IAS Development Similar to Building on Omaha Beach, Normandy

To the Editor:

It is time to stop the Institute of Advance Study. The parcel of land they wish to build on was the scene of the culminating fight of the Battle of Princeton. Without that preservation it will be difficult for future generations to appreciate how and where the Battle was fought. It’s the most significant piece of ground upon which one of the most important events of that Battle was fought. The ground itself is what is important to preserve. 

If this were Gettysburg, that ground would have been the Copse of Trees (object of Pickett’s Charge).

If it were Custer Battlefield, that would be Last Stand Hill.

If that were Normandy, it would be Omaha Beach. 

Most of the previously known documentation points to that as being the ground upon which the 17^th Foot and several companies of dismounted dragoons made their last organized stand, but more recently found British court martial records confirm it. It can be measured from known and accepted landmarks mentioned in those court martial transcripts. It is finally confirmed by the several archeological studies done of that area in recent years which turned up numerous artifacts thoroughly consistent with the activity that was documented to have occurred there in 1777. 

I recognize the Institute’s need for faculty housing, their proper claim to the land, and their examples of generosity to the Princeton Battlefield Park. It is unfortunate for both parties that the confirming evidence of the actual site of that critical action has only been professionally confirmed in the last decade, but it HAS been confirmed. This information throws a different light on the land that was not available 20 years ago. The reason for the last few studies was to determine the historical signifigance of the land. That signifigance has been shown! It's time to write the Mayor of Princeton and say no to construction on the battlefield. 

Joe Carney

Glenwood NJ

Joe Carney is a member of the Princeton Battlefield Society.