tration of data centers on planet Earth, leaving the green hills and peaceful valleys where soldiers once fought and bled to defend the nation’s most-cherished values to echo with the rumble of earthmovers. “We talk a lot about the power of place,” says Duncan,
“and maintaining the integrity of these parks so people go and learn what happened, and experience these unpar- alleled outdoor classrooms, and come away with a real experience.” Similar skirmishes to protect battlegrounds and their surrounding areas are underway throughout the country. Some sought-after land is adjacent to the battlefi elds; other fi ghts are along the parks’ peripheries. Among them: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania — Each year, 1.5 million visi-
tors embark on a pilgrimage to tour the area where Abra- ham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in 1863 fol- lowing the Civil War’s bloodiest battle, which the northern army won at great cost. According to the Conservation Fund, “Not all of the
land where the battle was fought has been protected.” The fund purchased a former motel located near the site of Pickett’s Charge and a 100-acre farm where fi ghting broke out on the fi rst day of battle to add them to the lands under preservation. If developers had their way, however, visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park would fi rst have to negotiate a phalanx of multistory hotels and apartment complexes.
Fortunately, the American Battlefi eld Trust in 2023 was
able to acquire a contract to purchase land near where the battle broke out, blocking a 112-unit apartment complex that critics say would have destroyed the historic landscape.
OPPOSED Local resident Bill Billerd, 35, in a Civil War soldier’s uniform, waits to vote last year against a proposal to build a 2,100-acre data center on the edge of the Manassas battlefield in Woodbridge, Virginia. The Prince William County Board of Supervisors approved the project, but a lawsuit has been filed to stop it.
Despite that victory, preservationists worry that without
more public support they could one day lose their fi ght to preserve the bucolic surroundings and scenic site lines of one of America’s most pivotal historic battles. Franklin, Tennessee —The Battle of Franklin, fought in November 1864, was a debacle for the Confederates and an important victory for Union forces. Eff orts to acquire battlefi eld lands have been compli-
cated by soaring real estate costs driven by solar farms and warehouses. On a brighter note, the North American Land Trust announced a coalition of conservation and preservation groups acquired 300 acres of land near Chattanooga’s Lookout Mountain. The trust transferred a historic conservation easement
to the State of Tennessee, to guarantee the land will be per- manently protected. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, Virginia, Battlefi elds National Military Park — Plans for a massive residential
The American Battlefi eld Trust in 2023 was able to acquire a contract to purchase land near where the battle broke out, blocking a 112-unit apartment complex that critics say would have destroyed the historic landscape.
Graffiti ‘Artists’ Hit Gettysburg Memorials G
raf iti “artists” recently defaced boulders at
Little Round Top and spray- painted a nearby watchtower, a grim reminder that not only development but also vandals pose a serious threat to U.S. memorials.
Flashback to 1863. Gen.
Robert E. Lee’s confederates badly outnumber Union troops at Gettysburg by more
40 NEWSMAX | DECEMBER 2024
than two to one. All that’s keeping the Confederates from outflanking them: the 385 men of the 20th Maine company led by a former college professor named Joshua Chamberlain. On the second day of the battle, Chamberlain and his men are ordered to defend Little Round Top at any cost to protect the Union Army’s
As the smoke clears, Chamberlain witnesses a terrifying sight. The
left flank, lest the much larger Confederate force encircle and decimate Gen. George Meade’s army. The Confederate forces
charge the hill twice, and Chamberlain’s sharpshooters are barely able to drive them back.
Confederates are massing for a third charge. An aide informs him his men are out of ammunition and have no hope of resupply. All appears lost.
That’s when Chamberlain
barks an order that will echo through history. “Bayonets!” he bellows, then begins af ixing his own. He watches as his men do the same, then hollers “Charge!” Their sudden downhill
VALERIE PLESCH FOR THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES
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