusion led to panic, and panic led to a rout."
