Wilderness, Minute Man Battlefields Return to List of Nation's 11 Most Endangered Historic Sites

(Washington, D.C.) — Wilderness Battlefield and Minute Man National Historical Park once again have been listed among the nation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, a stark indication of the urgent and ongoing need to protect even our most hallowed grounds from the relentless forces of development and expansion.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation named the battlefield areas, both partially protected within units of the National Park System, to its annual listing Wednesday, and called for immediate steps toward protection. 

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“Next year we will mark 250 years since the beginning of the American Revolution, when our Patriot forebearers took a principled stand in the face of a formidable foe,” said American Battlefield Trust president David Duncan. “Today, safeguarding our battlefields so that future generations will understand what was risked on their behalf requires fierce advocates no lest steadfast in their convictions.”

The Wilderness, a pivotal May 1864 battle and turning point in the Civil War, is a unit of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. It is facing a 2,600-acre mixed-use development featuring millions of square feet of data centers on what is now farmland in Orange County, Va. The Trust is lead plaintiff in a lawsuit to overturn the rezoning. It was previously on the list in 2010 when threatened by construction of a Walmart Superstore. Ultimately, Walmart built elsewhere in the county and donated the original site to the Commonwealth of Virginia, demonstrating that development and historic preservation need not be mutually exclusive. 

Minute Man National Historical Park sits alongside Hanscom Field, the region’s largest noncommercial airport, which is seeking to add 17 private jet hangars, increasing noise, visual distractions, and air pollution. In 2003, Minute Man was also listed due to the effects of the airport on the park, which commemorates the first engagements of the American Revolution in April 1775.

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened at those sites and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 56,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War across 155 sites in 25 states. Learn more at www.battlefields.org.