Rome Police are investigating the defacement of a Confederate Solider monument at Myrtle Hill Cemetery.
According to the reports, the statue at the top of the cemetery received damage, estimated at close to $200,000, to its head, hands, and rifle. The statue featured a soldier with his arms hanging down in front of him holding a long rifle upright in his hand. The hands and rifle were cut off and the face smashed.
The monument was removed on Thursday while city officials look at how to fix the damage.
Police said that the vandalism likely occurred sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.
The statue was erected by “the Women of Rome” in 1887 as a memorial to the defenders of the Confederate states. The monument initially had an urn atop the base, but it was replaced by the soldier in 1909.
