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Case Digest Fall
2002 Virginia: Development at Chancellorsville
Battlefield, Fredericksburg
Virginia:
Development at Chancellorsville Battlefield, Fredericksburg
Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
In this high-profile
case, a developer proposes to construct housing and offices on a
privately owned portion of the Chancellorsville Battlefield outside
of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Noteworthy as the last place that Generals
Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson fought together, the 1863 battle
was integral to protecting Fredericksburg—and its vital rail, road,
and river connections—from the Union Army.
The situation
illustrates the need to balance private property rights with preserving
our historic past, and underscores the importance of local historic
preservation efforts when Federal involvement is limited.
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The Norfolk District of the Corps of Engineers is anticipating a developers
request for a permit to fill wetlands on private property, to make way
for a mixed residential-commercial development west of Fredericksburg,
Virginia. The plan calls for approximately 2,350 houses and 2.4 million
square feet of office space on about 800 acres.
Chancellorsville Civil War Battlefield, Fredericksburg, VA (staff photo)
The planned development is located directly where the heaviest fighting
took place on the first day of battle, at Chancellorsville in 1863. The
property lies along a busy corridor adjacent to one of NPSs major
Civil War parks, the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military
Park. The three-day battle stopped the Army of the Potomac from wresting
Fredericksburg from the Confederates, and is also where General Stonewall
Jackson was mortally wounded as he and General Robert E. Lee fought against
Union forces.
The Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield was recently
formed to protect threatened parts of the battlefield. Members include
the Civil War Preservation Trust, the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust,
the National Parks Conservation Association, the Spotsylvania Battlefield
Education Association, the Friends of the Fredericksburg Area Battlefields,
and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The case has also garnered
national media attention.
Local zoning changes are needed for the project, and public hearings
are scheduled for this purpose in October 2002. Meanwhile, ACHP awaits
further word from the Corps of Engineers on the issuance of the permit.
Staff contact: Tom
McCulloch
Posted
May 6, 2003
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