River of Blood (monument)

The River of Blood monument is a monument located on a golf course on Lowes Island, Virginia, owned by US President Donald Trump. A plaque signed with Trump's name states that the monument marks the site of numerous deaths in the American Civil War, but no battle or other event with mass casualties took place there.

The site is on one of two golf courses belonging to the Trump National Golf Club on Lowes Island, Virginia. Donald Trump acquired the club (formerly known as the Lowes Island Club) in 2009 for $13 million.

On one of the courses, between the 14th and the 15th hole, Trump had a stone pedestal built with a flagpole on it, and had a plaque placed on the pedestal, with the inscription:

Many great American soldiers, both of the North and South, died at this spot. The casualties were so great that the water would turn red and thus became known as "The River of Blood".

The plaque bears Trump's name and the Trump Organization's crest. The accompanying text reads, "It is my great honor to have preserved this important section of the Potomac River!"

Historians say no such event ever took place at this site. One local historian, Craig Swain, cited the killing of two soldiers by citizens in 1861 as the only Civil War event that occurred on the island. The site lies near Rowser's Ford, over which on June 27, 1863, General Stuart led 5,000 Confederate soldiers with no record of fatalities, and according to the president of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, the only Civil War battle in the area was the Battle of Ball's Bluff, 11 miles away. Other historians consulted by The New York Times for a story in 2015 agree; one of them had written to the Trump Organization about the falsehood. Trump himself disputed the historians' statements:

"That was a prime site for river crossings. 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."

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Wikipedia