ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 3, 1997 TAG: 9701030100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: TREVILIANS
SOURCE: Associated Press
More than 132 years ago, 13,000 Union and Confederate cavalrymen tore up the fields near here in the largest cavalry engagement of the Civil War.
Today, a stone marker commemorating the Battle of Trevilian Station stands barely visible from Route 22 in Louisa County about 25 miles east of Charlottesville, surrounded by a clutter of plastic milk jugs, soda bottles and beer cans.
The state of the battlefield has prompted about 20 residents to form the Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation, an organization devoted to preserving the site.
``This is sacred land,'' said group member Jerry Harlow. ``Americans died on it by the hundreds. It should be saved as a memorial to those men.''
Harlow said a more concerted effort is necessary to save the battlefield because much of the land where fighting occurred runs the risk of being developed.
On some spots where fighting took place, homes now stand. Several other empty fields are privately owned, putting their future in question, Harlow said.
``Louisa County is fortunate that as much remains of the battlefield as it does,'' he said. ``But we can't miss the boat. This area is zoned for development; it's not zoned to be preserved.''
The battle on June 11-12, 1864, was the largest all-cavalry engagement of the Civil War. In it, 5,000 Confederate troops squared off against 8,000 federal soldiers. The battle was a draw, Harlow said: Yankee horsemen destroyed rail lines connecting Richmond with western Virginia, but Confederates rebuilt them several days later.
The group's preservation ideas include the creation of a Trevilian Station museum in Louisa, printing a map of sites where fighting took place and running a shuttle for tourists to see these sites.
Longer range plans include obtaining historic land and preserving it, as Civil War groups have done with bigger battles such as Antietam, Gettysburg and, more recently, Brandy Station in Culpeper County.
In addition to preserving a historic Civil War event, Trevilian Station offers an opportunity to attract tourists to Louisa County, said group member Edgar Crebbs.
``Everybody around us is talking about the Civil War, and we've got it right here and haven't told anyone about it,'' Crebbs said. ``Let's get up and tell people and be a part of what's going on.''
LENGTH: Medium: 52 linesby CNB