In late June, 1863, just days before Gettysburg, the Civil War raged in western Loudoun, culminating in the Battle of Upperville. As Robert E. Lee's Confederate army moved north through the Shenandoah Valley, JEB Stuart's cavalry fought to shield Lee from probing Union forces. Stuart succeeded and Lee made his way to Gettysburg where the War's ultimate outcome and the course of our nation's history changed forever.

The fields and pastures along Welbourne Road, where a portion of the Battle of Upperville was fought, look much the same today as they did in 1863. But that could all change as a new battle rages over this historic landscape.

A core portion of the Upperville battlefield is now littered with the wooden stakes and the bright orange flagging of surveyors. The landowner, Hewitt-Beer Trust, seeks to build 60-90 houses on the property. Ironically, the land was originally protected from development by Adrienne Deere Hewitt, a descendent of the founder of John Deere Company. Adrienne, who tragically lost her battle against cancer nearly 18 months ago, was a committed conservationist. In 1999 she had a Trust placed on this land to protect its agricultural and historic values. The Trust is now seeking to undo her legacy and to despoil this hallowed ground with sprawl development.

For the moment, the County has held against it. Interestingly, the Trust is represented in this fight by Randy Minchew, Loudoun Republican Party Chairman and recently announced candidate for the Virginia Senate. It's hard to fathom how one makes a compelling Senate electioneering-platform out of destroying Loudoun's heritage while saddling our roads with more traffic and our citizens with more taxes.

The Trust and Minchew are threatening to sue, presumably to bully the County into negotiating and surrender. They are not unopposed, however. Over 30 neighboring landowners have joined the battle, calling on the County to uphold the law and protect their land.

Besides the Hewitt-Beer Trust property, another citizen group is forming in response to a development threat. Interhorse Farm, a 50-acre property adjacent to the village of St. Louis is now slated for 15 sprawling lots. Like the Hewitt-Beer property, Interhorse contains a portion of the Upperville battlefield. Fortunately, the property is governed by the County's Village Conservation Overlay District whose purpose is to protect "the pattern, character and visual identity" of Loudoun's rural villages. Hopefully, good sense will prevail and in this instance, a compromise might be worked out to protect the open space and heritage values of that property.

We're often led to believe that battles over land-conservation pit outside environmentalists against local landowners. The truth is that in western Loudoun, the cavalries that are riding to the defense of rural lands are made up of local citizens and those who depend on a vibrant rural economy. Indeed, the vast majority of locals favor land-conservation and they are not alone. The majority of Loudoun's citizens as well, including new residents, want to see open space, farmland and historic sites protected.

The Board of Supervisors is currently working to clean up the mess created by the Virginia Supreme Court by re-instating strong zoning in western Loudoun. But, at the behest of developers, the majority of the Board is dragging its feet. To stem the land rush, Loudoun citizens should call their Supervisors and tell them to hurry the process along. They should enact the new zoning without grandfathering. If the Board listens, traffic and taxes will become more manageable and we will have saved our agricultural and historic heritage for generations to come.