Lovers of war history battle Wal-Mart's proposed new store Andrew McLemore

Published: Saturday December 27, 2008





Print This Email This At the site where Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant clashed for the first time, a new battle is brewing between a corporate titan and lovers of U.S. history.



After Wal-Mart proposed a new supercenter store near the Civil War's Wilderness Battlefield, located in Virgina's Orange County, history lovers lashed out against the idea.



The land Wal-Mart chose for the store has no historical significance, according to a study commissioned by the company, and would not be built on the actual battlefield area.



But history buffs argue that building a Wal-Mart will cause a flurry of new construction and development that would stain the pristine landscape that has remained relatively unchanged since the infamous battle in 1864 and mar the memory of the 24,000 soldiers who died in it.



"National parks are fragile entities. Putting development right up next to a park is a recipe for disaster," said Jim Campi, a spokesman for the Civil War Preservation Trust.



The resistance to Wal-Mart sent a letter to the corporation signed by 253 historians asking the Arkansas-based corporation to "respect our great nation's history and move your store farther away from this historic site and National Park."



Opponents of the new Wal-Mart include Emmy-winning documentarian Ken Burns and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors David M. McCullough and James McPherson.



Although a spokesman for Wal-mart said the company was willing to work with those resistant to the new store, he also said the deal for its location near Wilderness Battlefied is already final.



"This is the site we're going forward with," said spokesman Keith Morris. "The land is already zoned for commercial use and targeted for development by Orange County, he said. "There is a void here in this immediate area, especially in retail growth."



The building would cover 138,000 square feet and its grounds would occupy nearly 50 acres.





