According to the Hampton Roads: Walmart has donated 50 acres of battlefield to that state of Virginia. This ended a legal battle over a super-store which the company planned to build close to the Wilderness Battlefield, according to a Washington Post article.
“Gov. Bob McDonnell announced the donation on Friday. It involves land in Orange County associated with the Wilderness and Chancellorsville battles.
Walmart had originally intended the land to be the home of a Supercenter. The proposal stirred an outcry among battlefield preservation groups such as The Civil War Trust. Opponents also included historians as well as some celebrities, including the actor Robert Duvall.”
Walmart will be building its super-store four miles away from the Battlegrounds. The deal has been approved, and the Department of Historic Resources will receive and steward the donated land. Both McDonnell and the director of the Department of Historic Resources, Kathleen S. Kilpatrick, give their praises to Walmart for its generous gift to Virgina.
April 30 to May 6 of 1863, The Battle of Chancellorsville took place. This battle was deemed to be a big victory for the Confederation. The Battle of the Wilderness was fought in May between the 5th and the 7th of 1864. This battle was the first time that Generals Ulysses S. Grant (North) and Robert E. Lee (South) met on the battlefield. Both of these battles proved to be quite bloody, with close to 60,000 casualties totaled.