‘Vandalism’ at Gettysburg memorial sparks outrage. But it’s not what it seems

People on social media were outraged that a Gettysburg monument had been “vandalized.” But it turns out it was just the rain mixed with some cleaning solution.

Visitors who passed the Arkansas Memorial at Gettysburg National Military Park were alarmed to see streaks of a “dark colored foreign substance” splattered across the memorial. They thought the discoloration was vandalism, the National Park Service said.

“Some quickly took to social media with photos of the memorial to proclaim the alleged vandalism,” NPS said in a Thursday news release. “However, the reasons for the dark colored foreign substance on the memorial turned out to be very beneficial rather than dubious in nature.”

Monument staff had sprayed a cleaning solution on the memorial Wednesday afternoon as it started to rain, NPS said. The surface has to be cleaned and wet before park staff can apply the solution.

“Passing summer rains provide a perfect opportunity to quickly and effectively begin this process,” NPS said. “The solution was allowed to set up overnight and monument preservation staff began cleaning the memorial the following morning on July 23.”

It’s common practice to apply the solution to kill mold, algae and lichens that could grow on the stone. When the solution is applied, the mold, algae and lichens turn into different colors and blend together to make the monument look very dark, NPS said.

“This is what was reported as vandalism by park visitors,” park officials said.

Park workers will wash and rinse the Arkansas Memorial until it is clean. Any residual staining will be bleached by the sun in about five days, NPS said.

“Gettysburg National Military Park staff appreciates public interest in protecting the many battlefield resources,” NPS said. “But we cordially ask visitors who suspect monument vandalism to contact park staff first before taking to social media.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 11:43 AM with the headline "‘Vandalism’ at Gettysburg memorial sparks outrage. But it’s not what it seems."