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Chancellorsville: Saved for history
"A COMPROMISE," said German economist Ludwig Erhard, "is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece." Out in Chancellorsville, the cake has been sliced and served up, and everyone has walked away satisfied.
On Nov. 9, the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors paved the way for the preservation of 140 acres of prime-time history--the heart of the Chancellorsville battlefield, in the property known as Mullins Farm. Properly described as a win-win-win situation, the deal allows the seller to profit, the buyer to build, and everyone else to enjoy, forever, the rolling farmland on which the brave men in Blue and Gray fought and died in 1863.
The Chancellorsville agreement sets a precedent for historic preservation. It proves that negotiation can be fruitful, that inevitable development need not destroy historic resources, and that citizen groups like the Civil War Preservation Trust can make a difference.
The first Battle of Chancellorsville was fought in the middle of the great Civil War; this second victory is the opening shot in a campaign to develop historic tourism as an educational and economic engine in Spotsylvania. Supervisor Hap Connors thinks the people and current county officials are receptive to preserving the community's treasures. Jim Campi of the CWPT agrees, and says the organization is already eyeing future preservation projects. Spotsylvania Preservation Foundation Advocacy Chairperson Caroline Hayden notes that with skyrocketing land prices, the time to act is now.
Land once asphalted is difficult to reclaim. We applaud the citizens, government officials, and vested interests who persevered until the deal to save Chancellorsville came together. Thank you for leading this most important charge.
