Walmart has initiated another bushwhacking in the Wilderness
Published: January 27, 2010
Updated: January 27, 2010
Editor’s note: Worth Richardson’s column will return next week.
A century ago, when memories of our tragic Civil War were still fresh and old soldiers visited the battlefields to reflect on lost comrades and life’s deeper meanings, one veteran wrote that “the spirits lingered on the fields and formed the shadow of a mighty presence.”
Years passed, reunions came and went; reports, photographs and old soldiers faded, but as Americans who cherish heritage know well — something stayed.
I find it ironic and saddening — in light of recent struggles to preserve the Wilderness battlefield and honor heroes on both sides — that Walmart is progressing with plans to erect yet another superstore complex on the northern edge of this historically significant field 12 miles west of Fredericksburg.
Aside from the certainty of greater traffic congestion and urbanization in still bucolic areas bordering the Wilderness along Route 3, irreplaceable loss and degradation to the area’s “historical environment,” the proposed Walmart will probably have unintended consequences.
How we honor our history as a nation, like our fallen dead, and the hallowed ground where they fought, speaks volumes about who we are as a people. In challenging times such as these, we must protect our treasured legacies and resist those forces that would accelerate our slide to into “historical amnesia” if left unchecked.
From the number of stores already in the area, it would appear Walmart believes its “Manifest Destiny” is to pave over the landscape at strategic intersections where research analysis indicates a potential growth market within 10 miles. But the company’s professed interest in local communities seems shallow when framed against this reality: Walmart seeks to build literally across the street from a national shrine.
Wilderness is not just another historic site. Arguably the largest and most horrific battle of the Civil War, with more than 160,000 total combatants (Gettysburg had 30,000 fewer), the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-6, 1864) was also among the bloodiest with 29,000 casualties (killed, wounded and captured).
It marked the first direct contest between armies commanded by Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The fighting was desperate. Fires erupted and smoke obscured the lines amid the tangled underbrush. Many wounded were consumed, screaming in the inferno. Years later veterans would liken the struggle to Indian warfare — a “great bushwhacking in the woods.”
Although neither side gained clear advantage, the battle signalled a turning point. Wilderness marked the beginning of the long slog to Appromattox as Grant wheeled south toward Richmond after the battle instead of withdrawing as his predecessors in Union command had done in each of three earlier campaigns.
On behalf of all tourists, Civil War buffs yet unborn and fellow pilgrims of history, I sincerely hope Walmart will have the decency to shelve its proposed complex or move it elsewhere and avert another potential “bushwhacking in the Wilderness.”
It would be more than tragic if the last casualty of the Wilderness turned out to be the battlefield itself.
Hollis is director of the General Longstreet Recognition Project in Washington, D.C.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
@ JHarding…
That most certainly was not the point I was trying to make. My apologies if the wording I used was a bit…shuffled. The point that I was trying to make was, people will do anything for MONEY! History and “that’s MY land” means everything when there is a broke relic hunter inquiring, but if there is a blank check sitting before the land owner, history is forgotten and hertiage now has a price.(D.I.V. is a great example of how money can buy local history) In other words, those with little to no money and a humble desire to preserve history, are simply tossed aside, labled a begger; those that have deep pockets are welcomed with a red carpet and the “forbidden land” is now up for grabs to the highest bidder! I’m sure I’m sure I speak for myself when I say this but, I have no desire whatsoever to “relic hunt” on ANY battlefield. Curious?? Sure!!! But to know that I was searching for relics to display in my collection on land that so many men suffered and died to protect seems almost…morbid…not to mention highly disrespectful! I am sure many would say the same thing about the camps in which I relic hunt. However, I view the camps as forgotten dwellings, not “sacred” in the same sense that we view an actual battlefield! Regardless, I am sure my views can and will be twisted in many different ways by people trying to win a debate. Right or wrong is not the issue here…the issue is Heritage, History, and most importantly, Respect!
You also mentioned something about building on the land that was once owned by the Indians. (for the record, it never entered my mind to call them “dumb Indians”, that came from the halls of your mind!) Of course, neither of us were there for the “invasion from Europe”, nor where we there for the Civil War, however, we are in a time that we can fight for what is not ALREADY lost! I certainly would NOT support building on ground that is sacred to them either! Just as I am protesting in an on-line forum here for a Civil War battlefield, I can honestly say that I would do the same if it were over the sacred ground of Indian heritage, even if it were not in the state of VA.(given that I was aware of the issue) In fact, many years ago while working in the construction industy, I brought a HUGE multi-million dollar project to a screatching halt because I noticed what appeared to be extremely old graves directly in our “line of clearing”, even at the threat of being fired if I called the authorities. Again…money spoke VERY loud in favor of progress NOT preservation. Long story short, the building project was put on hold until authorities could survey for more, and properly preserve, the unmarked and unknown Indian burial ground that I refused to bulldoze!!! SO…my question is, WHY did the state of Virginia preserve sacred ground of the Indians at the developers cost, but will not do anything to preserve the sacred ground of OUR ancesters when WalMart comes to town? Does heritage really have a price tag? Can our history really be bought? Did my great-grandfather and great-uncle fight and die,(uncle was killed after fighting at Wilderness) for the benifit of Corporate America??? Maybe so…Corporate America has the ability to buy our presidential votes and pay their way into the Oval office now!!!!!!!(thanks for that one Congress…what’s the price look like to buy a president with morals???) I guess having the right to buy and erase our heritage isn’t all that suprising after all!!!
Chad, so what your saying is that as long as you benefit from it by gathering “relics” than it is OK to desecrate this “sacred land”? What if a Native American group tried to stop you from building on your land because of its history to them? Oh…I forgot, they were just a bunch of dumb indians. It only matters if it is something important to ME.
Of course they are still finding remains on the battlefields. Anyone who knows history knows the rule was “bury them where they fell”. There is no way every dead soldier could have been found and reburied in a cemetery. When you build over a battlefield you are building over human remains.
First of all I am 100% AGAINST building a WalMart on the grounds that many great men fought and died upon. Few people know this, but bodies were still being found in remote parts of the Wilderness Battle field up into the late 1970’s!!! Of course this ground is sacred!!! There is still a great chance that 1 or more soldiers are still out there…unspoken for and forgotten. And now WalMart wants to build ANOTHER supercenter in yet ANOTHER historical location…right on top of a hero’s death bed??? Of course the land owner has every right to sell the land to WalMart if he so chooses, I’m sure when presented with Millions of dollars, history and the significance of the land takes a backseat! But the location that has been choosen by WalMart, is almost the exact location where “Stonewall Jackson”, was shot and wounded by his own picket post soldiers. He died soon after as a result. Although the historical marker sends you in a slightly different route (but not by far) the exact location of this fatal and VERY historical shooting took place very close, if not EXACTLY where they plan to build! In my eyes, that is a complete disgrace, not only to the men that fought there, but also a disgrace to our heritage as Virginians. Back in the late 1990’s, I’m pretty sure it was 1995, WalMart build a supercenter in Culpeper. VERY VERY few people realize that that WalMart, sits right smack in the middle of a Union camp. I know this simply because I recovered an extremely large amount of Civil War relics from that location just before they broke ground to build! I say “smack in the middle” as the actual pad for the WalMart was located directly atop the most concentrated “pile” of relics. I recovered, an officers sword, hundreds of bullets, buttons, and other random pieces…I also found several US box plate and a few US Eagle breast plates. Although that location was not a battle field, it was bad enough to build on the actual camp…I understand that would be impossible to avoid, as VA is FULL of CS and US camps! But still…it is a part of Virginia’s great and very unique history! I’d be willing to bet every dime I have, that if I were to ask the landowner for permission to relic hunt, the answer would almost certainly be the very typical, NO! BUT, as long as WalMart dishes over their millions, that landowner could careless about the thousands of people acttracted to what used to be his land! Point is, we can’t relic hunt in locations such as this, or in the parks for that matter, but as long as enough money is involved, the land, history, and countless historical and one of a kind Civil War relics, will dissapear forever! Bulldozed into forever… Just the same as when a housing development goes up in or on an actuall battlefield, (Bristow VA. is a PERFECT example)those that tried to recover the relics were threated with being arrested, but as soon as the money wagon showed up…heavy equipment moved in an dumped those relics in the back of dumptrucks by the thousands! It’s all about money, always has been and it’s only getting worse! We are a nation that has lost our since of morals, decentcy, respect… We have/are giving into a socialist government that is controlling our LIVES more and more every single day…why not follow those same people and just wipe away our heritage and our rich history here in Virginia while we’re at it?????? I said it just over a year ago when the “president” was elected, “Our country died tonight, welcome to the ‘Divided States of Nomerica.‘ This day I will always remember as the day America died.“ And I feel that way today! Now that our lives are being taken over by Obama as he continues to build his communist regieme, why not just go with the flow and let those same liberals wipe our heritage off the face of the earth?!?!?!?! One day people will visit OUR battlefields, the battle fields of America’s 2nd Civil War…at the divided rate we are going, I would be VERY VERY suprised if I lived out the rest of MY life without seeing the second Civil War happen once again, and again fought on the grounds of our signigicantly historical homeland…Virginia!
I lived in Virginia for nearly 30 years and would always take friends and relatives to the battlegrounds - everyone would remark about how seriously Virginia takes its history. It’s obvious that Virginia takes much pride in its unique legacy because the historical areas are pristine - no infrastructure would interfere with the views of the hallowed grounds.
Perhaps there can be legislation put in place much like the statutes that govern how high buildings can be in and around DC so that the view of the Capital city monuments and buildings cannot be obstructed.
As a libertarian-leaning conservative I understand the private property argument well enough, but sometimes the opportunity for making money must be balanced against the common good. If the landowners want to make a profit, then preservation groups, private citizens, the local and state governments can step in and facilitate a fair financial transactions. At the same time, governments should zone away fat cat corporations and allow them to satisfy the consumption society from a few miles away. Please don’t let Costco or WalMart bully Virginia into selling its legacy.
Mary David, YES IT IS ABOUT WHO OWNS THE LAND. I find it conflicting that you want to intervene with a persons Constitutional property rights when it suits your interest.
sandalwood, that link didn’t say most trusted by idiots although that could very well be true as well.
Thirty-seven percent said they didn’t trust Fox, also the lowest level of distrust that any of the networks recorded.
Your point still seems to be that it is OK to tell other people what to do with their properyy WHEN you’re OK with it.
bring on the super walmart bring it on bring it on, jobs for people,.get you a history book and read about the civil war or what ever, bunch of cry babies
No it is not park of the battlefield park. And the owners can sell it to whomever they wish. But the county does have zoning ordinances and if Walmart wants to build a supercenter they need permission to do so. And the Orange BOS granted it to them.
The only recourse the anti-Walmart people have is court challenges. I haven’t heard that they have gone that route yet.
And it is a letter-to-the-editor. Articles are written by the newspaper staff.
Isn’t this land connected to the Wilderness battlefield and not actually part of the historical Wilderness battlefield, if so why can’t the owners sell it to whom ever they like.
Advertisement