[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H4720-H4721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS VERSUS WAL-MART

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, it does us well to remember our 
American history.
  Over 145 years ago, this country was engaged in a great Civil War, 
from the North and from the South. And during that war between the 
States, several battles took place not far from this Capital. One took 
place over in Orange County, Virginia. It's called the Battle of the 
Wilderness. It had the sixth highest number of casualties on both sides 
during that conflict.
  Just to put it in perspective, it occurred on May 5 through May 7 in 
1864, 145 years ago. There were 160,000 troops involved in that battle: 
100,000 from the North, 60,000 from the South. That's the number of 
troops today we have in all of Iraq and all of Afghanistan put 
together. During that 3-day battle, 29,000 casualties: 18,000 from the 
Union, 8,000 from the Confederates.
  The battle was so fierce, Madam Speaker, that in the wilderness, the 
woods, where this battle took place during those 3 days, it was so 
heated, literally, that the woods caught on fire and many soldiers from 
the North and from the South that were wounded burned to death. Two of 
the States had the highest casualties, one in the North and one in the 
South. The highest in the North was from Vermont. The Vermonters 
sustained 78 percent casualties. In the South the Texas Brigade 
sustained over 60 percent casualties. On the first day of the battle, 
the Union troops were able to move the Southern troops back. The second 
day General Robert E. Lee sent the Texas troops in the middle, and he 
said that Texans always moved them. Be that as it may, the casualties 
were high on both sides.
  I bring this attention to the House today and to you, Madam Speaker, 
because all of these casualties, all of these troops that engaged in 
that battle were Americans and we should not forget that. And that is 
why we have the Battle of the Wilderness battlefield today. About 
900,000 Americans a year go to this battlefield in Orange County, 
Virginia.
  But now we have a problem. The corporation called Wal-Mart wants to 
build a Wal-Mart on this sacred, hallowed ground.
  I have a map of the Wilderness battlefield. It's outlined here. But 
you see right up here in the northeastern portion where this X is, 
that's where Wal-Mart wants to profit from these 900,000 people coming 
into Orange County every year. They have the legal right. The county 
fathers have said they can build in this location. But we would hope 
that Wal-Mart would change their mind. And I say ``we'' because Mr. 
Welch, the good man from Vermont, and I have written Wal-Mart and we 
have asked them to do the right thing and locate this Wal-Mart 3 miles 
away from the battlefield.
  Now, Madam Speaker, I'm not sure what Wal-Mart's intentions are, but 
I can tell you their corporate model down in Texas. They build a Wal-
Mart. They build it from property line to property line. They lay that 
asphalt. They build one of those beautiful stores, and a few years 
later, they abandon that property and move down the road and build 
another Wal-Mart. I don't know if that's their plan here or not, but be 
that as it may, they should not build this Wal-Mart in this location.
  We've written Wal-Mart. We have received no written response from 
them. Military historians from all over the world have asked Wal-Mart 
don't build on this battlefield because that's a part of American 
history. So far they continue to deal with this and say they're going 
to.
  I support property rights. I support the idea of a corporation making 
money. No question about it. They now have the legal right to move 
here. But now they need to make the American decision to do what's best 
for America and not what's best for this corporation.
  Madam Speaker, this land, like other battlefields in our country, is 
consecrated with the blood of Americans; 29,000. Many are still buried 
there and known only to God. And we owe them the right to keep this 
battlefield preserved for history and not to have a corporation like 
Wal-Mart come in and lay asphalt over their graves.
  So we are asking Wal-Mart to do the right thing. Put your Wal-Mart 
somewhere else, 3 miles down the road, so that this battlefield can be 
preserved for American history.
  Madam Speaker, I will include in the Record a letter that Congressman 
Peter Welch from Vermont and I have sent to Wal-Mart.

[[Page H4721]]

  Madam Speaker, it is our hope and our desire that we as Americans 
preserve the heritage of this country, save this sacred land, and have 
corporations do the right thing, not only don't build here but maybe 
donate some of their corporate money to save this land.
  And that's just the way it is.
                                Washington, DC, February 25, 2009.
     Michael T. Duke,
     President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 
         702 SW 8th Street, Bentonville, AR.
       Dear Mr. Duke: We write to you with profound disappointment 
     in your company's decision to locate a new store near The 
     Wilderness battlefield in Virginia and urge your immediate 
     reconsideration.
       While we may represent different political parties and 
     states on opposing sides of the Civil War, we stand united in 
     our support of respecting hallowed ground such as The 
     Wilderness battlefield. The Wilderness, as well as other 
     battlegrounds throughout the United States, represents the 
     great struggles and sacrifices our soldiers made to defend 
     freedoms they cherished deeply enough to risk their lives. 
     Four thousand men on both sides died and twenty thousand were 
     wounded during this battle in the spring of 1864. These lands 
     and lands near them should always be spared from commercial 
     development. Further, the Civil War Sites Advisory 
     Commission, formed by Congress to protect the historical 
     significance of our nation's Civil War sites, has defined 
     your proposed land for development as part of The Wilderness 
     battlefield.
       There are countless other locations your company could 
     consider for a more responsibly sited development in this 
     region. We feel the definition of corporate responsibility 
     must always extend to respecting storied lands and respecting 
     a community's natural landscape and surroundings when 
     choosing a site for a store. Those values should not be 
     eroded for the sake of commercial gain.
       We urge you to listen to feedback you've received from 
     groups close to The Wilderness battlefield and others who 
     care deeply about keeping this nation's history and lands 
     preserved and look elsewhere for development. We look forward 
     to your response.
           Sincerely,
     Ted Poe,
       Member of Congress, Texas.
     Peter Welch,
       Member of Congress, Vermont.

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