The announcement was a major shift of events in a struggle of several years that has pitted the retailer against those who believe a megastore would ruin land that has been revered for generations. A coalition of local, state, and national groups and concerned citizens, including historians James McPherson and David McCullough and actor Robert Duvall, had joined together in efforts to stop Wal-Mart\u2019s plans. The National Trust for Historic Preservation<\/a>, one of the groups leading the campaign, in 2010 declared that the site was one of America\u2019s Most Endangered Historic Places<\/a>.<\/p>\n From One Newspaper: \u201cWow!\u201d <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Preservation organizations and local newspapers applauded Wal-Mart\u2019s decision to back down and go in a different direction. \u201cThe National Trust for Historic Preservation commends Wal-Mart for taking this important step,\u201d said Stephanie Meeks, the group\u2019s president. \u201cBy withdrawing the current proposal, the company has created an opportunity for all parties to work together to find an appropriate solution \u2013 one that will allow Wal-Mart to pursue development elsewhere in Orange County, while ensuring that this important part of America\u2019s Civil War heritage is protected.\u201d<\/p>\n Another preservation group concurred. \u201cWe are pleased with Wal-Mart\u2019s decision to abandon plans to build a supercenter on the Wilderness battlefield,\u201d James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Trust<\/a>, said in a release.\u00a0 \u201cWe have long believed that Wal-Mart would ultimately recognize that it is in the best interests of all concerned to move their intended store away from the battlefield.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll we can say is, \u2018wow!` \u201c the Orange County (Va.) Review <\/em>said in an editorial<\/a>, noting that not only has Wal-Mart abandoned its original plans but the retailer stated it would purchase the property and offer it for conservation. Otherwise, little would prevent a \u201chandful\u201d of smaller stores from buying the parcel and pursuing development plans, the Review<\/em> added. The newspaper <\/em>called the turn of events \u201cnot solely a win for the preservationists, but also for the property owners, Wal-Mart, and the balance of Orange County.\u201d<\/p>\n Wal-Mart did not respond to efforts on Wednesday to obtain further comment.<\/p>\n The Start of a Trial<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Following Wal-Mart\u2019s revelation, Circuit Court Judge Daniel Bouton dismissed the case today, the court official confirmed. A trial was beginning on a lawsuit filed by the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield<\/a> and several local residents against the Orange County Board of Supervisors, which granted a zoning special-use permit to Wal-Mart in August, 2009. The plaintiffs were seeking to have the approval overturned, claiming that the board did not gather and consider important information about how the Wal-Mart and adjacent retail businesses would harm the county\u2019s citizens and its historic lands.<\/p>\n The Wal-Mart was an anchoring store in a development that would have included an additional 100,000 square feet of retail \u201cjunior big boxes,\u201d according to the plans. The developers aimed to construct this big-box development on the site where Union troops led by General Ulysses S. Grant fought against General Robert E. Lee\u2019s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in a battle on May 5-7, 1864 \u2013 the first time that Grant and Lee faced each other in battle.<\/p>\n After just over two days of fiery, brutal combat in an area that contained dense underbrush and woods, some 26,000 soldiers were killed or wounded and the battle ended in a stalemate. Unlike the top Union commanders who had come before him, Grant did not retreat or go north but instead ordered his troops to march southward and pursue Lee\u2019s army. Ultimately, Grant\u2019s never-turn-back relentless pursuit resulted in a Union victory in 1865.<\/p>\n A View of Big Boxes?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Those who want to protect this historic ground organized together and mounted a fierce campaign to stop Wal-Mart\u2019s plans, once the proposal came to light in 2008. They included the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Civil War Trust, the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, the Piedmont Environmental Coalition, the National Parks Conservation Association, and Preservation Virginia, among other groups and citizens.<\/p>\n History is all the more powerful when experienced through the power of place. Imagine a place where a student can walk the land and learn about a battlefield that was crucial during the Civil War, a plot where thousands gave their lives for the cause of keeping the country together and abolishing slavery. Then imagine that student walking a little farther and suddenly seeing a Wal-Mart, other huge stores, and parking lots. (This map<\/a> shows exactly where the proposed commercial development site is located.) While the plot lies outside of the official parkland, the retail structures would be clearly visible from key vantage points within the national military park. As Robert Nieweg, a National Trust official, said to Mindfulwalker.com last year<\/a>, \u201cThis is where the Union Army was ordered to march south, to race Lee to the next crossroads. This is the best place to teach that history, the best place to understand what the common soldier felt after two days of fighting and before that many more days of fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilderness Battlefield, Virginia<\/strong> (Photo Credit: National Trust for Historic Preservation)<\/p>\n A Spotsylvania resident praised those who have fought persistently when the odds seemed very chancy of winning against a behemoth retailer with money and power. Writing in a letter to the editor<\/a> of The Free Lance-Star<\/em> of Fredericksburg, Va., Tamie Pratt-Fartro said, \u201cit is sometimes all too easy to forget the heroes,\u201d those who have been working to preserve the Wilderness Battlefield and \u201cto make the \u2018dirt and grass` of the Wilderness and our other battlefields into something far more.\u201d Pratt-Fartro added, \u201cWal-Mart does not belong anywhere near these treasured landmarks, and I salute all of the heroes working to protect and enhance them.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, these heroes can savor a triumph in Wal-Mart\u2019s move to give up its plans. It\u2019s a turning point in the destiny of the land that many who visit the Wilderness and the adjacent battlefield parks may never know. But future generations will benefit as they experience the Wilderness Battlefield and learn about what took place on this hallowed ground in Virginia.<\/p>\n Further Reading To read more about the history of the Battle of the Wilderness and earlier developments in the Wal-Mart and Wilderness controversy, also see on Mindfulwalker.com:<\/strong><\/p>\n Wal-Mart’s Threat to a Historic Battlefield<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Wal-Mart: A Step Closer at the Wilderness<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Wilderness](\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3400\/4627799815_cd4bf16959.jpg\")
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