Confederate Monument Vandalized

[GWagner]

http://www.wsfa.com/global/story.asp?s=7357033

[Rev]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

I'm so glad that I took my family to see the monument before the damage. It truly is a one of a kind beautiful piece. If they catch the vandal(s) I would gladly sit on their jury .

[Spinster]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Oh Galen........................................:(

And this in a relatively well patrolled, well lit, place. I walked the cemetary some 20 miles north little more than a week ago--now I worry about its quiet dark lanes.

[GWagner]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

More pics of the damage

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/...PEmQ+fUt6xc%3D

[Rev]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Awful, simply awful.

[VA-Patriot'61]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

That is a beautiful monument, hopefully it is cleaned up in a timely manner and the culprits caught. I often think of what goes through these peoples minds when they do things like this, whats the point? I drove by the monument and capitol area once when I got lost driving around Montgomery, only time I've been happy about getting lost.

[Jimmayo]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Looks like the same guy that painted Portmouth's monument did that one also. I hope they get someone who knows what they are doing to clean it. The guy from Richmond that cleaned the one in Portsmouth did a terrible job. He just did not know what he was doing. Does anybody know what that statue is made of. Is it stone or zinc?

[BobbyHughes]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

I find it interesting that the vandal left the legend "N.T. 11 11 31" with the reference to Nat Turner. This would indicate some level of education into the Antebellum and Wartime period. This IMHO makes the crime even more heinous.

[Rob Weaver]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Absolutely vicious. That just breaks my heart.

[2ndNHDOC]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Disrespect at its core. Read some of the comments some ignorant types posted (your token Nazi and KKK comparisons for Confederate troops). . But this is a consistent trait it seems no one respects the memorial. When I was in Lancaster PA President Bush was coming the next day. There was an Anti-War/Anti-Bush protest at the downtown square. Some protestors climbed over the fence and used the Civil War memorial as a step ladder. All of this was right in front of two Lancaster PA police who did absolutely nothing in when asked to by a passer by.

[pvtbigbottom]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Absolutely disgusting. Sad thing is is that some people today do not even know what a monument is for, they just think it is a hunk of rock...

[rebjeb04]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Tar and feathering would be to civil of punishment for these vandals! I just hope the paint can be removed. I have never seen the monument in person but it looks like a fine memorial to Alabama's Confederate fighting men.

[Spinster]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

. Does anybody know what that statue is made of. Is it stone or zinc?

Portions of the area that needs cleaning are made from Alabama limestone. This presents a difficulty as it is quite porous. Other areas are of granite, and stand a better chance of sucessful paint removal.

What can only be described as a 'poultice' is in place already, attempting to draw out the paint without damaging the rock.

[Dignann]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Three teens charged in monument vandalism

By Kenneth Mullinax

Montgomery Advertiser [Montgomery, Ala.]
December 15, 2007

State troopers arrested three white teenagers in the defacement of the Confederate Monument at the Alabama Capitol after receiving a tip from a Confederate veterans' group.

The 17-year-olds are all white males from Montgomery, said Sgt. Anthony Frost, a state trooper investigator. Information he received from Leonard Wilson, state commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, led to the arrests, he said.

"We are thankful for the information Mr. Wilson gave us from a tip he received, which helped us make these three arrests," Frost said.

Martha Earnhardt, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety, would not reveal the youths' identities because they are juveniles.

The teens are accused of putting black paint on the Confederate Monument on Nov. 11. They were charged with first-degree criminal mischief, a felony that carries a sentence of one to 10 years in prison if they are tried and convicted as adults. If tried and convicted as juveniles, the sentences would be less harsh, Earnhardt said.

Wilson said Friday that the person who called him with information about the case will receive a $1,000 reward posted by the group if the suspects are found guilty.

"I had a call from a confidential informant on Nov. 28, and I forwarded the information to investigators at the Department of Public Safety in Montgomery," said Wilson, whose group has 2,000 members in Alabama.

He said he drove from his Walker County home Nov. 29 and met with Frost and the informant, who gave them the names of three 11th- and 12th-grade students from Montgomery.

State troopers began taking the youths into custody last week and arrested the last one within the past few days, Earnhardt said Friday.

"Our investigators had very strong leads and evidence and followed it aggressively until it led them to these suspects," Earnhardt said Friday. She would not say if video surveillance cameras helped apprehend the suspects.

A state official said the monument on the north grounds of the Capitol is undergoing a successful restoration.

Christy Carl, the Capitol's site director, said the restoration process has cost the state $3,500 so far and still isn't complete.

Bill "Deacon" Cox Jr., commander of the Wetumpka camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said the memorial's vandalism made him physically ill.

"To deface any memorial that sits on the grounds of our state Capitol, whether it honors the Civil War or civil rights, is a slap in the face to all Alabama residents," Cox said.

A civil rights activist and state legislator echoed Cox's sentiments.

Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, commended law officers for their swift apprehension of the suspects. He said the deed was wrong, whether the suspects are black or white.

"I compliment them -- law enforcement -- for the job they have done in making arrests in this crime," he said, "but also hope that they will do as good a job in the future should it be a civil rights monument."

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071215/NEWS/712150345/1001

Eric

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Confederate Monument Vandalized

Weird thing is, they probably have Confederate ancestors and don't even know their own history (or are in-denial).

Any damage to any historical marker of American heritage is wrong- I think we can all agree.

My 2 cents- Johnny