Vermont

A Civil War painting is unveiled at the Statehouse. Thank the social studies teacher who ‘found’ it. – VTDigger

Published

5 months ago

November 12, 2025

A Civil War painting is unveiled at the Statehouse. Thank the social studies teacher who ‘found’ it. – VTDigger

Vermont Country Store owner and avid collector of Vermont art, Lyman Orton, and members of the Civil War Hemlocks stand in front of Justin Scott’s 1872 painting, “The 4th Vermont Forming Under Fire,” during its Oct. 29 unveiling in the Cedar Creek Room of the Vermont Statehouse. Photo by Mary Admasian/The Bridge

This story by Tom McKone was first published in The Bridge on Nov. 6, 2025.

While doing research about the Civil War, Champlain Valley Union High School social studies teacher Tyler Alexander found an image of an 1872 painting by Julian Scott titled “The 4th Vermont Forming Under Fire,” which he hoped to include in a new book.

The problem was, at least initially, it appeared that no one in Vermont knew the painting even existed.

Internet searches were no help, and it was a few months before Alexander got his first good lead. Years ago, a Texas insurance company asked Vermont art historian Robert Titteron, who had written a book about Julian Scott, to appraise the value of the painting Alexander was seeking, and he still had the written communications. The last known owner was the University of Houston — and not only did the university still have the painting, it was about to auction it off.

Alexander quickly contacted David Schutz, the Vermont State Curator, who immediately contacted Vermont historians Howard Coffin and Kevin Graffagnino. With less than a week before the auction, there was no way to secure state money, so Coffin and Graffagnino asked Vermont Country Store owner Lyman Orton, who owns the largest private collection of Vermont art, for help.

Orton won the bidding for the painting and agreed to lend it to the state for display in the Statehouse’s Cedar Creek Room, which already had four other Civil War paintings by Scott, including “The First Vermont Brigade at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Oct. 19th 1864,” a 10-by-20-foot mural commissioned by the legislature and unveiled in 1874.

Skip forward 151 years, to Oct. 29, 2025, and an unveiling that brought Alexander, Orton, Coffin, Schutz, Graffagnino, a uniformed contingent from Vermont’s Civil War Hemlocks, and scores of other Vermonters to the Cedar Creek Room.

Alexander read a vivid description of the battle from one of the letters in his book, Coffin described the battle portrayed in the painting, Orton talked about his affinity for Vermont art, and Schutz reminded everyone that the Statehouse opened only two years before the Civil War started, and was, in a sense, baptized by that event.

A native of Johnson, Vermont, 15-year-old Scott joined the war as a drummer and fifer. He made camp and battle sketches during the war, and after it, he became a trained artist. Not only is his newly discovered painting on display at the Statehouse — it is also on the cover of Alexander’s new book, “If I Can Get Home This Fall: A Story of Love, Loss, and a Cause in the Civil War” (University of Nebraska Press 2025).

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Vermont

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

Published

6 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

BOLTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A wrong-way driver was safely stopped on Interstate 89 overnight Sunday.

Vermont State Police say just before 12:30 a.m., they stopped the car near marker 77, near Bolton.

The driver, Denise Lear, 60, of Revere, was charged with driving under the influence and gross negligent operation.

Lear is expected in court Monday.

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Vermont

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Published

18 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14

Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.

Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)

Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.

Key Stats

Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.

Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.

Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.

Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.

Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.

How It Happened

The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.

Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.

The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.

Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.

Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.

Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.

The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.

Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.

Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.

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Vermont

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Is creativity the missing key to better health?

Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.

Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.

Plus, it has another within the top 15.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.

The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.

To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.

Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.

South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11

South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15

Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.