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This is obviously Revolutionary War but very pertinent to our studies of battlefield preservation. This clearly illustrates that archaeological resources when left in the ground until exhaustively documented are one of the strongest ways to force the preservation of a site. When the resources are removed our strongest ally, the physical evidence makes it much much harder to preserve the property.
PRINCETON BOROUGH — A new historical study of the Battle of Princeton sheds more light on the details of the crucial battle in which Gen. George Washington’s revolutionary forces defeated the British.
Findings from the study by John Milner Associates have given ammunition to opponents of a plan by the Institute for Advanced Study to build housing on property it owns.
The study offers evidence that the site of the Institute’s proposed housing project — which lies between the Institute’s main campus and Princeton Battlefield State Park — was a battle location.
“What it shows is that the climax of the battle — George Washington’s counterattack — took place on the parcel the Institute want to build on,” Jerry Hurwitz, president of Princeton Battlefield Society, said in a recent interview with The Times.
“The report strengthens our position, showing that more of the battle was fought on the Institute property in question than we initially predicted,” Hurwitz said.
“The site is hallowed ground,” Hurwitz said. “It shouldn’t be disturbed.”
The study was prepared under a grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program of the U.S. Department of Interior. Findings were unveiled yesterday at a symposium at Princeton University that was sponsored by the Battlefield Society and the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association.
The study features some 34 new digital maps of the battlefield with new revelations about the location of the long lost Saw Mill Road, the movement and locations of Mercer’s and Mifflin’s Brigades, and a newly identified German Regiment. According to the report, Saw Mill Road — the path that Washington and the Continental Army took to get to Princeton — goes across the property the Institute wants to build on.
Christine Ferrara, a spokeswoman for the Institute, declined to comment on the report because the Institute has not reviewed it yet.
Since the early 1970s, the Institute has planned to build faculty housing on the site, and it has received approval from the state to do so. Current plans include construction of seven single-family and eight townhouse-style low-profile homes on seven acres east of the Battlefield Park that the Institute owns. Plans include a 200-foot buffer zone and dense hedgerow between the homes and the park. The Institute has also pledged to give up development rights to at least 10 acres of land around the housing site.
The Princeton Battlefield Area Preservation Society has long opposed the plans, based on the site’s historical significance. The Battle of Princeton took place on Jan. 3, 1777, and was part of George Washington’s “10 crucial days,” in which the commander in chief of the Continental Army won a series of battles that turned the Revolutionary War in America’s favor.
A 2003 archaeological survey unearthed musket balls, broken bayonets and grapeshot ammunition dating to the 18th century. In a 2008 report to Congress, the National Park Service put Princeton Battlefield on its list of the top 29 endangered battlefields from the Revolutionary War. The battlefield was dedicated as a state park in 1946 and was named a historical landmark in 1961.
While members of the preservation society, including township resident Kip Cherry, say the Institute should build the housing elsewhere, the Institute has argued that the site is the only suitable location.
The Institute commissioned its own archeological survey of the proposed housing site in 2007. That report concluded that it was unlikely that any concentrations of additional artifacts of the Battle of Princeton would be found on the building site. It also concluded that the level of military activity in the project area was limited.
PRINCETON BOROUGH — A new historical study of the Battle of Princeton sheds more light on the details of the crucial battle in which Gen. George Washington’s revolutionary forces defeated the British.
Findings from the study by John Milner Associates have given ammunition to opponents of a plan by the Institute for Advanced Study to build housing on property it owns.
The study offers evidence that the site of the Institute’s proposed housing project — which lies between the Institute’s main campus and Princeton Battlefield State Park — was a battle location.
“What it shows is that the climax of the battle — George Washington’s counterattack — took place on the parcel the Institute want to build on,” Jerry Hurwitz, president of Princeton Battlefield Society, said in a recent interview with The Times.
“The report strengthens our position, showing that more of the battle was fought on the Institute property in question than we initially predicted,” Hurwitz said.
“The site is hallowed ground,” Hurwitz said. “It shouldn’t be disturbed.”
The study was prepared under a grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program of the U.S. Department of Interior. Findings were unveiled yesterday at a symposium at Princeton University that was sponsored by the Battlefield Society and the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association.
The study features some 34 new digital maps of the battlefield with new revelations about the location of the long lost Saw Mill Road, the movement and locations of Mercer’s and Mifflin’s Brigades, and a newly identified German Regiment. According to the report, Saw Mill Road — the path that Washington and the Continental Army took to get to Princeton — goes across the property the Institute wants to build on.
Christine Ferrara, a spokeswoman for the Institute, declined to comment on the report because the Institute has not reviewed it yet.
Since the early 1970s, the Institute has planned to build faculty housing on the site, and it has received approval from the state to do so. Current plans include construction of seven single-family and eight townhouse-style low-profile homes on seven acres east of the Battlefield Park that the Institute owns. Plans include a 200-foot buffer zone and dense hedgerow between the homes and the park. The Institute has also pledged to give up development rights to at least 10 acres of land around the housing site.
The Princeton Battlefield Area Preservation Society has long opposed the plans, based on the site’s historical significance. The Battle of Princeton took place on Jan. 3, 1777, and was part of George Washington’s “10 crucial days,” in which the commander in chief of the Continental Army won a series of battles that turned the Revolutionary War in America’s favor.
A 2003 archaeological survey unearthed musket balls, broken bayonets and grapeshot ammunition dating to the 18th century. In a 2008 report to Congress, the National Park Service put Princeton Battlefield on its list of the top 29 endangered battlefields from the Revolutionary War. The battlefield was dedicated as a state park in 1946 and was named a historical landmark in 1961.
While members of the preservation society, including township resident Kip Cherry, say the Institute should build the housing elsewhere, the Institute has argued that the site is the only suitable location.
The Institute commissioned its own archeological survey of the proposed housing site in 2007. That report concluded that it was unlikely that any concentrations of additional artifacts of the Battle of Princeton would be found on the building site. It also concluded that the level of military activity in the project area was limited.
