American Battlefield Trust lauds
battlefields' repeat listing, underscores the need for
vigilance
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Wilderness Battlefield and Minute Man National
Historical Park once again have been listed among the nation's 11
Most Endangered Historic Places, a stark indication of the urgent
and ongoing need to protect even our most hallowed grounds from the
relentless forces of development and expansion.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation named the
battlefield areas, both partially protected within units of the
National Park System, to its annual listing Wednesday, and called
for immediate steps toward protection.
"Next year we will mark 250 years since the beginning of the
American Revolution, when our Patriot forebearers took a principled
stand in the face of a formidable foe," said American Battlefield
Trust president David Duncan.
"Today, safeguarding our battlefields so that future generations
will understand what was risked on their behalf requires fierce
advocates no lest steadfast in their convictions."
The Wilderness, a pivotal May 1864
battle and turning point in the Civil War, is a unit of
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. It is
facing a 2,600-acre mixed-use development featuring millions of
square feet of data centers on what is now farmland in
Orange County, Va. The Trust is
lead plaintiff in a lawsuit to overturn the rezoning. It was
previously on the list in 2010 when threatened by construction of a
Walmart Superstore. Ultimately, Walmart built elsewhere in the
county and donated the original site to the Commonwealth of
Virginia, showing development and
historic preservation need not be mutually exclusive.
Minute Man National Historical Park sits alongside Hanscom Field, the region's largest
noncommercial airport, which is seeking to add 17 private jet
hangars, increasing noise, visual distractions, and air pollution.
In 2003, Minute Man was also listed due to the effects of the
airport on the park, which commemorates the first engagements of
the American Revolution in April
1775.
The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving
America's hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about
what happened at those sites and why it matters today. The
nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 56,000
acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil
War across 155 sites in 25 states. Learn more
at www.battlefields.org.
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SOURCE American Battlefield Trust