GDG- 6th NY Cav Monument w/ lightning damage

[Dick Crafton]

Greetings,

Drove up to Gettysburg yesterday (Friday) to walk around the battlefield for a couple hours and get a 'fix.'

When I got to the 6th New York Cavalry monument on Oak Ridge, it looked in pretty bad shape.  I was told that about a week or ten days ago it had been struck by lightning.  The left rear circular  tower was been blown off and many of the stones are now re-arranged -- some pushed in/out and others pushed out of alignment.  Going around to the rear of the monument, there was a hole where one could look through the monument and see daylight.  The large plaque on the back had two sizable circular scorch marks, apparently where the lightning exited thru the pins holding the plaque to the monument.

In short, major damage!  The monument is now surrounded by a chest-high plastic mesh fence.

Never doubt nature's power and force.

YES, Dick Crafton