Thursday, October 11, 2012

Rangers in the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky are using video surveillance to catch images of people defacing a Civil War cannon.

WYMT-TV in Hazard reports that park officials say some of the vandals have inadvertently identified themselves, posting photos of them and the cannon on the Internet.

Chief Ranger Dirk Wiley says the five people caught so far face federal charges and the government will seek restitution to pay for damage. Wiley says vandals have carved their names, initials and even profanity into the cannon. He says the gun tube was used in the Civil War and the cannon is a relic, not a decoration.

The park lies at the point where Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia meet, just south of Middlesboro, Ky.