The park?s monument preservation staff will reset the life-size bronze sculpture of a Zouave infantryman onto the pedestal of the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Monument this afternoon. The monument was damaged along with two other monuments on the Gettysburg battlefield during the night of February 15th or the early morning hours of February 16th. Rangers are investigating the incidents and are looking for information that may help them find the responsible individuals. So far, they have developed no significant leads. The Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg and other organizations and individuals have posted a reward of $36,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the vandalism. Preservation specialists at Gettysburg spent a total of 130 hours working on the 114th Pennsylvania monument ? fabricating a new ramrod, which had been stolen, carefully removing gouges, and refurbishing the bronze figure. This afternoon, a crane will hoist the figure onto its base at the Sherfy House along Emmitsburg Road. Repairs are underway on the cast iron fence that surrounds the monument. Vandals also pulled the top stone and sculpture off the 11th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Monument, and pulled the bronze sculpture of a Civil War artilleryman from the monument to Smith?s battery, also known as the 4th New York battery. The bronze artilleryman from the Smith?s battery monument was dragged 162 feet and its head was severed and stolen from the scene, along with the ramrod. The park has estimated the repair costs for the two severely damaged monuments and the historic fence at between $55,000 and $65,000.
