Loading and firing a musket is a nine-step process. “Disciplined troops would be able to load and fire one every 15 or 20 seconds,“ said John Reid, a National Park Service employee who was acting as master of ceremonies for a Saturday-morning Civil War infantry demonstration at Manassas National Battlefield. “It takes nine steps to load, prime and ready it for firing.“

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a Wal-Mart, but the fight over the store isn’t over yet. Later yesterday, after the board’s 4-1 vote at 1 a.m. to grant a special-use permit to allow the retailer to build a 133,481-squarefoot store near a Civil War battlefield, a loose-knit coalition of opposition forces was busy regrouping.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a Wal-Mart, but the fight over the store isn’t over yet. Later yesterday, after the board’s 4-1 vote at 1 a.m. to grant a special-use permit to allow the retailer to build a 133,481-squarefoot store near a Civil War battlefield, a loose-knit coalition of opposition forces wasbusy regrouping.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted early this morning in favor of a long-debated Wal-Mart store near the Wilderness battlefield. A special-use permit was approved 4-1 just before 1 a.m.

As about 400 people crowded the Orange County High School Auditorium last night, more than 80 speakers took turns at the microphone to talk about a proposed Wal-Mart store near a Civil War battlefield. Most identified themselves as local residents, and most favored building the store. The five members of the county Board of Supervisors sat mostly silent on stage at the public hearing, after which they were to vote on whether to allow the store to be built near the battlefield.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors will hold its final public hearing on a proposed Walmart tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the county high school. The board probably will decide on an application for a special-use permit to allow construction of the 138,000-squarefoot store, though a vote could be pushed back to Tuesday if the hearing goes late.

With two members absent, the Orange County Planning Commission voted 4-4 last night on whether to recommend that a special use permit be granted to build a Walmart store near a Civil War battlefield. The tie goes down as a no vote.

Supporters and opponents of a Wal-Mart planned for a site near a Civil War battlefield learned yesterday that they have at least three more weeks to prepare their arguments. About three hours before the scheduled beginning of a public hearing to discuss the proposal, the Orange County Board of Supervisors called off the meeting after discovering that an earlier hearing conducted by the Planning Commission may have occurred illegally.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and House Speaker William J. Howell have asked Orange County officials to consider finding a new site for a Wal-Mart Supercenter planned for development near a Civil War battlefield. In a letter dated Monday and received by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, the two wrote, “We believe that the Wal-Mart project presents a unique opportunity to bring the interests of battlefield preservation and smart development effectively into balance.“

Editorial Treated War as Afterthought
Editor, Times-Dispatch: In your lead editorial, “Civic Spirit: History, Arts, Sports,“ you made the excellent point that Richmond’s unparalleled array of cultural attractions has us well-placed in the major league of cities and distinguishes us far more than minor-league baseball. And, much to your credit, you proceed to list many of the city’s greatest attractions.

PETERSBURG Kelly Waldrop could barely contain her excitement as she walked through historic Blandford Cemetery yesterday morning. The second-year teacher at Mechanicsville Elementary School in Hanover County was playing the role of student as she excitedly made rubbings of headstones in the old graveyard. Waldrop is among 14 central Virginia teachers immersing themselves in central Virginia history during a Community Teachers Institute seminar aimed at revealing historical resources available in the Tri-Cities to supplement students’ education with hands-on, Standards of Learning-based experiences.

The place where the Civil War came to an end is where the Museum of the Confederacy intends to begin sharing what it calls the world’s most extensive collection of Confederate artifacts. While the sour economy has slowed fundraising, the museum’s executive director said he is committed to creating a statewide museum system at historically significant locations, starting in central Virginia where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on Easter Sunday 1865.

DINWIDDIE Some hardy pioneers have been working to help blaze a trail through one of the Tri-Cities’ most important historic sites. Volunteers from the Virginia Council of New Outlook Pioneers worked last week to build and install two footbridges along a new, 8-mile trail system that’s being created at the Five Forks Battlefield in Dinwiddie County. The trail network is part of a major upgrade at the park that also includes construction of a $3 million visitor center featuring video exhibits and a bookstore.

As Virginia ramps up for the sesquicentennial commemoration of its role in the Civil War, Chesterfield County is working to make sure one piece of history isn’t overlooked. On Friday, members of Chesterfield’s sesquicentennial committee and area tourism officials took a tour of more than a dozen sites marking the Bermuda Hundred Campaign, a failed Union push to take Richmond.

Preservation Virginia yesterday joined a growing opposition that says a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Wilderness Battlefield threatens the Civil War site where nearly 29,000 troops were killed or injured 145 years ago. The private nonprofit preservation group sided with a who’s who of historians, congressmen and celebrities who have taken a stand against the proposed 138,000-square-foot store in Orange County.