Civil War monument destroyed in Congress Park
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » A local Civil War monument was destroyed early Thursday morning, marking the second incident of vandalism in Congress Park within a week.
Saratoga Springs Police Department Lt. Robert Jillson said that around 3:30 to 3:45 a.m. on Thursday, two officers on beat patrol discovered the vandalized statue.
Additional department personnel arrived later Thursday morning to begin a forensic investigation at the scene, where broken statue pieces left on the ground were being removed as evidence.
“Obviously the investigation has opened up, and
[we’ll] see if we can find out what happened,” said Jillson, while standing near the broken statue around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.
Security cameras are present in Congress Park, and the police department will look at the footage as part of the investigation, Jillson said.
The monument’s history may be relevant to why this particular statue was ripped down, he said.
The monument, located near the park’s main entrance from Broadway, memorializes the volunteers of the 77th Regiment of New York State, also known as the Bemis Heights Battalion. This regiment was part of the Army of the Potomac, the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the
American Civil War.
This local incident comes at a time when similar acts of vandalism are taking place at historical monuments around the country.
It also occurred just a few days after Congress Park’s newly renovated Katrina Trask Gateway Memorial was vandalized as well. The staircase was marked with red spray paint shortly after midnight on Sunday morning. The paint has since been removed by members of the city’s Department of Public Works.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly said, referring to the destruction of the statue memorializing the Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War, along with the graffiti on the staircase honoring Yaddo artists’ colony founder and local philanthropist Katrina Trask.
“This city condemns all of these acts of vandalism,” the mayor said, “and we will hold all parties responsible.”
Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Works Anthony “Skip” Scirocco said city officials will work with the police to make sure whoever is responsible for the vandalism is held accountable.
“This is really unacceptable,” Scirocco said minutes after arriving at the scene Thursday morning. “If somebody has a beef with the city ... come down and talk to us. Don’t just take matters into your own hands and do stupid stuff like this.”
Scirocco was unsure if it would be possible to repair the broken statue, but said his department will attempt to fix it for reinstallation.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” Scirocco said, referring to the statue as one of the park’s treasures that people enjoy.
Anyone with information about this incident can call the Saratoga Springs Police Department at 518-584-1800 or the tips line at 518-584TIPS (8477).