Shepherdstown man spurs battlefield preservation SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. —Some historians knew it as the Civil Wars Battle of Cement Mill, a two-day fight on the heels of the bloody Battle of Antietam in September 1862. Now, because of a fight that began over property rights 10 years ago, it is known as the Battle of Shepherdstown. Ed Dunleavy did that. Dunleavy, 70, a retired Wall Street tycoon, built a 3,600-square-foot home on 20 acres off Trough Road south of Shepherdstown in 2003. In April 2004, Jefferson County officials put up a sign notifying passers-by that said a conditional-use permit was being sought for Far Away Farms, a 152-unit single-family housing development on 122 acres near Dunleavys property. We all woke up and saw the sign, said Edward Moore, Dunleavys neighbor. Ed called a meeting. Ten of us showed up at his house. We initially started out to save our property. As Dunleavy learned more about what happened Sept. 19 and 20, 1862, between Confederates retreating from Union troops across the Potomac River after Antietam, he began to push harder to do something about it, Moore said. Dunleavy and his supporters formed the nonprofit Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association to stop two Maryland brothers,Bruce and Michael Boltz, who were planning to use a big chunk of battlefield land for Far Away Farms. The battle grew in importance as we told the story. It wasnt just a footnote in history, Moore said. Eds been indefatigable, the associations guiding light. According to National Park Service historians, the battle engaged 8,000 to 10,000 troops, with 677 casualties. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee sent his army back across the Potomac at Botelers Ford, now Packhorse Ford, southeast of Shepherdstown for a rear-guard action to stop Union troops from pursuing it. The National Park Service rates the battle a Confederate victory. Ive been described as a pit bull, but these developers have to know that were not going away, Dunleavy said. We started this, and we wont be discouraged. People have to be reminded that there were 677 casualties right outside Shepherdstown. Eds been a buzz saw, said Gary Capriotti, a neighbor and an association founder. We still have the battlefields original fields thanks to his leadership and guidance. Did you know he won a Bronze Star in Vietnam? Hes dogged, successful in everything hes done, said Stephen Alemar, another neighbor. Hes narrowly focused, a guy who believes in what hes doing. People have denigrated him, saying hes doing this to protect his property, but Ed believes saving the battlefield is a worthy effort. A man with ideas During the last 10 years, issues surrounding the battlefield and the proposed development have wound through the Jefferson County Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals and 23rd Judicial Circuit Court, and twice before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Ed Dunleavy has the kind of personality needed for this, Gutsell said. Hes a man with ideas, and he wont take things lying down. The association, which Dunleavy claims has more than 100 members, has won the support of the National Park Service, Antietam National Battlefield, American Battlefield Preservation Program, Jefferson County Landmarks Commission, Jefferson County Farmland Preservation Board and West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. Together, they raised $1.2 million to save or preserve 104 acres of battlefield land. Included was $375,000 to buy the 1829 brick cement mill. Holes made by cannonballs are visible in the ruins. This battle is known as the Battle of Cement Mill, or Butlers (Botelers) Ford, according to Military Operations in Jefferson County Virginia (Now West Virginia) 1861-1865, published in 1911 by the United Confederate Veterans. The National Park Service did a study of the battlefield to see if it could be made part of Antietam National Battlefield. Its boundary would cover 510 acres. The results of the study were the subject of public hearings in Sharpsburg and Shepherdstown in September. Susan Trail, superintendent of Antietam National Battlefield, said remarks from the hearings and online will be part of a report sent to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell this month before it is forwarded to Congress. Dunleavy grew up in Passaic, N.J., and earned bachelors and masters degrees from Rutgers University. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966, was commissioned as a lieutenant after officer candidate school, and served in Vietnam for a year, from February 1968 to his discharge in February 1969. He followed his military service with a 30-year career on Wall Street, eventually becoming vice president at Merrill Lynch and later Solomon Bros., before moving to similar firms in Chicago and elsewhere. He retired in 1989. Dunleavy and his wife, Carol, who works with him in the association, spend time in two homes —one in Shepherdstown and the other on the New Jersey shore.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 14:59:32 +0000
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