Part of the Confederate Monument in the Bentonville Square was damaged last weekend, Chief John Simpson told 40/29 News.The bottom of the statue's musket has been broken off above the soldier's knee. It used to extend to the base.The situation is being investigated as a case of "criminal mischief," Simpson said.A cannonball was taken from the statue in September 2017. It was found under a park bench on the square.That summer, dueling petitions were circulated about the future of the statue. One wanted it removed from the square and brought to the Pea Ridge National Military Park. The other wanted to keep the statue where it is. The debate over the monument's location was reignited after a deadly white supremacist rally around a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia.A group gathered around the monument one Sunday that August, saying they were wanted to "protect the statue."The statue was dedicated by the James H. Berry Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908. It depicts a Confederate soldier.Follow this link to learn more about the history of the monumentIn 1914, a plaque was added to honor James Henderson Berry. Berry served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. He moved to Bentonville after the war to practice law, and was elected Governor of Arkansas 1882.The statue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Part of the Confederate Monument in the Bentonville Square was damaged last weekend, Chief John Simpson told 40/29 News.

The bottom of the statue's musket has been broken off above the soldier's knee. It used to extend to the base.


The situation is being investigated as a case of "criminal mischief," Simpson said.

A cannonball was taken from the statue in September 2017. It was found under a park bench on the square.



That summer, dueling petitions were circulated about the future of the statue. One wanted it removed from the square and brought to the Pea Ridge National Military Park. The other wanted to keep the statue where it is. The debate over the monument's location was reignited after a deadly white supremacist rally around a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A group gathered around the monument one Sunday that August, saying they were wanted to "protect the statue."

The statue was dedicated by the James H. Berry Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908. It depicts a Confederate soldier.

Follow this link to learn more about the history of the monument

In 1914, a plaque was added to honor James Henderson Berry. Berry served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. He moved to Bentonville after the war to practice law, and was elected Governor of Arkansas 1882.

The statue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.