Local historians say a Civil War battle commemorated by a plaque on a Donald Trump golf course in Virginia never happened, but Trump insists he is correct,
The New York Times reports.
A plaque at the base of a flagpole between the 14th hole and 15th tee on one of the two courses at the Trump National Golf Club declares the section of the Potomac River at Lowes Island "The River of Blood."
"Many great American soldiers, both of the North and South, died at this spot," the plaque reads. "The casualties were so great that the water would turn red and thus became known as 'The River of Blood.'"
The words appear beneath Trump's family crest and are followed by his full name, Donald John Trump.
"It is my great honor to have preserved this important section of the Potomac River!" the plaque ends.
"No. Uh-uh. No way. Nothing like that ever happened there," Richard Gillespie, executive director of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, told the Times. "The only thing that was remotely close to that," he said, was the Battle of Ball's Bluff in 1861, about 11 miles upriver.
Alana Blumenthal, curator of the Loudoun Museum in Leesburg, agreed, as did another local expert who said he had written to Trump's company to offer a correct text.
Trump told the Times he is "a big history fan," but disputed the local historians.
"That was a prime site for river crossings," Trump said. "So, if people are crossing the river, and you happen to be in a civil war, I would say that people were shot — a lot of them."
The club is a short distance from Rowser's Ford, where an official historical marker says that Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart led 5,000 troops across the Potomac, but there was no battle on the site. The troops were marching to the Battle of Gettysburg.
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