Sword taken from Stark statue at Bennington monument

By Guy Page

Don’t look now, but the Battle of the Statues has reached Vermont.

All across the country, anarchists and other protesters are defacing or toppling the statues of American heroes. George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Christopher Columbus — if they contributed to American greatness, someone’s trying to pull them down.

And now, maybe, the battle has come to Vermont.

Public domain

Statue of John Stark at the Bennington Battle Monument in Bennington, Vermont.

The Bennington Banner reported Monday that the sword in the statue of General John Stark is missing. Administrators at the monument site don’t know for sure who took it, or why. The Stark statue standing in front of the Bennington Monument celebrates the pivotal role played by New Hampshire general John Stark in the defeat of British forces in the Battle of Bennington August 16, 1777.

History records that on that day the general who coined the New Hampshire state motto “Live Free or Die” took sword in one hand and with the other pointed to the British and Hessian mercenary troops and yelled to his men, “Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds and tenpence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. Tonight the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!”

If Stark hadn’t bravely led his troops that day, would they have defeated the British and Hessians? And if they had not, would American troops have defeated General John Burgoyne’s army at the Battle of Saratoga just weeks later? Saratoga has been called one of the most important battles in the history of the world because it turned the tide of the American Revolution.

John Stark earned that statue and the gratitude and honor it signifies. But now Vermont state officials aren’t even sure they want to replace the sword because the statue “might be perceived negatively,” the Banner reports.

RELATED: No, America is not plagued with ‘systemic racism’

Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer Laura Trieschmann reportedly said “from a cultural resource point of view, we would like to restore it. But the state wants to make sure the statue ‘is not perceived negatively’ before spending the money to restore it,” she reportedly told the Banner.

Whatever the motive for the removal of the sword, it didn’t happen in a vacuum. The desecration of statues nationwide is well-known. Here in Vermont, a “softer” effort to replace traditional Vermont history and its commemorative art is well underway. Last April the Legislature replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day. Brian Cina (P-Burlington), the IPD bill, this year introduced legislation to require Abenaki place names at every state park. The effort is at least partly motivated by Progressive distaste for history that celebrates the European settlement of the United States.

The Vermont Senate is considering S.285, to introduce more ethnic and gender diversity to art on display at the Vermont State House. The bill was introduced by a senator who expressed displeasure at seeing too many paintings of white, male faces staring at her from the walls of State House committee rooms.

It’s unclear whether either bill will proceed this year.

Read more of Guy Page’s reports. Vermont Daily is sponsored by True North Media.

Image courtesy of Public domain

23 thoughts on “Sword taken from Stark statue at Bennington monument

  1. We should be watching the Rutland Gym owner case as it gets to the core Constitutional issue of “Emergency Rule by Fiat Executive”. Initially, an emergency order by the Governor appropriate proscribed Executive Department behavior to protect the public and state employees, as well as provide essential emergency services. Then came the shutdowns, the extra-constitutional 1st amendment restrictions (closure of churches and prohibitions on association and redress by public gatherings, access to private businesses and services…). Then came the threatened licensure and access to mandated economic levers of power. For instance, if you continue to cut hair or repair lawnmowers, or sell retail and collect sales tax, either you lose a license or you are forced to forge documents to report the taxes legitimately.

    We know the rest. We now need to put this to the Constitutional test. The entirety of the State Emergency Orders is cited as justification by AG Donovan in the Rutland Gym owners case. In that court, we should be filing as Petitioners against him as “church member”, “property owner”, “sovereign citizen”, etc. and clog that Court with Amicus Briefs. TNR is one news source that has reported and we count on you to follow these cases in detail. Thank you

  2. The left just trying to hide their past and to later attempt to re-write their history. They, the left, will then try to claim credit for contributions made by conservatives. Hopefully, historical votes made by republicans and democrats on issues of race and gender will remain in the library of congress untouched the shameless left.

  3. Now I can unequivocally declare the State Historic Preservation Office is ‘perceived negatively’ by this taxpayer.

    We need to remove Laura from her State job right now and find someone who’ll perform to the expectations of the Majority in Vermont – not pander to the violent, chronic complainers.

    Why are you afraid to do the right thing Laura?

    • “Historic Preservation Office is ‘perceived negatively’ by this taxpayer.”

      This one too, maybe we don’t need a Office that won’t preserve because of feelings…

      Make this a 10 yr jail sentence like federal law and enforce it NO EXCEPTIONS…with

      the cost of fixing it payed by the anarchist… body cams for statues…. record them and jail them…

    • Revealing as to the extent our state has become infested w/traitors and seditionists while following lockstep w/the mass marketed mob-rulership of the Soros-bankrolled Antifa-led Marxist movement to destroy our nation and state and turn it into another communist backwater.

      This is not much different than occupation by Obama Hussein-created ISIS terrorists. We are at war, lines are drawn and we now know who our enemy is and they are embedded within the populous and government.

  4. Pot meet kettle. Apples to kiwifruit much…You have a right to your own opinion not your own facts. Fact: Teacher Riley was fired for exercising individual constitutionally protected right – not failure to do her job, losing a child in her care or pretty sure she would be – sorry concept of being responsible for that which we are tasked escapes you.

    If report is accurate the dismissive shoulder-shrugging is a disgrace. When someone fails to do their job in the real world they are generally fired – sorry this is a foreign concept. Why have anyone guarding the monument? This goes for the trashing of our national monuments and property – and yes military should be sent to all places where there is rioting as police should not have to deal with that level of violence on their own.

    The lefts new toy is Maoist destruction of all historic monuments and buildings – and you want to overlook all this bc your Democrat friends are tearing our nation apart or standing to watch it burn. Kindly don’t call yourself or anyone America-loving who can or will accept this.

    Selfrighteous attempt to silence all who fail to meet your guidelines by shouting w/all caps and is generally considered hostile – kindly get a grip.

      • not sure where you were going on the caps…..I think firing this principal is a tactic used to keep people in line, just like the bus driver, just like in Milton School, just like…the list is long.

        And the gal working for the historic preservation, yeah, she’s choosing her words very carefully, that would be a tough job to replace and the mob is certainly watching. Not sure where we are disagreeing, we seem to be in agreement.

      • All caps: THIS IS A SOVIET TACTIC FOR COMPLIANCE!

        Reply to my comment was defense of the do-nothings who do not do their jobs by comparing to the teacher? That firing is a form of censorship which it is is in her case but not for those cited in this story. Nor is it hanging ppl from crosses or murdering every tenth person *facepalm*

        It’s a form of getting rid of ppl who don’t do their jobs lol. If the public is footing these sinecures the sooner the better. Your comment:
        “That is the power of censor ship.

        Riley the woman principle was hung publically for all to see. Look if you go against or say anything even remotely close to not supporting our efforts full tilt we will take you out.

        In the Rules for Radical play book, to which all the organizations follow, which coincidentally happens to be the same plan foreign countries use to subvert free countries, this is the tactic, publically ostracize immediately, ask for firings and resignations.

        In Vermont one fired from the school district there is no better job.

        Make no mistake this is a modern example of the Appian way. Instead of watching people die on the cross or picking every tenth person to kill, they destroy them publically and economically.

        There is no forgiveness, there is no making of peace, there is no moving forward. There is destruction. This is totalitarian tactics. This is why we are at war, Vermonter fighting Vermonter, we are being played like cheap fiddles.

        People in Vermont are terrified, absolutely terrified. They are terrified to comment in paper, online, etc, etc.

        They are terrified, most importantly if they have a great job, because they know it very, very difficult to replace in Vermont. Yes this is the Terror and it’s planned and orchestrated, knowingly and unknowingly by NWO pimps, aka progressives, socialists. communists.

        THIS IS A SOVIET TACTIC FOR COMPLIANCE!”

        • So my point was, that is why people are afraid to speak up, the lady in this case on charge of preservation. It would be my contention that if she doesn’t restore, then she needs a reprimand and put on her work file. If she refuses after that then termination. Demanding she be immediately fired, in my opinion is not much different. To each his own.

        • I wasn’t refering to your demand as a soviet tactic, but the principals and all the others, my apologies if I was not clear.

  5. The Presidential Election campaign is being hijacked, on purpose, by the US media, in service of the Dem/Progs, to divert people’s attention from semi-senile, but well-liked, “bumbling, gaff-prone, Biden in-the-basement“.

    His handlers say Biden is doing well, so we let him stay in the basement.

    We will just have him spout the occasional potshot at Trump.

    We will just disrupt any Trump campaign rally, like we did in Tulsa, so he cannot get any traction.

    And we will organize all sorts off statue-tumbling rallies, and BLM rallies, and Virus rallies, and whatever rallies, to divert people’s attention from the campaign and other issues.

    Once we get power and control over the government in 2021, we can do anything we want.

    • Democrats and Tories owned the SOUTHERN slave plantations

      They ran the SOUTH for many decades after the Civil War.

      Those statues were put up by governments run by Democrats

      Then Lincoln, A REPUBLICAN, came along and FREED the slaves. The DEMOCRATS objected.

      The Democrats in the South continue to put up statues AND suppress/exploit the black folks after the Civil War, until LITTLE ROCK, etc.

      Just dust off the old history books.

      Pelosi, etc., taking a knee, with mask, spouting BLM, is the height of hypocracy. She is crass and has no shame

  6. “Vermont state officials aren’t even sure they want to replace the sword because the statue “might be perceived negatively.

    What Vermonters should perceive negatively is any representive who is not willing to replace the sword,so negatively that hey should be driven from office in the next vote for the weak cowards they are. Disgraceful !

    • Why wait for a vote? The BLM and auntiefa cretins don’t do that. From my vantage point, it would appear that only violence, and threats of violence, get any attention and action in this State.

      I can go there too.

  7. Just more vandalism for the left, we are lucky that’s all that happened to
    this statue …………

    We can learn from history, the looney left thinks they can bury it and pretend
    it never happened…………. Idiots is being kind !!

    Any and all vandalism should be dealt with the full force of the legal system.

  8. This kind of behavior has nothing to do with the First Amendment and Free Speach, it’s down right vandalism and desecration of our national monuments. The idiots in Bennington should get down on their knees and thank General Stark that Vermonters never had to pay onerous taxes
    to King George III.

  9. “Administrators at the monument site don’t know for sure who took it, or why.”
    – Then they should be dismissed immediately.

    emphasis added
    “Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer Laura Trieschmann reportedly said “from a cultural resource point of view, we would like to restore it.

    *But the state wants to make sure the statue ‘is not perceived negatively’*

    before spending the money to restore it,” she reportedly told the Banner.”

    – Disgraceful. And she should also be dismissed immediately.

    • That is the power of censor ship.

      Riley the woman principle was hung publically for all to see. Look if you go against or say anything even remotely close to not supporting our efforts full tilt we will take you out.

      In the Rules for Radical play book, to which all the organizations follow, which coincidentally happens to be the same plan foreign countries use to subvert free countries, this is the tactic, publically ostracize immediately, ask for firings and resignations.

      In Vermont one fired from the school district there is no better job.

      Make no mistake this is a modern example of the Appian way. Instead of watching people die on the cross or picking every tenth person to kill, they destroy them publically and economically.

      There is no forgiveness, there is no making of peace, there is no moving forward. There is destruction. This is totalitarian tactics. This is why we are at war, Vermonter fighting Vermonter, we are being played like cheap fiddles.

      People in Vermont are terrified, absolutely terrified. They are terrified to comment in paper, online, etc, etc.

      They are terrified, most importantly if they have a great job, because they know it very, very difficult to replace in Vermont. Yes this is the Terror and it’s planned and orchestrated, knowingly and unknowingly by NWO pimps, aka progressives, socialists. communists.

      THIS IS A SOVIET TACTIC FOR COMPLIANCE!

      • I am not terrified to comment, but TNR censors some of my comments. Just got wacked on my comment on Gen. Starks sword. You cannot sensor my beliefs on 2A rights to fight back. MOB rule will be removed by REAL American armed Patriots. Not the VSP. Not the local police. They are feckless. State Officials are feckless. TNR is feckless. BLOCK ME!

        • TNR is a free speech zone. However, comments containing profane language will be flagged by the board’s automated spam filter. Also, comments with personal insults or threats will be blocked or deleted and can lead to suspension of posting privileges. Keep it civil.

          • So your automated spam filter must have unintentionally interpreted my comment about ‘buffoons’ by replacing the ‘uff’ with ‘abb’.

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