Letter: Housing Proposal Will Destroy Pristine Princeton Battlefield

To the Editor:

The meeting on the 16th Feb was cancelled.

The fourth and probably the last meeting of the Planning Commission to decide the fate of the Institute of Advanced Study’s owned property that is adjacent to the Princeton Battlefield will now take place on Thursday, March 1 at 400 Witherspoon St. at 7:30 p.m. This is the exact location where Washington led the successful counter-attack which won the battle for the day and became a major turning point in the war for America’s independence. It was America’s first victory against British forces. The battle of Trenton was against the Hessians.

Being designated as one of the 10 Most Endangered Sites in New Jersey by
Preservation Jersey and named a “Priority I Principal Site” by the National Park Service in their report to Congress makes protecting the Battlefield vital. The IAS proposed 15 unit housing will not only break apart the symmetry of the Battlefield, but destroy history. The only true way to understand the battle is to walk the field which gives you a reality that cannot be captured in a book. This housing with its destruction of part of the Battlefield would be like removing Picket’s charge from the battle of Gettysburg.

James McPherson, David Hackett Fischer, Tom Fleming and David McCullough,
all well known historians and authors have all acknowledged the importance
of the Battle of Princeton in American history.

At the end of the day if we lose this part of history we lose a pristine battlefield and a piece of our identity as a nation.

R. Iain Haight-Ashton, Site Director
Wyckoff-Garretson House
Somerset, NJ