Inquirer editorial: George's gem worth saving

George Washington fought here, won here, and is about to get bulldozed out of here.

"Here" is Maxwell's Field, a small patch of flat, slightly rolling land near Princeton University that historians call "hallowed ground" and site of the "turning point" of the Revolutionary War.

Local and national preservationists want to keep the land as it is, which is largely as Gen. Washington found it when he routed the British Redcoats in the Battle of Princeton on Jan. 3, 1777.

But what should be treated as a national treasure celebrating a defining moment in American history is on the verge of being developed as housing for some of the country's and world's greatest thinkers.

"This land is as central to the Battle of Princeton as the field of Pickett's Charge is to Gettysburg and as Omaha Beach is to D-Day," historian David Hackett Fischer wrote in a letter to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Institute for Advanced Study, which Albert Einstein helped develop in the 1930s, owns what a coalition of preservation groups says is the site of Washington's daring counterattack. The institute disputes that claim, citing historical reviews it commissioned.

It's Washington vs. Einstein. Unfortunately, the Father of Our Country is losing to the Father of Relativity.

The site is a 22-acre tract between the institute's campus and Princeton Battlefield State Park. The institute is poised to build eight townhouses and seven single-family homes on seven of those acres to give more of its faculty members - plus emeritus and international visiting scholars - "the opportunity to collaborate and interact spontaneously," spokeswoman Christine Ferrara told the Editorial Board. Being "a residential community of scholars . . . is part of our DNA."

The institute will preserve 14 acres, including a 200-foot buffer, next to the 85-acre park, provide interpretive materials for visitors, and improve the park house. "We are being as sensitive and collaborative as possible," Ferrara said.

The Princeton Battlefield Society, which is leading the charge to save Maxwell's Field, including three pending lawsuits, strongly disagrees. It has enlisted the National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Civil War Trust, among others, to block the housing and expand the park.

"This is where the battle was actually won," society vice president Kip Cherry told the Editorial Board, referring to the counterattack site. "Ninety-nine percent of the people in Princeton don't realize this."

That's because the state park fails to tell the battle's story - it mainly offers walking and jogging trails. Just as Washington's first victory over British regulars reinvigorated his troops and the fledgling nation, preserving Maxwell's Field can be the last, best chance to boost the battlefield to the stature it deserves.

Interpretive signs, mobile apps, reenactments, and living-history exhibits could draw students, history buffs, and tourists from the area, across the country, and around the world.

The Civil War Trust has offered $4.5 million for the land - 36 percent above the appraised value - which the institute should accept. Though it has all the approvals it needs to start building, the institute should take the high road and concede there are alternatives for housing.

It doesn't take an Einstein to realize the undisturbed site of the battle that saved the Revolution is irreplaceable.