Report: Plaque at Donald Trump golf course is historically inaccurate
A historical marker on a Sterling, Virginia golf course that Donald Trump purchased in 2009 is inaccurate, according to The New York Times.
Between the 14th and 15th hole on the Lowes Island golf course, a plaque at the bottom of a flagpole overlooking the Potomac River says "The River of Blood."
The plaque goes on to describe a civil war battle that it suggests unfolded at that location.
"Many great American soldiers, both of the North and South, died at this spot," the inscription on the plaque reads, according to the Times. "The casualties were so great that the water would turn red and thus became known as 'The River of Blood.' "
But the Times fact-checked the claim and spoke to historians who disputed it.
"No. Uh-uh. No way. Nothing like that ever happened there," said Richard Gillespie, the executive director of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, which studies the area of Virginia where the golf course is situated.
Alana Blumenthal, curator of the Loudoun Museum in Leesburg, Virginia, wrote to Trump's company about the inaccurate inscription.
The Times reached out to the GOP presidential candidate, who called himself a "big history fan."
"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."
Trump questioned the historians' analyses of the plaque, asking, "How would they know that? Were they there?" He also said that "numerous historians" told him the site of the golf course was known as "The River of Blood," according to the report, and then clarified that they didn't speak to him, but to his representatives.
"Write your story the way you want to write it," Trump told the Times. "You don't have to talk to anybody. It doesn't make any difference. But many people were shot. It makes sense."
A CBS News poll released Sunday found Trump is leading the GOP presidential pack in three key early voting states.
