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For
Immediate Release
July 1, 2005
COALITION
TO SAVE CHANCELLORSVILLE BATTLEFIELD
BECOMES
THE SPOTSYLVANIA BATTLEFIELDS COALITION
New
name reflects new emphasis on protecting all four Spotsylvania
area Civil War battlefields
(Spotsylvania
County, Va.) - The Coalition to Save Chancellorsville
Battlefield, an informal alliance of 12 national and local
conservation group that joined forces to save the Mullins
Farm at Chancellorsville, has decided to change its name.
The new name of the organization is the Spotsylvania Battlefields
Coalition.
The
name change is the result of a decision to emphasize protection
of all four of the Spotsylvania County's Civil War battlefields
-- Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania
Court House -- as well as other historic resources in the
region. As was noted in the April 2005 edition of National
Geographic, Spotsylvania County is considered "ground
zero" in the fight to save America's irreplaceable Civil
War battlefields.
The
announcement comes at a time when two properties associated
with Spotsylvania County battlefields have become targets
for development. The two properties are the Slaughter Pen
Farm on the Fredericksburg Battlefield and the Alrich Tract
on the Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield.
Alrich Tract: The Alrich Tract was the scene of fighting
on May 12, 1864, as part of the Union attack on the Confederate
salient at Spotsylvania Court House. The Virginia Department
of Transportation (VDOT) is planning to move forward with
a bypass through the property. Although practically no one
objects to the bypass, there is considerable local concern
that access to the bypass could result in development immediately
adjacent to the battlefield park. VDOT, of course, is more
interested in getting the road built than it in addressing
these concerns.
Slaughter
Pen Farm: The Slaughter Pen Farm was the scene of fighting
on December 13, 1862, as part of the Battle of Fredericksburg.
More than 3,000 men in blue and gray became casualties on
the property. Today, the Spotsylvania County School Administration
wants to build an elementary school on the property. The school
district refuses to serious consider other, less historically
significant sites. A public meeting to unveil the school district's
plan is scheduled for July 14, 2005.
The 12 national and local preservation, conservation and civic
groups that compose the Spotsylvania Battlefields Coalition
remain as follows:
Battlefield
Sierra Group
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust
Civil War Preservation Trust
Concerned Citizens of Spotsylvania
Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields
Friends of Wilderness Battlefield
National Parks Conservation Association
National Parks Mid-Atlantic Council
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Piedmont Environmental Council
Spotsylvania Preservation Foundation, Inc.
Spotsylvania Battlefield Education Association
The
new Spotsylvania Battlefields Coalition website is located
at www.spotsylvaniabattlefields.org.
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Contact:
Jim Campi (Civil War Preservation Trust) at 202-367-1861.
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