Preserving battlefield is another lost cause.

• Position: Charlotte - Cases between historic preservationists and Atlanta developer Richard Combs and Trading Ford Historic District Preservation Association

In the waning days of the Civil War, Union Gen. George Stoneman's cavalry raided parts of the Piedmont After plundering Salisbury and burning its military prison, the Yankees turned their attention to a railroad bridge over the Yadkin River near Spencer. On April 12, 1865, about 1,200 federals fought with roughly the same number of Confederates for 51/2 hours before giving up.

More than 140 years later, a longer battle was waged over that property. But this time the hostilities were between historic preservationists and Atlanta developer Richard Combs, who wants to build a "racing country club" there. High Rock Raceway, a 2.15-mile road course, will be ringed by 120 town houses on 130 acres near the river.

The Trading Ford Historic District Preservation Association in Salisbury opposes the project, citing historical accounts that fighting took place on the property. The Civil War Preservation Trust, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, ranks it as one of the nation's most endangered battlefields. Combs says the fighting was closer to the river--500 feet from where his property ends. Spencer annexed the...