Comments by the National Trust for Historic Preservation on Fort Ward Park. March 16, 2009.

From: "Robert Nieweg"
To: Alexvamayor@aol.com
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 2:31:26 PM
Subject: Fort Ward Park / National Trust for Historic Preservation

Dear Mayor Euille:
I am writing on behalf of the National Trust for Historic Preservation to express our strong support for the careful preservation and protection of the cultural, archaeological, and historic resources at Fort Ward Park, including the marked and unmarked graves of many residents of Alexandria’s historic African-American community. 

The City of Alexandria’s facility planning for Fort Ward Park must take into account any and all potential impacts to these unique and irreplaceable resources. 

Fort Ward and the other surviving portions of the Civil War Defenses of Washington are highly valuable to our understanding of American military history. In fact, the entire 35-acre site of Fort Ward Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. Importantly, Fort Ward and the Defenses of Washington merit careful stewardship for their close historic connections to the many thousands of men and women who freed themselves from slavery and sought protection behind the fortified Union lines. These people escaped slavery, helped to construct and maintain the Defenses of Washington, and then lived in and around the forts vacated after the war. For these courageous people and their descendants, Fort Ward and the Defenses of Washington were an abiding symbol of freedom.

Unfortunately, the City of Alexandria’s “Fort Ward Facility Study & Recommendations (Oct. 16, 2008)” appears to indicate that the City is moving forward with a plan to substantially physically alter Fort Ward Park without first conducting the studies and planning necessary to avoid irrevocable harm to cultural, historic, and archaeological resources. It is imperative that the City’s planning for Fort Ward Park is broadened to take into account the highly sensitive cultural, historic, and archaeological resources which survive at Fort Ward, including many marked and unmarked graves of African-American residents of Alexandria. 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation strongly supports the thoughtful recommendations of the Alexandria Archaeological Commission, which include a recommendation that “any renovation and improvement plans for Fort Ward Park include protecting, preserving, and interpreting the post-Civil War era African-American settlement and cemeteries throughout the park. … We further recommend that any plans be deferred until historical and archaeological research is completed and stewardship and interpretive plans are adopted that recognize the importance of the post-Civil War African Americans associated with this place.” [S. Kathleen Pepper, Chair, Alexandria Archaeological Commission, to Laura Durham, City of Alexandria Dept. of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities, March 4, 2009 (emphasis added).]

Finally, the National Trust for Historic Preservation also respectfully urges that the City of Alexandria should take immediate action to protect the human dignity and physical integrity of marked and unmarked graves throughout Fort Ward Park while the recommended preservation-based research and stewardship planning are underway.

Thank you in advance for considering the views of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Sincerely,
Robert Nieweg
Director and Regional Attorney
Southern Field Office
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
202-588-6223 (fax)
202-588-6107 (phone)