Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

[Beaner]

Pards,
I have been in contact with the people who are involved in the Sheperdstown Battlefield preservation. They are in immediate need of help. A developer has purchased the core part of the battlefield and is in the process of getting permission to build a 144 unit subdivision on the core part of the battlefield. There is an upcoming Feb. hearing in Front of the West Virginia Supreme Court to grant the developer permission to build on this site. The save Sheperdstown Battlefield organization needs approximately $70,000 to defeat these actions. They are in extreme needs of support both financial and at the hearings. If the developer wins the battlefield will no longer exist.

The battle was fought after Antietam during Lee's retreat. The 5th Corp, 1st Division and A. P. Hills Light Division and Jackson Corp. were involved in this action. Please visit http://www.battleofshepherdstown.org to donate.

I will update as I recieve more information.

Dave Prince
4th Tx. Co. E

[Thomas Alleman]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

Hey are is there a website on the proposed developement?

[Dignann]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

According to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia calendar, on March 11, 2008, Faraway Farm LLC will have a hearing in which they are appealing "the circuit court's decision which affirmed the decision of the Jefferson County Board of Zoning Appeals. The BZA denied a Conditional Use Permit sought for the purpose of subdividing and developing 122.88 acres in a designated rural district." This 122 acres is in the middle of the Shepherdstown Battlefield. I suspect the money the SBPA is trying to raise is for legal assistance in fighting this appeal. This has been an on-going issue for some years. See the SBPA website for background on this struggle.

http://www.battleofshepherdstown.org/SBPA%20History.html

Pertinent documents related to the March 11 hearing can be found here:

http://www.state.wv.us/WVSCA/calendar/march11_08ad.htm

I couldn't find a website for the developer.

A couple months ago, Ed Dunleavy and Tom Clemens of the SBPA gave me and some friends of mine a tour of the battlefield. It really is a beautiful piece of ground.

Eric

[DougCooper]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

Dave - from Eric's reading of the case it sounds like we have won the first round but the developers are coming back for another try. I have great doubt they will succeed in overturning the decision. Read the remarkable story of the SBPA and heavy hitter helpers such as Sen Robert Bryd here: http://www.battleofshepherdstown.org...20History.html

It appears from reading the above that the money is needed to cover the expenses incurred so far, vice enlisting legal support for the WV Supreme Court hearing. Either way, it is a good cause.

At this point, with the community, the State, CWPT and policians large and small weighing in...to say nothing of the housing market in the area, the developers may be simply trying to up the ante and at least get their money back for their initial investment.

[Clsinclair]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

Ed Dunleavy allowed our battalion and members of the 26th NC to camp on his property last September during the A.P. Hill march. He and his family and his friends are very active in saving the battlefield. It is beautiful country and it would be a shame to put housing on the property.

[Beaner]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

Pard's,

In talking with Ed he stated that the West Virginia Supreme court is development friendly and all the hard work that has been done will be wasted. Senator Byrd's office told Mr Dunlevy that it will take two to three years for the Senate to act on his proposal.

The developer has already been offered what he paid for the Farm. He is asking for the amount it would be worth if the 144 units were on it. The developer refuses to negotiate the sale price.

F.Y.I. The Save the Sepherdtown's Battlefield Preservation Organization will be in attendance at the "The Skirmish at Wolcott Mill" event in Ray Twp. Mi. on Oct. 17th thru 19th, 2008. Please join us and support this great cause!!!

Our scenario is: the actions in and around Sheperdstown, Va. (now West Virginia) in Sept. 1862. This battle was part of Lee's movements back to Virginia after Antietam. The Federal 5th Corp and Jackson's Corp were involved in the actions.

Dave Prince
4th Texas Co. E
Event Coordinator

[unclefrank]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

In order to obtain a hunting licence in any state, you should be able to prove that you have "bagged" at least one developer. :baring_te

[Beaner]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

I just received an e-mail from the Sheperdstown Preservation Group. The Developer has won his appeal in the Faraway Farm case. The West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that he can start developing the farm. Senator Byrd initiated legislation to make Sheperdstown part of the Antietam N.B.P.. This could be only hope of saving the Farm from development. Please contact anyone and everyone to get this legislation pushed through. Go to www.battleofsheperdstown.org to read the courts findings.

Dave Prince

[justthemiller]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

Hey Dave,

Unfortunately you misspelled the link. The correct one is listed below. But anyway, being a resident of the area I am not surprised that the developer has gotten his way for now. However, Sen. Byrd does have some pull so it remains to be seen if the NPS will be able to take over the park. Also, from listening to the local radio it seems the local county/municipal folks are still working on "other options" to stall the developer. It also helps that the housing market is fantastically slow in the area right now. The site is rather pristine and that developing it would just be a bloody shame.

www.battleofshepherdstown.org

[Busterbuttonboy]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

07/18/2008
Supporters of battlefield near Shepherdstown continue fight to save site
By DAVE McMILLION
charlestown@herald-mail.com

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — An effort to save a Civil War battlefield near Shepherdstown, W.Va., is still alive, the president of a group heading the effort said Thursday.


Some Jefferson County residents began discussing the idea of establishing a park to save the battlefield off Trough Road east of Shepherdstown following a controversial proposal to build 152 homes on 122 acres.


Far Away Farm LLC's proposal to build the homes generated opposition from several residents and preservation groups who say the site was part of the Battle of Shepherdstown.


After winding through a long county regulatory process, members of the Jefferson County Zoning Board of Appeals turned down a conditional use permit for the development, saying it was not compatible with the area where it was going to be built.


The developers appealed the decision to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, which in April reversed the zoning board of appeals decision, said Ed Dunleavy, president of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association, the organization that has been trying to save the battlefield.


The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled the local zoning board of appeals did not have the authority to deny the permit for the development and directed the "Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission" to issue the permit, according to a news release from the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Web site.


Dunleavy took issue Thursday with parts of the ruling, including that there is no such county agency known as the Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission.


Dunleavy said his group along with their attorney, Linda Gutsell, plan to appeal the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.


The Jefferson County Commission set aside $100,000 to help acquire the battlefield, and Commissioner Dale Manuel on Thursday made an unsuccessful attempt to instead use the money for county government employee salaries.


Manuel made a motion to use the money for employee pay after saying that it is unlikely there would be any change in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals decision at the U.S. Supreme Court level.


Manuel's motion failed.


Commissioner Jim Surkamp said there is still a "very real possibility" that the Shepherdstown battlefield site can be preserved.


Commission President Frances Morgan said she did not believe the time was right to shift the $100,000.


"It's still undecided, no matter what Dale Manuel thinks," Dunleavy said Thursday.


Members of Dunleavy's organization have been raising money to preserve the battlefield land. The asking price for the property at one time was $3.6 million.


Lawyers for Far Away Farms LLC, the developers of the housing project, could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.


The battle fought in Shepherdstown on Sept. 19 and 20, 1862, brought to an end the Army of Northern Virginia's Maryland campaign and was a significant factor in Gen. Robert E. Lee's decision to retreat deeper into the Shenandoah Valley, officials said.


There were various northern and southern troop movements in the Trough Road area after Lee pulled his army back across the Potomac River and on Sept. 20, the two sides clashed in open fields around the Far Away Farm property, Dunleavy has said.


About 130 soldiers died, experts say.

http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=198940&format=print

Drew Gruber

[Dignann]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

Organizations Fight to Save State's Civil War Battlefields

Some of West Virginia's Civil War battlefields are scenes of new fighting.

By Paul Darst

The State Journal [Charleston, W.Va.]
September 11, 2008

For the past four years, a group of Jefferson County residents has been fighting to save an historic battlefield there, said Edward Dunleavy, president of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc.

"It's been difficult for the past four years," he said. "(A developer) bought a 122-acre farm and proposed building 152 houses on it."

The problem as association members see it is that much of the development will be on hallowed ground that was the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherstown. The battle took place Sept. 19-20 of that year, two days after the Battle of Antietam -- the bloodiest single-day battle in American history with a combined 24,000 killed, wounded or missing.

On the evening of Sept. 19, a Union force crossed the Potomac River at Shepherdstown and attacked the retiring Army of Northern Virginia of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The troops captured artillery pieces and retreated. The next morning, they established a bridgehead over the river as Confederate units headed back toward Shepherdstown to counterattack.

The Union units on the Shepherdstown side of the river were outnumbered and were ordered to retreat. One inexperienced unit, however, was cut off and suffered heavy losses.

Today, Dunleavy's association is fighting a different kind of battle, he said.

"We're fighting a developer," he said. "We're trying to save the core of the battlefield. (The battle) took place over one square mile. (The battlefield) is bisected by a road. It's as it was in 1862. Most of the battle took place west of the road. We're trying to save half of the core of the battlefield. So far, we have 84 acres."

An effort to save another of the state's Civil War battlefields has been going on for the past 17 years in Randolph County. The Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation has been working to save a site since 1991, said Michelle Depp, executive director of the organization. Like the Shepherdstown group, Depp's organization was founded in response to a threat to the battlefield, she said.

"It started as a grassroots effort to save the endangered Rich Mountain site," Depp said. "There was timbering and mining -- it was pretty close to mountaintop removal."

During the past nearly two decades, the foundation has been able to raise funds through grant writing and other means to purchase much of the battlefield, Depp said. To date, the organization has bought 435 acres of battlefield grounds, she said.

"We worked with a variety of state and federal agencies to make it happen," she said. "... There's always more work to be done. We've probably acquired everything we're able to acquire for that battleground."

Much of the work now involves preserving and maintaining the battlefield, she said.

But the Shepherdstown group still has a lot of uncertainty surrounding its efforts, Dunleavy said. The group now is awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Jefferson County Board of Zoning appeals denied the developer a conditional use permit for the property, and that decision was upheld at the Circuit Court level. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals this past June overturned that decision, however, and now the association is appealing to the nation's high court.

The association has asked the Supreme Court for a summary judgment in the case, he said. A decision could be handed down any day now.

In the meantime, the Shepherdstown group will continue working to preserve the historic site, Dunleavy said.

One recent development is a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., that would put the Shepherdstown battlefield under the jurisdiction of nearby Harpers Ferry National Historic Park or the Antietam National Battlefield, both of which are part of the U.S. National Park Service.

Senate Bill 1633 has passed committee and now is awaiting a floor vote. Dunleavy said he hopes the bill will pass, and the Shepherdstown site can be placed under federal jurisdiction before any development takes place.

http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=43841

Eric

[Beaner]

Re: Shepherdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

The Wolcott Mill Civil War event will be raising funds to donate to the Battle of Shepherdstown Preservation Association. Ed Dunlevy and their organization will be in attendence at the event.

The event is being conducted in Ray Twp., Mi. on the weekend of October 17th through the 19th. Please come and support their efforts. For addtional information please e-mail skirmishatthemill@ yahoo.com. The website is located at http://www.fourthtexas.com

Dave Prince
Event Coordinator

[Dignann]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

Preservation efforts continue

Measure to preserve possible Civil War battlefield awaits House approval

By Naomi Smoot

The Journal [Martinsburg, W.Va.]
January 27, 2009

SHEPHERDSTOWN - A local preservation group could be one step closer to saving a property that they say was part of a Civil War battlefield.

Members of the U.S. Senate approved a measure known as the Omnibus Public Lands Bill earlier this month, and the legislation is now awaiting approval from the House of Representatives. The bill, among other things, authorizes a resource study for a property that is believed to be the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown.

The study aims to determine the national significance of the site, as well as the suitability and feasibility of including it in either Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or Antietam National Battlefield.

"It's the first step that the federal government takes," said Edward Dunleavy, president of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association.

In recent years, Dunleavy's group has been fighting to preserve the property, which is currently slated to become home to a 152-unit housing development known as Far Away Farms.

As a part of the effort, group members met with U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., nearly three years ago to tell him about their efforts to preserve the site.

"He took an interest in it," Dunleavy said of Byrd.

The Senator later introduced a bill in an attempt to help save the historic property, and noted in an April 2008 news release that he was excited have a chance to aid in the group's efforts.

"West Virginia is home to many great landmarks that are a significant part of our nation's history," Byrd said. "I am pleased to be working with the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association to help initiate this National Park Study."

Dunleavy said that once the study is complete, the National Park Service could consider expanding the boundaries of either Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or Antietam National Battlefield to include the property. After that, he said the land would have to be purchased, but only if there is a willing seller.

"It has nothing to do with eminent domain," Dunleavy said. "The National Park Service does not use eminent domain."

But attorneys representing Far Away Farms' developer say the property's owners maintain their right to use the land as they see fit.

"In West Virginia people still have the right to own their property and do with it what they want," said Nathan Cochran, an attorney from the law office of Richard Gay. "We don't believe it should be taken from them without their consent."

Cochran said the office also disputes the property's historic significance, and noted that a ruling issued in Jefferson County Circuit Court maintained that the property did not meet the definition of historic as outlined in the county's ordinances.

"We do not believe that this property is within the core area of that battlefield," Cochran said.

But Dunleavy and other members of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association disagree, and recently announced their intentions to team up with West Virginia University to conduct a historic resource study of the property.

http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/514989.html

Eric

[GreencoatCross]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

I was just at this battlefield with Dan Wambaugh last November after Remembrance Day. I had wanted to see it for a very long time since Cassius Peck, Co. F 1st U.S. Sharpshooters, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for capturing a battery of CS artillery there shortly after Lee's retreat across the river. A uniformed tintype of this soldier also happened to be my very first image purchase! Here's a little blurb about the battle taken from "Berdan's U.S. Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac" by Capt. Chas. A. Stevens.

"On the 19th the Sharpshooters were ordered to the front in advance of Morell's division, and marching through Sharpsburg met the enemy again at this crossing of the Potomac, having been sent ahead to reconnoiter. Proceeding three-fourths of a mile deployed in line, they skirmished in the afternoon with their rear guard when a brisk little action ensued, the 4th Michigan following as a support. On reaching the river bank the enemy who had crossed to the Virginia side, opened heavily at first, but were soon completely silenced by our men who had taken possession of an old canal bed then dry, assisted by our batteries from the beginning, the Confederates being unable to load their cannon or to remove them. At half past five P.M. Capt. Isler commanding, received an order from Gen. Porter for the First Sharpshooters to cross the stream and drive the enemy from the bluff - "to repulse them at any hazard." Only a part of the command heard the order, and these promptly responding, ran forward into the water waist deep under a hot fire from their opponents, to our loss in killed and wounded, forded the river with their guns and cartridge boxes held above them, and climbing the embankment put the foe to flight, capturing a rebel battery of four guns; afterwards run down the bluff to the beach by the 4th Michigan following, which were eventually removed to the Union lined on the Maryland side by a portion of the 5th New York. So that three regiments got the credit for capturing these guns; First, Berdan's Sharpshooters; second, 4th Michigan; third, 5th New York.

After the Sharpshooters had captured the cannon - the first and real capture - two of which were discovered by a small force under Corp. Cassius Peck of Company F, and taken, after driving the enemy off, which one prisoner; our men followed the retreating foe 300 yards, fighting every step. While advancing, Company I came in contact with a line of skirmishers, when a fight occurred at short range, the rebels retreating as the Sharpshooters rushed at them, leaving behind numerous articles of value, among them a case of surgical instruments. Being reinforced, the enemy recharged and succeeded in getting back everything but the surgeon's case taken by Serg. Eli Cook, who, however, lost it during the darkness, having placed it under a bush for safe keeping. During the night the Sharpshooters were ordered to recross the river, although they held the shore from which the enemy had been driven. Before returning, a horse was heard coming at full speed. It was very dark, and the rider a rebel staff officer, rode right up to our lines looking for the brigade left to guard the ford, Lawton's brigade of Jackson's corps, for whom he had verbal orders, thus proving the number of men that had been opposed to our small force. This officer was captured by Corp. Sankey (Company B) in Serg. Cook's picket, and sent to Gen. Porter by Capt. Isler.

On the 20th at an early hour, a portion of the 5th corps under Gen. Sykes, with Barnes' brigade of Morell's division, crossed over and advanced more or less as far as a mile from the river, expecting to be reinforced by more troops and to advance towards Shepherdstown. Being suddenly attacked by a superior force, some 3,000 strong, rising in front from the heavy woods, and the "bushes and cornfields" which had hidden them from view, Gen. Porter at the suggestion of Gen. Sykes, ordered the entire command to fall back across the ford, which was gradually accomplished. A new regiment known as the "Corn Exchange" of Philadelphia (118th Pennsylvania), remaining too long found themselves flanked, and being furiously assaulted on all sides met with severe loss, while hurriedly driven back to the bluff. Our troops on the Maryland side heard the firing, when orders came for the Sharpshooters to fall in, who moving double-quick, were posted in the canal where they had good shelter and a fine place to aim - cruel work, but it was war, and our troops must be protected. Here, the concealed riflemen had a chance to cover the retreat, which was handsomely done, the enemy as they approached the opposite bank being quickly driven away by the shower of bullets whizzing among them. The rebels were making fatal work among the Pennsylvanians, shooting them down fast, until our boys came to their rescue and saved them. Taking cover under the bank mid the rocks and caves, many of them refused for a time to attempt the crossing, fearing to expose themselves while so doing. Our men called to them, trying to encourage them, but without avail. Finally, Calvin Morse, chief bugler of Company F, crossed the stream, protected by the fire of his comrades, to show that it could be safely done. Persuasion and coaxing seemed useless, and many of them were captured. But the Pennsylvanians were not to blame for being driven or for their subsequent actions. They had fought hard at the front before falling back, with an inferior gun, "50 per cent of which could not be discharged," and when men cannot shoot back, they hardly care to be shot at.

"Their arms (spurious Enfield rifles) were so defective that little injury could be inflicted by them upon the enemy. Many of this regiment, new in service, volunteered the previous evening, and formed part of the attacking party which gallantly crossed the river to secure the enemy's artillery. They have earned a good name which the losses of the day did not diminish. (These defective arms had been reported to the General-in-Chief, but all efforts to replace them had failed.)" -Fitz John Porter."

The Sharpshooter companies as usual did good service. Our fighting was often severe both with musketry and artillery, our batteries working hard. Our men felt in the best of spirits at the successful issue of the engagement, the enemy hurrying away during the night. Recruits first under fire were awarded great praise for so gallantly vieing with the old members during the battle. An instance is given to show their true spirit: Lieut. Nash, of Company B, having called for volunteers to cross the river and bring in the wounded, Company B went entire with some other companies; among them Albert S. Isham, of Company G, jumped up, quickly followed by William Heath, a recruit, who, plunging into the water up to their armpits despite the heavy firing, succeeded in crossing over, and recovering one of the wounded returned with him in safety, although the unfortunate soldier died shortly after. Rushing waters had no terrors for brave soldiers.

Capt. Marble wrote me: "Your recruits, first under fire near Sharpsburg, are doing splendidly." Col. Berdan also wrote: "Stevens, send as many more of the same sort as you can get." These recruits sandwiched in among the old members, soon became proficient soldiers.

Relative to the affair of the 19th, Gen. Porter reports: "The result of the day's action was the capture of five pieces, two caissons, two caisson bodies, two forges, and some 400 stand of arms; also one battle-flag. Our loss was small in numbers, but some excellent officers and men were killed and wounded."

In Company G, Willard Ishman was struck with a piece of shell on both legs and benumbed, which kept him off duty for some weeks; another instance of the effect produced by a glance shot, or even spent ball, the force of the blow often being more severely felt than if it entered the flesh. Marvin (First Sergt. Marvin P. Raymond, Co. I) and Hamlin (Arthur Hamlin, Co. I) were shot in the river on th e 19th.

The rebel general A.P. Hill, in his report of Shepherdstown or Boteler's Ford, the Blackford Ford battle, told what a daring charge he had made, how he drove us pell-mell into the river, followed by the "greatest slaughter of blue coats of the war;" the broad surface of the Potomac being blue with floating bodies, etc. He must have been looking through a very large magnifying glass at a respectful distance from the river as his story was certainly a very great stretch of imagination; and yet it was founded on a pretty good supposition when the illy armed "Corn Exchange" were driven back."

Did I just type all of that? :confused_

[Busterbuttonboy]

Re: Sheperdstown Battlfield alert!!!!!!!

Ok where is Mink!? Help me translate THOMAS and this bill. Big Omnibus Bill containing a TON of really good stuff for battlefields, conservation, and preservation in general including:

Passed early last month.

H.R.146
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)

Sec. 7205. Shepherdstown battlefield, West Virginia.


So. As far as I can pick up from friends in DC, the battlefield has been officially created and funded. Just waiting to decide who will administer is. Harpers or Antietam.

Hows this sound to everyone else? Correct?
Exciting non-the less.
Drew Gruber