Re-enactors fire muskets at Morristown National Historical Park's Revolutionary War Encampment in 2008.
Posted on 03/03/2009 9:44:42 PM PST by Coleus
Legislation to protect Revolutionary War battlefield sites, including some in New Jersey, is moving through Congress. Sponsored by New Jersey Democrat Rush Holt, the bill would establish a $50 million grant program to help acquire and preserve battlefields, barracks and other sites related to the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
New Jersey has nearly 300 sites with direct ties to events of the American Revolution.
The bill would allow the National Park Service to collaborate with state and local governments and nonprofit organizations to preserve and protect sites threatened by housing sprawl and commercial development.
It now awaits a vote in the Senate.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Re-enactors fire muskets at Morristown National Historical Park's Revolutionary War Encampment in 2008.
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*ping*
Finally a government policy initiative I can get behind enthusiastically.
New Jersey History ping
I hope the Congress does preserve as many battlefields as still exist. This I don’t mind spending money on.
By the way:
Those muskets are the assault weapons of their day, therefore are they legal in NJ? Just a question.
Good.....at the rate things are going, we may need these battlefields again, soon.
How did this slip through???
The nearest large battlefield to me has been turned into a condo complex and a Walmart in the last few years.
It’s a shame, the ridge on it had a good history in the war, and has a commanding view of the entire valley system.
Would be nice if they could save the historic Von Steuben house on the Hackensack, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1822284/posts
Would be nice if the Feds bought out Princeton University’s battlefield so the battlefield could be maintained as a historic site instead of being used to construct faculty housing in 2010.
“Good.....at the rate things are going, we may need these battlefields again, soon.”
And we may find ourselves repeating George Washingtons words:
“If all else fails, I will retreat up the valley of Virginia, plant my flag on the Blue Ridge, rally around the Scots-Irish of that region and make my last stand for liberty amongst a people who will never submit to British tyranny whilst there is a man left to draw a trigger.”
Let’s hope they don’t rename them all after you know who...
I’d like to know what has happened to the land since the War. Is it privately owned? Are these sites associated with the war directly enough that no one thought to preserve them for 232 years but which now need to be preserved or is it land which environmentalists want to put off limits to development and are using the Revolutionary War to justify it? Sorry to be suspicious but how is it the land needs protecting now? Was the land preserved all this time but now some private person has purchased the lands for development? Why now? And how much is enough to preserve and how much should be allowed to move on in history? I have never been to New Jersey so I am definitely posting out of ignorance of these historical sites or New Jersey’s efforts to preserve such sites. I am willing to be enlightened.
(BTW, though I’ve never been to New Jersey, at least one of my g-ad infinitum grandfathers from Morristown fought in the Revolutionary War so I have nothing against preserving adequate memorials to the war, especially now that we as a society are forgetting what lessons were learned in that time regarding freedom.)
Most, if not all of the flat lands in New Jersey that “hosted” Rev War battles were in private hands before the war, and during the battle. Often enough the landowners were left the task of burying the dead so they could get on with farming/ranching.
Some of the ridges that hosted battles in NJ/NY were just backwoods at the time, (outside of timber was worthless land then, still pretty worthless today), claims of ownership revolved around grants from the King, or East Jersey company, or the colonial governors. The WalMart location near me had a ridgeline that has been mountaintop removed, it has been in private hands since at least the 1680’s. So no longer a ridgeline fort and battlefield memorial, but a flat plateau WalMart, some condos and several million pounds of stone fill sold through out the region.
Some of those ridge battles were pretty small, less than 200 total combatants. A good number are now encompassed in state parks on the ridges since the area can’t be developed, so was turned into parkland (and aquifers for urban areas.)
Overall NJ has a decent collection of historical sites under protection, but a place like the Von Steuben house is worth saving, the land and house is already owned by a preservation trust, the problem was the subdivided neighboring property held a junk yard for decades and needs remediation, and the horrible 2007 once in 300 year flood that flooded out the historical house. just needs some money, plenty of expertise, pros and volunteers on hand and organized already.
It would. That's an issue that could use more publicity.
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Gods |
Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. |
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A Congress controlled by democrats? Careful what you drum up support for, my friend.
http://www.americanpolicy.org/un/seventyonemore.htm
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