This blog is written by John C. Harris, Archives Technician at the National Archives at Philadelphia.
In a way, we are all looking to find our place in history. However, we advise you not to leave your mark in the way these folks did. Or else your moment of infamy may be recorded in the National Archives forever.
The file unit Gettysburg National Military Park – 208-40 – Vandalism contained in Record Group 79: Records of the National Park Service (NPS) details several instances of vandalism at the park. The 1948 and 1950 memos contain photographs, summaries, and costs associated with the mischievous acts.
According to the 1948 memo, vandalism and iconoclastic actions were a common occurrence in the years leading up to its report. On November 11, 1947, the sword was stolen from the statue of Brigadier General William Wells. And less than six months later, in April 1948, “Mark Arendts, 16, a country boy living near Gettysburg, was riding around the Park with his two brothers and another boy. Mark collected a number of signs near Spangler’s Spring, broke them and threw them in the back of his car. He was later apprehended on a morals charge and admitted destroying the signs.”
It’s unknown if Arendts, our hayseed Hermes, was behind the theft of Wells’ sword or any of the other acts of vandalism detailed in the memo. However, what is clear is that these pranks were taken seriously by the NPS and federal government. So seriously, in fact, that the FBI was called in to conduct an investigation into the spree of vandalism. But no one was immediately apprehended. The 1950 estimates the vandalism to cost the park $500 in 1950 (over $5,000 in today’s money). That is no small change for a park budget. The memo also provides additional photographic evidence of damage to park features. One image of a toppled cannon on its fractured carriage depicts the aftermath of a failed prank by students from nearby Gettysburg College to relocate the field gun. But, perhaps most brazenly committed, was the graffiti scrawled upon the Monument of Eternal Light. The memorial was originally dedicated on July 3rd, 1938, on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, and inscribed with words from President Lincoln that were meant to guide the reconciliation of the nation. However, Tessie, Maril, and Molly from the Class of 1946, along with several others, etched their names into the stone for their own notoriety. While the monument was repaired and the perpetrators may never be fully revealed, their actions are now eternally recorded at the National Archives.
These memos come from the file File Unit: Gettysburg National Military Park – 208-40 – Vandalism within the series Correspondence and Reports Regarding Historic Shrines, Sites, Monuments, Parks, and Proposed Sites, 1937–1962. The National Archives at Philadelphia holds records of the NPS Northeast and Southeast regions, which cover sites east of the Mississippi. Many NPS folder lists have been transcribed and uploaded to the National Archives Catalog, making their folder titles keyword searchable. Interested in learning more about NPS holdings at the National Archives at Philadelphia? Or, perhaps, are you feeling guilty and want to determine whether your vandalism at NPS sites was recorded in the collection? Feel free to email philadelphia.archives@nara.gov to discuss your research or make an appointment.