Bennington Battle Monument spray painted with graffiti
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Police are investigating graffiti vandalism to the Bennington Battle Monument. Local officials say it likely is the first time since the obelisk was built in 1889 that the limestone monument has been vandalized. Patrick McArdle/Rutland Herald |
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By Patrick McCardle Rutland Herald - Published: February 19, 2008
BENNINGTON — The Bennington Battle Monument, the tallest manmade structure in the state and symbol of the state's only official holiday, has been vandalized.
Written in red spray paint on one side of the base of the 306-feet-tall obelisk is the phrase, "Heroes?" while another side has the phrase, "F—- Bush" and the symbol for anarchy, a capital A inside a circle.
Tony Valenti, a tourist from Newington, Conn., was at the monument on Monday with his wife and two sons. Valenti said the family was in Vermont to ski, but because of the mild weather on Monday had decided to visit the monument for the first time.
"The first thing my son noticed was the writing on the side of the monument. The — what did he call it, nasty words? — not the monument itself," Valenti said.
Bennington Police said the vandalism was reported on Thursday, Feb. 14 around 5:45 p.m. The case is being investigated by Cpl. Thalia Hudson, who was not on duty Monday.
Police said official records indicated there had been some previous minor acts of vandalism: toilet paper thrown at the gift shop in 2006, a vehicle driving across the lawn in 2000, eggs thrown at the gift shop in 1999 and a paintball fired at one of the statues on the grounds in 1998, but no acts of vandalism against the monument itself.
Local historians Tyler Resch, who works in the library at the Bennington Museum, and Joseph Parks, who writes a column about the history of Bennington County, said they had never heard of the monument being vandalized before.
"Hiland Hall would be very distressed," Resch said, referring to the former governor and congressman who was largely responsible for the design and construction of the obelisk, which is modeled after the Washington Monument.
Bennington Town Clerk Timothy Corcoran said he would ask the Legislature to consider posting a $10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the vandals.
"We just can't sit back and tolerate something like that when it happens on the people's property without doing something," he said.
Corcoran called the monument one of the most historic state properties and a state treasure.
The monument, which was opened to the public in 1891, was built to commemorate the Battle of Bennington in 1777, which actually tool place in New York.
During the Battle of Bennington, Gen. John Stark defended a store of supplies, located at the site of the monument, from British forces. The Colonial forces won the battle with the help of Seth Warner and the Green Mountain Boys.
Stark's rallying cry about winning the bat-tle or leaving Molly Stark a widow made Molly Stark a name known across the state, living on in a park in Wilmington, an elementary school in Bennington and the Molly Stark Trail, also known as Route 9.
Bennington Battle Day on Aug. 16 is Vermont's only unique holiday although state offices are also closed so residents can vote on Town Meeting Day.
Sen. Vincent Illuzzi, R-Essex-Orleans, said on Tuesday he would look for discretionary funds the state could use to offer a reward for finding the vandal or vandals and to clean up the damage to the monument.
"Defacing the monument is a mortal sin in my book and probably that of a lot of other Vermonters. … I don't care if it's Valentine's hearts, it is simply not acceptable," Illuzzi said. "It's a national treasure like the Washington Monument that commemorates an equally important, even pivotal role in the Revolutionary War. It's sacred ground."
Repairing the damage to the monument may not be that simple, however, and could be expensive.
Wayne Bailey, a technician who has worked with stone for 35 years and a salesman with Miles Supply in Barre, said that while he hadn't seen the graffiti in the monument, he was familiar with cleaning up vandalism and because spray paint is oil-based it can soak in and cause problems.
"In some cases, you wouldn't be able to get all the paint off and your only option would be to re-sand blast it or have a technician recarve it by hand," Bailey said.
Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, said he hoped for a quick resolution to the investigation that he said had some similarities to the investigation of the vandalism to the Robert Frost home in Middlebury. Police arrested 25 people for the $10,000 in damage to the Frost home within about a month.
"The quicker this person, or people, is apprehended, the better off we all are because it will send the message that this is not something the community will tolerate," he said.
Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com.
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