Car Accident Severely Damages Civil War Monument at Gettysburg Battlefield

Gettysburg National Military Park News Release | November 13, 2003 | Katie Lawhon

[XRdsRev]

National Park Service Gettysburg National 97 Taneytown Road

U.S. Department of the Military Park Gettysburg, PA 17325 Interior www.nps.gov/gett

717 334-1124 phone

717 334-1891 fax

Gettysburg National Military Park News Release

November 13, 2003 For Immediate Release Katie Lawhon 717 334-1124 x452

Car Totals Gettysburg Monument

Initial Damage estimates at $15,000 - $20,000

The driver of a Ford Expedition lost control of the vehicle on West Howard

Avenue on the Gettysburg battlefield, striking and seriously damaging a

Civil War monument, Gettysburg National Military Park officials have

announced.

Laura M. Staub, of Gettysburg, failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway

and the vehicle she was operating struck a drainage culvert, overturning as

it left the road, and colliding with the 74th Pennsylvania Infantry

Monument located on the south side of West Howard Avenue. Veterans and

survivors of the Battle of Gettysburg dedicated the monument on July 2,

1888. The monument is a large granite sculpture of a color bearer and flag

on a granite pedestal and was severely damaged, breaking into several

pieces. The accident occurred at about 9:30 p.m. on November 12, 2003.

Initial National Park Service estimates for the repair of the monument are

between $15,000 and $20,000.

Ms. Staub was charged with failure to maintain control of a vehicle.

On October 18, 2003, a vehicle operated by a Maryland man struck and

demolished a Civil War cannon carriage and 80 feet of historic fence in the

park, causing more than $10,000 in damage.

-NPS-

Photo attached:

(See attached file: MVC-005F.JPG)

Credit: Gettysburg National Military Park

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[XRdsRev]

Sorry but I don't have the photo.

[Semper Paratus]

PC headline would by

SUV's destroying our national heritages"

[OXENinFLA]

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Talking on a cell phone. To her mother.

The genesis of all wrecks, LOL.

[Killborn]

LMAO Good one. :)

[Killborn]

Dang shame.

[JoeSchem]

On October 18, 2003, a vehicle operated by a Maryland man struck and demolished a Civil War cannon carriage and 80 feet of historic fence in the park, causing more than $10,000 in damage.

Well, you do have to wonder about lightning striking twice in less than a single year. Is it time to don the tinfoil hat, or is this a message from God that the results of the Battle of Gettysburg are about to be reversed?

[thoughtomator]

Maybe it's a message to make the roads a little farther from the monuments?

[Age of Reason]

An SUV?

[John H K]

Well, you do have to wonder about lightning striking twice in less than a single year. Is it time to don the tinfoil hat, or is this a message from God that the results of the Battle of Gettysburg are about to be reversed?

It's a message that there are approximately 80 trillion-billion monuments at Gettysburg.

Can't really describe it unless you've been there. Since it's the most famous and most northerly battle, every single unit and subunit put up its own monument, particularly Union units.

In parts of the battlefield it's a literal forest of monuments. Off the top of my head, I'd guesstimate there are hundreds of monunments just like the one damaged, with many of those near roads.

Too be honest, it's one of the main reasons why I really don't like Gettysburg. The Southern battlefields look much more like what they looked like on the day of battle, and it's easier to see the battle in your mind's eye. And a more emotional experience to visit them.

[XRdsRev]

"......The fallen heroes sleep in this beautiful cemetery: they sleep the sleep that knows no waking, but their fame is as fadeless as the beauty of the rise of the sun. They live in our hearts and in our memories. This nation is today a Union baptized in the best blood of the American people. It is a Union that has been tried in the fire of steel, and has come forth brilliantly and unscathed. The best way for us to appreciate the devotion of those who died for their country in the War of the Rebellion is to make it our duty to preserve what they sacrificed their lives to save. The value of thing generally depends on what it costs. To show the worth of this it is only neccessary to imagine the Union broken into disjointed and discordant fragments; the States antagonized and inimical to each other. The Union is saved, is the reverse of all this, and stands proudly before the world the synonym of national greatness, power and glory."

From the Address of Captain Paul F. Rohrbacker at the dedication of the monument to the 74th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1888.

[John H K]

You can't, of course.

Notice the picture above? There's another similar monument about 40 feet behind it.

That's basically the whole battlefield; there are probably monuments 40 feet in every other direction from this one.

[b4its2late]

Ford Expedition

Uh oh. An SUV. This may put the libs into a dilemma. They love seeing history change or destroyed, yet they would love to use this to further the cause to be rid of SUVs......

[TaMoDee]

The monuments are just a few feet from the edge of the road.
Most road are just wide enough for two cars to pass safely.
The roads were wagon roads in 1860's. If you were to widen the roads or move monuments you may start to find the remains of undiscovered fallen soldiers from both sidees.
The reason Lincoln went there was to dedicate a National
Cemetery. It's a beautiful place to visit and learn some history.

[cake_crumb]

That is sickening. We need better protection for our heritage sites. Concrete barriers come to mind.

[billbears]

ping.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

I fall into the omen camp myself. Just talking to Mr. Peel only the other night-- the way the Dems use national security for their own political gains and the way activists judges thwart the will of the legislature, I'd say we're getting closer and closer to Civil War II. Only then, I was predicting it wouldn't happen in my lifetime.

[cake_crumb]

"Uh oh. An SUV. This may put the libs into a dilemma. They love seeing history change or destroyed, yet they would love to use this to further the cause to be rid of SUVs...... "

I'm surprised the headline didn't read "SUV Totals Priceless Historical Monument," thus placing the blame squarely on the evil SUV rather than on the stupid driver.

[stainlessbanner]

I'm going to have to side with the 74th Pennsylvania Infantry on this one.

[Willie Green]

Well, you do have to wonder about lightning striking twice in less than a single year.

It sure threw me for a loop.

I thought I remembered the previous incident, and went looking for the article in the FR archives to post a link. (Couldn't find it). I wish I had finished reading this article before doing that. Had I known that the other incident was also mentioned, I wouldn't have spent time looking for it.