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Bill in Congress on historic battle sites would aid Princeton Battlefield

7/29/2008
Princeton Packet, by Katie Wagner

A bill awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives would establish a federal grant program for preserving and protecting battle sites associated with the Revolutionary War, including Princeton Battlefield State Park.

The legislation, which was introduced by U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12) last year, was approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources on July 16.

The bill, H.R. 160, would also establish funding for sites associated with the War of 1812.

According to a 2007 National Parks Service report, 170 of 677 nationally significant sites associated with the two wars are in danger of being destroyed in the next 10 years, including the Princeton Battlefield State Park.

”Places like Trenton and Princeton were truly at the crossroads of the American Revolution, with thousands of troops fighting on our soil,” Rep. Holt said in a July 16 statement. “With these lands deteriorating, we owe it to future generations to protect these battle sites and safeguard an important part of our nation’s history.”

Enactment of Rep. Holt’s legislation would set aside funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the preservation and protection of battlefields and related historical sites from these wars, as is currently done for Civil War sites. In addition to the 170 sites in danger of being destroyed within the next 10 years, the National Parks Service Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States found that 99 have already been lost forever and 234 are in poor condition.

Ann Webber, a trustee of the Princeton Battlefield Society — the friends organization for the Princeton Battlefield State Park — said state-owned sites in Princeton associated with the Revolutionary War, including the Princeton Battlefield State Park are in desperate need of funding.

She added that if the bill is passed, the society will likely seek funding for renovations to the Thomas Clarke House, which is located in the state park and for further archaeological study related to the Battle of Princeton.

Ms. Webber said the 1777 Battle of Princeton occurred in several parts of Princeton ranging from south of the Princeton Friends-Quaker Meeting House to Nassau Hall to the area of the Springdale Golf Course.

 
Princeton Battlefield State Park and surrounding areas was probably the primary Revolutionary War site in Princeton, but the National Historic Landmarks, Morven and Nassau Hall, are examples of other areas associated with the Revolutionary War that would probably be eligible for funding, Ms. Webber said.

”Some of these areas may already be identified and protected, some may or may not be on the National Register of Historic Places and still need to be protected and some require additional research to identify where they are and what their significance is,” Ms. Webber said.

The Princeton Battlefield Society has said the National Park Service report’s labeling of the Princeton Battlefield National Historic Landmark as threatened has provided further evidence that no development should take place on land it considers part of the battlefield owned by the Institute for Advanced Study. The society has claimed that archaeological findings on the institute’s property adjacent to the Princeton Battlefield State Park indicate it was a significant part of the Battle of Princeton.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton), who previously stated his opposition to the institute’s construction plans for the land, announced his support of archaeologists’ call for a new study on the site’s historical significance in a press release this spring.

Institute representatives have said the archaeological findings, which are detailed in a report commissioned by the institute, are not evidence of significant activity on the proposed site.