Letter: Protect Princeton Battlefield

To the Editor:

Protecting and preserving the assets of New Jersey must concern all of us. The effective way is to stand up for our state’s, as well as our nation’s, heritage when threatened or placed in jeopardy. If I do not stand up, raise my voice, and say “No More!,” how can I criticize others for standing by as our past is destroyed or desecrated?

I have recently joined an energetic non-profit, The Princeton Battlefield Society, as a member and a Trustee. By getting involved and being responsible to the group’s mission, I had to learn as much as I could, which involved talking with historians, preservationists, and re-enactors. One issue that continually surfaced was protecting the battlefield site and the potential destruction of a part of the Battlefield with the construction of new Institute for Advanced Study housing. 

While some have camouflaged the importance of this IAS section of the Battlefield to the success of the Continental Army, overwhelming evidence points in another direction: On this land a turning point in our revolutionary struggle occurred, and should be protected as such. Construction on this site will destroy New Jersey and American heritage, my heritage. Is the proposed housing so important that we will lose forever the land on which American history was made?

As a Civil War historian myself, I have witnessed the desecration of sites of major battles.  Lost forever, the tragic drama remains; lost sites are only memories today because people, like me, did not raise voices in opposition. I am committed, therefore, to remain silent no longer especially when similar challenges to my heritage occur.

I am against the building of IAS housing on land that must be protected for our past, our present and our future. My opposition rests on historic facts as well as my personal commitment.  Simply put, “No more!”

William R. Marsch

Old Georgetown Road