The memorial was first defaced in 1974 by an anonymous activist who chiseled off the word “savage” describing local “Indians.”

The Soldiers’ Monument is a thirty-three foot obelisk and plinth installed in 1867 or 1868 (various sources confirm both years) at the center of Santa Fe Plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The monument commemorates two groups of individuals: Union soldiers who died at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in the Civil War, and pioneers who died at the hands of indigenous people.

A box of relics--remains of those commemorated--is included in the plinth. The memorial was first defaced in 1974 by an anonymous activist who chiseled off the word “savage” describing local “Indians”. Throughout 2020, the monument was routinely vandalized.

On October 12, 2020, at the conclusion of a three-day occupation of Santa Fe Plaza, activists ultimately toppled the obelisk after defacing it with red handprints and spray-painted messages. Several arrests by police were made in the aftermath of the toppling. Santa Fe City Council is still debating whether to replace the monument or leave it in its current state.