The web tonight said that under withering opposition from hundreds of historians, Wal-Mart has abandoned plans to build a Supercenter near the Civil War site where Robert E. Lee first met Ulysses S. Grant in 1864 in "The Battle of the Wilderness".
The plans were dropped one day before the case would have gone to court. Very fortuitous, I would say. An industry analyst said Wal-Mart's decision was based on Sam Walton's credo that Wal-Mart should never build a store where it wasn't wanted. Hello!!!
A victory for the preservation community and for historic sites. Wal-Mart and county officials argued that no significant battles occurred on the site but those opposed said that "among other things, thousands of wounded and dying soldiers occupied the then-open fields that included the Wal-mart site".
Its good that they came to a decision that would be in the best interests of all concerned. And after all, they can build another store not too far away, just hopefully not on "hallowed ground".
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