THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 20, 1995 TAG: 9510180128
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
A $300 replica of a Civil War sword has disappeared from the Confederate Monument in the middle of Court Street near the High Street intersection, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans are offering a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who took it.
``It's not a real sword and it's of no use except as a part of the monument,'' retired Army Gen. M.H. ``Hank'' Morris said. ``The original one disappeared about 10 years ago and the Sons of Confederate Veterans had the replica made about two years ago to return the monument to its original state.''
Morris said he cannot understand how somebody got the sword replica out of the monument without somebody noticing.
``When it was put in the monument, we had to get a tall ladder to reach the figure holding the sword,'' Morris said. ``It was sprung into place, so it wasn't easy to get it out.''
Morris said that it is against the law to deface a public monument and that he would push for charges against whoever stole the replica.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of the replica can call the Portsmouth Police Department or Morris at 488-1397. by CNB