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Fight to Save Civil War Battlefield Gets Help from Robert Duvall
4-May-2009
Written by: John Winn
Actor known for his portrayal of Tom Hagen in “The Godfather” and Lt. Kilgore in “Apocalypse Now.”
According to the Associated Press, Duvall, 78, has entered the battle to save a little known Civil War battlefield near Locust Grove, Virginia, where Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant first fought each other.
At a news conference, Duvall pleaded for supermarket chain Wal-Mart to reconsider its decision to build a store not 55 acres North of where the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness took place, calling for the chain to exercise "capitalism with sensitivity."
As if to underscore the levity of the situation, Duvall, who portrayed Lee--an ancestor of his--in 2004's Gods and Generals, was flanked by two Congressmen, Ted Poe of Texas and Peter Welch of Vermont, two states that took heavy casualties during the three day engagement.
According to several historic preservation groups--most notably the Civil War Preservation Trust--the 141,000 square foot Wal-Mart Supercenter would disrupt the line of sight of the battlefield, and add to the congestion encircling the town, population 7,605. Most of the residents live near State Route 3, which bypasses the Wilderness Tavern site not far from the battlefield park.
Since 2008, over $231,000 has been raised from patrons and volunteers, contributing to cleanup efforts in the nearby Fredericksberg and Spotsylvania National Military Park--of which Locust Grove is a part--as well as tours of the Locust Grove battlefield proper.
In addition to Lee, Duvall also shares ancestry with Barack Obama, Dick Cheney, and former President Harry Truman.
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