GDG- Gettysburg’s 6th New York Cavalry Monument Damaged by Lightning

[Robert Lawrence]

National Park Service
                                                                          
 U.S. Department of the        Gettysburg            97 Taneytown Road    
 Interior                      National Military     Gettysburg, PA 17325 
                               Park                                       
                                                     717/334-1124 phone   
                                                     717/ 334-1891 fax    
                                                                          





Gettysburg National Military Park News Release

For Release: October 30, 2007
Contact: Katie Lawhon
Phone: 717/ 334-1124 x452


Gettysburg’s 6th New York Cavalry Monument Damaged by Lightning




Officials at Gettysburg National Military Park are still assessing the

damage done by a lightning strike on October 9 th that seriously damaged

the monument to the 6th New York Cavalry.



The monument dates to 1889 and is composed of rough hewn and smooth

granite, standing 26 feet high on a 14 x 10 foot base. It has a tower with

turrets at each corner. Horse heads cap the pilasters. The monument

features a bronze relief on the west face and an information tablet on the

east side. It was designed by Frederick and Field and is located near the

center of Buford Avenue, in the northwest part of the Gettysburg

Battlefield.



Components of the stonework were blown free by the strike, and many of the

stone components were displaced when mortar joints failed.



The park’s monument preservation experts have stored loose pieces of the

monument and plan to stabilize it for the winter season using straps and

possibly tarps.



According to Vic Gavin, the head of the park’s monument preservation

branch, “The damage may be even worse inside the structure where lightning

superheated the moisture that is naturally present in the stone and

mortar.”



“We may have to totally disassemble it to repair the damage,” said Gavin.

“Because of staff limitations, we will very likely need to use a

private-sector restoration firm.”



National Park Service damage estimates are in the $100,000 range.



A park neighbor reported hearing lightning in the area at the approximate

time of the strike. The last known lightning strike on a Gettysburg

monument was in the 1930s on the 58 th New York monument which is nearby.


                                   -NPS-


Photo attached: The 6th New York Cavalry monument at Gettysburg National
Military Park the morning after it was struck by lightning.  Photo courtesy
Gettysburg National Military Park.


 (See attached file: DSCN0154.JPG)



Experience Your AmericaTM


The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American
people so that all may experience our heritage.