Letter to the Editor: Institute Must Preserve Battlefield Grounds

To the Editor:

There are relatively few places in our country where a singular event helped shape the American people. Far fewer have not yet been ravaged by time or the self-interests of uncaring landowners.

Princeton Battlefield is one of these most special places.

Readers of Princeton Patch may be familiar with the Ten Crucial Days of the American Revolution. As they may know, events that occurred in New Jersey during the last week of 1776 and first week of 1777 buttressed the failing rebellion to establish a United States. One of the most significant of these events was the Battle of Princeton.

But part of this battlefield, where the roots of modern-day America were set, having remained largely intact for well over two centuries, may now be forever covered by asphalt and buildings under the direction of its current owner. So the soil on which both American and British soldiers demonstrated remarkable bravery and discipline in the face of overwhelming adversity, where these soldiers suffered excruciating wounds and met death, may be uncaringly turned under by residential construction.

The Institute for Advanced Study, as owner, could have recognized the extraordinary significance of the site and preserved it, perhaps by selling it to a preservation-minded entity. It could have constructed its housing elsewhere. But the Institute, which prides itself on its ability to promote “thinking that produces advances in knowledge that change the way we understand the world,” is instead choosing to ignore new and comprehensive historical research that underscores the significance of the site it owns during the Battle of Princeton. The Institute has, in this case, chosen to selfishly ignore “advances in knowledge that change the way we understand” one of the most significant events in American history.

The Regional Planning Board of Princeton now holds the future of this sacred site in its hands. The board should fully consider and appreciate the site’s extraordinary historical significance and contrast that with the proposed development. This development and the meager mitigation offered to assuage the loss of the site’s historical integrity are neither compatible with the site’s significance nor with Princeton’s place in the regional Crossroads of the Revolution.

Robert Doscher

New Fairfield, Conn.