Noted Civil War historian and author Robert K. Krick, former chief historian at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, talks about his opposition to the proposed Wilderness Walmart in the latest Civil War Times. Krick stresses that “Walmart would be the epicenter of a commercial development explosion that would put tremendous pressure on the Wilderness battlefield.” He goes on to point out that much of this pressure, and the concern of preservationists and local residents, could be alleviated if the Walmart was shifted farther up Route 3 in Orange County. As has been stated all along, and Krick reaffirms, the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition is not trying to prevent a Walmart from being built anywhere in the county, but is simply trying to avoid having Walmart build at a location that would be disastrous for the Wilderness Battlefield. As Krick concludes, “Everyone involved has to strive to get Walmart to do the right thing.”
Below is the full text of Mr. Krick’s remarks:
How does the Walmart proposed near the Wilderness battlefield concern you?
Walmart would be the epicenter of a commercial development explosion that would put tremendous pressure on the Wilderness battlefield. We need to deflect the development a little farther north. They should go somewhere else—not far away, necessarily, just a mile up the road—and it would alleviate almost all these concerns.
There’s a parallel here to the Disney park that was proposed near Manassas [in the 1990s]. That park was not on the heart of the battlefield, but it would have unquestionably brought incredible pressure to bear that would have vitiated the battlefield and reduced its viability. But it was successfully defeated. Everyone involved has to strive to get Walmart to do the right thing.
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