An attempt was made on the night of November 3, 1885, to destroy the beautiful memorial-stone at Tappaan by an explosion of dynamite. The pedestal was shattered into pieces, but the shaft was only shaken from its perpendicular position. This crime was the logical result of persistent misrepresentation of the character and intent of the memorial in some of the newspapers. Twice before, attempts had been made to destroy it; the first time by a defacement of the inscription by a misguided person who, on a dark night, battered the letters, many of them almost beyond recognition. The destroyer[63] left a small American flag hanging over the monument from a stick, supported by a pile of stones, upon the apex; also the following lines, the product, evidently, of one moved by a spirit of conscious untruthfulness, or of profound ignorance of the character of the object assailed: "Too long hath stood the traitor's shaft, A monument to shame, Built up to praise the traitor's craft, To sanctify ill fame. Are freemen bound to still forbear, And meekly still implore, When conquered foes their altars rear Within our very door. "This vulgar and insulting stone Would honor for all time, Not sneaking André's death alone, But black Ben Arnold's crime. And they, who thus can glorify The traitor and his deeds, Themselves high treason would employ If 'twould fulfill their needs. "Americans! resolve, proclaim That on our own dear land, Never, while the people reign, Shall treason's statue stand! And he who dares erect it next, On fair Columbia's breast, With furtive or with false pretext, Shall dangle from its crest!" The second attempt to destroy the memorial-stone was made on a dark night. Nitro-glycerine or dynamite was used for the purpose. The explosion was heard for miles around. The perpetrator of the deed was not discovered. The stones of the pedestal were shattered, but the shaft remained in an upright position. Mr. Field had the damages to the memorial repaired. He designed to have the acres around it fashioned into a handsome little park. He also proposed to erect within the grounds a fire-proof building for the use of the Rockland County Historical and Forestry Society as a depository of historical and other relics of that county, the building to be presented to the society, and the park to the citizens of Tappaan, as a free gift. The outrage of November 3, 1885, may frustrate this generous plan.