Norfolk Confederate Monument, Norfolk, VA
Norfolk, Virginia, emerged as a crucial port city with strategic significance during the American Civil War, providing substantial support to the Confederate cause. Situated at the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Elizabeth River, Norfolk's geographic location made it a key maritime gateway for the transportation of men, supplies, and armaments. The city housed a formidable naval yard, including the Gosport Navy Yard, which played a pivotal role in the Confederate war effort. The shipbuilding and repair capabilities of Norfolk allowed the Confederacy to maintain and construct a fleet, contributing significantly to its naval strength and recognition as a political and cultural force. The strategic importance of Norfolk as a Confederate port city underscored the city's resilience and its substantial contribution to the Confederate war effort during this tumultuous period in American history.
Erected in 1907 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate monument in Norfolk, Virginia, became a focal point of controversy in the 21st century. Boasting the inscription "Our Confederate Dead, 1861–1865," the letters "CSA," and a Confederate battle flag, the monument featured a statue known as "Johnny Reb." The confederate monument was removed once before in 1965 amid the Civil Rights Movement and was subsequently reinstalled in 1971, displaying another time of evolving societal perspectives prompting increased calls for the removal of confederate monuments. However, the process faced legal constraints. A law dating back to 1904 prohibited counties from relocating war memorials, and a 1997 update expanded this restriction to include cities.
On June 11, 2020, despite legislative changes permitting cities and counties in Virginia to remove such memorials without state permission, Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander expedited the removal of the "Johnny Reb" statue, citing public interest. Although the law wouldn't take effect until July 1, 2020, the mayor prioritized community sentiments.
The fate of the monument now rested with Elmwood Cemetery, specifically at the grave site of Walter Taylor, an aide to General Robert E. Lee who chaired the effort to erect the monument for the Lost Cause. The Virginia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans expressed openness to relocating the statue to Elmwood Cemetery, among the graves of Confederate soldiers, while emphasizing its commemorative intent. This stance contrasted with the view of the SCV, which asserted the monument's purpose was to honor fallen soldiers rather than to endorse racism. The removal of the Confederate statue marked a significant chapter in Norfolk's ongoing reevaluation of historical symbols.
William Couper
[1] https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/norfolk/mayor-norfolk-confederate-monument-to-come-down/291-d3fde5e3-bdf5-46c5-9b3c-68327f5a2e71
[2] https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/norfolk/sons-of-confederate-veterans-praises-norfolks-handling-of-monument-relocation/
[3] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/23/norfolk-virginia-ok-move-confederate-monument-cemetery/2452814001/
[4] https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!27528~!0#focus
[5] https://www.wtkr.com/news/city-to-remove-time-capsule-from-downtown-norfolk-confederate-monument-site
May 16, 1907
Angelica Smith
English
Sculpture
HIST 402A Fall 2023
Norfolk, Virginia
Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery
Located on the western edge of Arlington National Cemetery inside the Jackson Circle stands the Confederate Memorial. Reaching to a height of 32 feet above the ground, it looms large over the 482 graves of Confederate soldiers and officers that encircle it.
Contrary to the straight rows of Arlington's headstones, the Confederate graves are arranged in concentric circles with the Memorial at the center. Additionally setting them apart are the tops of their grave markers, angled to a point, meant to differentiate them from the round tops of the Union stones.
At the top, a female figure carved in classical Greek style stands as a representation the South, with the inscription of a biblical quote from Isaiah 2:4 at her feet: "And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks" Beneath this are fourteen shields decorated with the coats-of-arms of the eleven seceded states plus the border states of Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland.
The thirty-two figures at the base depict the Lost Cause in fantastical detail, with mythological gods mixed in with Southern soldiers and civilians. Two of the figures are African-American, one a "mammy" and the other a body-servant following his master to war. These were meant to represent a popular Southern belief in the "loyal and faithful slave" and dispel notions of the brutality of the slave regime, which Ezekiel and the UDC considered lies told by the North.
The south side bears the inscription:
TO OUR DEAD HEROES BY
THE UNITED DAUGHTERS
OF THE CONFEDERACY
VICTRIX CAUSA DIIS
PLACUIT SED VICTA CATON
(Translated from Latin: The Victorious Cause was Pleasing to the Gods, But the Lost Cause Pleased Cato.)
The north side displays this message:
NOT FOR FAME OR REWARD
NOT FOR PLACE OR FOR RANK
NOT LURED BY AMBITION
OR GOADED BY NECESSITY
BUT IN SIMPLE
OBEDIENCE TO DUTY
AS THEY UNDERSTOOD IT
THESE MEN SUFFERED ALL
SACRIFICED ALL
DARED ALL — AND DIED
Confederate soldiers were forbidden burial at Arlington prior to the end of the Spanish-American War. After that conflict ended with an American victory, President William McKinley kicked off his 1898 “Peace Jubilee” tour with a speech in Atlanta that addressed the issue of honoring the Confederate dead, stating that “…Sectional feeling no longer holds back the love we feel for each other. The old flag again waves over us in peace with new glories”
By 1902, the remains of more than 260 Confederate soldiers had been exhumed and relocated to Section 16 of the National Cemetery. Over the next few years, that number would increase to over 400.
In 1906, the United Daughters of the Confederacy began fundraising efforts to pay for a proper memorial, hiring Confederate veteran Moses Jacob Ezekiel to design and sculpt the monument. It was completed and unveiled by President Woodrow Wilson on June 6th, 1914. Ezekiel was buried at the monument's base upon his death in 1921.
As of October 2023, the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery is in the process of being removed from the ANC. The granite base and foundation will remain in place to avoid disturbing surrounding graves. It is going to be moved to a Civil War site owned by the Virginia Military Institute.
Moses Jacob Ezekiel
“Confederate Memorial.” Arlington National Cemetery. https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Monuments-and-Memorials/Confederate-Memorial.
Shapiro, T. Rees. “Uneasy Future for Arlington’s Confederate Memorial.” The Washington Post. Washington, D.C: The Washington Post, 2017.
1914
David Cantwell, Kevin Gomez
English
Sculpture
HIST 402A Fall 2021
Arlington National Cemetary, Arlington, VA
1. The Construction of Monument Avenue
The origin and dedication of the statues on Monument Avenue.
During the post-Civil War era, conservative Democrats in the South attempted to revive the fading passions for the Lost Cause. Robert E. Lee’s nephew, Fitzhugh Lee, led the charge to create the Lee Monument Association in 1886. In May 1890 the dedication of the Robert E. Lee monument was timed to coincide with a massive Confederate veterans’ reunion which drew fifty former Confederate generals, fifteen thousand uniformed Confederate veterans, and more than one hundred thousand onlookers. Following the dedication and placement of the Lee monument, statues to both General J.E.B Stuart and the Confederate States President Jefferson Davis followed in 1907. The monument to Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson statue was placed and dedicated in 1919, followed a decade later by the statue dedicated to Matthew Fontaine Maury.
An ominous new era of white supremacy had dawned which would last for seven decades, where Edwin J. Slipek stated that Monument Avenue was “more than a Confederate Valhalla.” The construction of Monument Avenue successfully revived the Lost Cause by drawing massive support across the Southern states for whites who touted their Confederate ancestry. Growing power among Southern whites forced African Americans to endure a new kind of abuse, both socially and politically, for another six decades. The success of Monument Avenue represented one of many examples of the revival of the Lost Cause narrative.
Baker, Donald P. “<i>Richmond's Monumental Centennial Celebration;The Statue That Shaped the Grand Avenue</i>.” The Washington Post, Washington D.C. 04 May. 1990.<br /><a href="https://search-proquest-com.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/docview/307264035?pq-origsite=summon">https://search-proquest-com.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/docview/307264035?pq-origsite=summon</a><br /><br />Edwards, Kathy, and Esmé Howard. “Monument Avenue: The Architecture of Consensus in the New South, 1890-1930.” <i>Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture</i>, vol. 6, 1997, pp. 92–110. <i>JSTOR</i>, www.jstor.org/stable/3514365. Accessed 14 Dec. 2020.
<div><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3514365?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">https://www.jstor.org/stable/3514365?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents</a><br /><br /><p>Lawler, Andrew. “The Origin Story of Monument Avenue, America’s Most Controversial Street.” National Geographic. 27 Jul. 2020<br /><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/07/origin-story-monument-avenue-america-most-controversial-street/#close">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/07/origin-story-monument-avenue-america-most-controversial-street/#close</a></p>
</div>
1890-1929
Yuan Chiang , Monique Garcia, and Kareem Khaled
English
Historic Avenue with Statues
HIST 402A - Fall 2020, Fall 2021, and Fall 2023
Richmond, Virginia
2. Monument Avenue in the Civil Rights Era and After
The practice of memorializing Virginia’s central role in the American Civil War emphasized Lost Cause ideology while simultaneously avoiding the issues of racism and the ongoing harm to the descendants of the formerly enslaved population of the state. The Civil Rights Era signified a shift in the debate over the role of Monument Avenue in the former Confederate capital city. The centennial of the Civil War renewed Monument Avenue’s role as a preserver of Southern heritage and legacy. Subsequently, the mobilization of African American political organizations coupled with the flight of the white population away from the city, and towards the suburbs, initiated a fear of an African American political majority among the white elites in Richmond. These political elites believed that the rise of an African American majority would result in the tearing down of both the monuments and the ideology which the avenue had come to represent over the decades. Such a fear influenced local politics in 1965 when the Richmond City Planning Commission (CPC) examined plans to modernize Monument Avenue and centralize the city’s Confederate iconography.
These proposals were laid out in the December 1965 pamphlet, Design for Monument Avenue. The plan to remove the brick surface lining the avenue and instead replace it for an asphalt surface, as a traffic-friendly corridor, created significant controversy. There was a fear that the historical look of Monument Avenue would be erased in favor of a more modern image. Out of these fears grew a political coalition of like minded preservationists called the Monument Avenue Preservation Society (MAPS). While the CPC had attempted to streamline and extend the marketable imagery of the Confederacy on Monument Avenue, MAPS prevented modernization and kept the statues where they had originally been dedicated.
The society for preservation described Monument Avenue as a “bridge from past to present,” and reasoned that it was “incumbent upon the community today to be aware of this heritage and the artifacts which preserve it, so that our activities reinforce rather than obscure those elements of our heritage which we value.” Instead of modernizing the avenue, MAPS convinced the CPC to add more statues, both significant and relevant, to the Lost Cause narrative. One such statue was the project of sculptor Salvador Dali who had been commissioned to create a monument dedicated to Sally Tompkins. Known as the “Angel of the Confederacy,” Tompkins operated Robertson Hospital which regularly treated Confederate soldiers. The furor over Dali’s proposal ultimately defused the 1965 and 1966 efforts to expand the memorial strip since it would possibly alter the public’s familiar perception of Monument Avenue.
While the CPC and the Virginia General Assembly did extend protection over the avenue, ensuring the statues could not be removed by an African American majority, attempts to introduce new statues ground to a halt.
The addition of another statue would not come until the 1990s with the death of beloved Virginia activist and athlete, Arthur Ashe. After his passing, the Richmond City Council looked for a way to memorialize the local hero. The proposed statue, designed by local sculptor Paul DiPasquale, and approved by Arthur Ashe prior to his passing, was originally intended to be placed outside of the Hard Road to Glory Hall, a never realized hall of fame for African American athletes. The 24-foot bronze and granite statue was hotly debated for a potential spot on Monument Avenue. The opposition to Ashe’s placement on Monument Avenue argued that the statue would tarnish the Civil War theme established by the original monument association. However, calls for inclusivity prevailed, and the statue was dedicated on July 10th, 1996. The monument to Ashe remains to this day on the far western edge of Monument Avenue.
Barbee, M. M. Race and Masculinity in Southern Memory: History of Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue, 1948-1996. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014.
1960-1996
Art Hernandez, Sean Ghafourian, and Kareem Khaled
English
HIST 402A Fall 2020, 2021, 2023
Richmond, Virginia
3. The Impact of Charlottesville on Monument Avenue
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">On August 12, 2017, the “Unite the Right” rally was held by white supremacists and white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee. Counter protests ensued and the protest culminated in violence which lasted for several days. The horrific violence in Charlottesville was televised and it left an enduring wound in the US and dramatically affected Monument Avenue in Richmond. Mayor Levar Stoney spoke candidly about Charlottesville and its relationship to Monument Avenue, “Let me be clear: we will not tolerate allowing these statues and their history to be used as a pretext for hate and violence, or to allow our city to be threatened by white supremacists and neo-Nazi thugs. We will protect our city and keep our residents safe.”<br /><br />In the Monument Avenue Commission Report (MAC) of July 2018, it was stated that the Richmond City Council already had plans to remove all the confederate monuments prior to the tragic events of Charlottesville which led to the creation of the MAC. Charlottesville provided Mayor Stoney and MAC with a sense of urgency to remove the monuments as stated in his response to the rally. The “Unite the Right'' rally provoked the MAC to hold a public forum in August 2017 and over 500 people attended. Discussing the matter a year after the incident, </span><a href="https://abcn.ws/2MhgFvY"><span style="font-weight:400;">ABC News</span></a><span style="font-weight:400;"> journalist Meghan Keneally interviewed Richmond residents about the impact of the protests and the violence on the city.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:400;">As of July 10, 2021, the City Council of Charlottesville, removed the statues of both Confederate Generals, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson who were the major galvanizing figures of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally. Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker said, “Taking down this statue is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and America, grapple with the sin of being willing to destroy Black people for economic gain.” </span><a href="https://demo4hist402a2020fall.omeka.net/items/show/43#_ftn1"><span style="font-weight:400;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-weight:400;"> The Charlottesville’s statues of Lee and Jackson were erected in the 1920s and were celebrated with ceremonies including Confederate veteran reunions. Their erection coincided with the agenda of the South to validate the Confederacy and suppress Black communities.</span><a href="https://demo4hist402a2020fall.omeka.net/items/show/43#_ftn2"><span style="font-weight:400;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-weight:400;"> Following the “Unite the Right” public responses, the city council voted on August 20, 2017 to shroud both Lee and Jackson statues in black.</span><a href="https://demo4hist402a2020fall.omeka.net/items/show/43#_ftn3"><span style="font-weight:400;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-weight:400;"> Following the city council’s decision, both statutes were vandalized repeatedly with politically motivated graffiti.</span></p>
"Mayor Stoney's Full Statement on Monument Avenue." Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 16, 2017. https://richmond.com/news/local/mayor-stoneys-full-statement-on-monument-avenue/article_a6cd40c3-60ea-5209-81be-dcd9f87d98d2.html.
"2018 Monument Avenue Commission Report." July 02, 2018. https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/richmond.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/8d/98dfbab1-3a10-52d4-ab47-f4a2d9550084/5b3a9346537e5.pdf.pdf.
Keneally, Meghan. ABC News. August 03, 2018. https://abcnews.go.com/US/richmond-addressing-debate-confederate-monuments-year-charlottesville/story?id=57009869.
“Charlottesville Removes Robert E. Lee Statue That Sparked A Deadly Rally” Ben Paviour. NPR. July 10, 2021. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/npr/2021/07/10/1014926659/charlottesville-removes-robert-e-lee-statue-that-sparked-a-deadly-rally/
"Charlottesville's Confederate statues shrouded in black". fox5ny.com. August 24, 2017.
2020-2023
Melanie Vigil, Max Bezanilla, and Kareem Khaled
English
HIST 402A Fall 2020, Fall 2021, and Fall 2023
Richmond, Virgina
4. Monument Removal 2020-2021
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin while under arrest for allegedly passing off a counterfeit twenty dollar bill at a convenience store. When the video of this white police officer killing the unarmed black man surfaced, anti-racist and anti-police brutality protests erupted in cities around the world. Led in large part by Black Lives Matter activists, demonstrations across the U.S. consisting of thousands of participants continued for nearly six months.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">Four days after the death of George Floyd, local protests began in Richmond, Virginia. As protestors filled the streets, Richmond’s numerous Confederate memorials and statues quickly became targets for defacement, as they served as symbols of the city’s history of white supremacy and systemic racism. Throughout the month of June, protestors successfully toppled four Confederate statues including General Williams Carter Wickman, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the Howitzer Monument, and the First Virginia Regiment Monument, as well as, the statue of Christopher Columbus. Additionally, the Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy, which has served as the national headquarters for the United Daughters of the Confederacy was set aflame. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">In response to the protest, on June 4, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced plans to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from Monument Avenue. The next day, the Richmond City Council unanimously voted to remove all Confederate statues within the city limits. Following two months of daily demonstrations, in early July the city of Richmond officially removed three Confederate monuments dedicated to J.E.B. Stuart, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Matthew Fontaine Maury, from their locations on Monument Avenue. The last statue to be removed from Monument Avenue was the Robert E. Lee monument. The Supreme Court ruled in September 2021 that the monument could be legally removed and it was finally dislodged and relocated on September 8, 2021.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">1. Burch, Audra D. S., Weiyi Cai, Gabriel Gianordoli, Morrigan McCarthy, and Jugal K. Patel. “How Black Lives Matter Reached Every Corner of America.” </span><i><span style="font-weight:400;">The New York Times. </span></i><span style="font-weight:400;">June 13, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/13/us/george-floyd-protests-cities-photos.html.<br /><br />2. </span>Duster, Chandelis. “Robert E. Lee Statue on Historic Virginia Street Removed.” CNN. Cable News Network, September 8, 2021. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/08/politics/robert-e-lee-statue-richmond-virginia-removal/index.html">https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/08/politics/robert-e-lee-statue-richmond-virginia-removal/index.html</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">3. Levenson, Michael. “Protesters Topple Statue of Jefferson Davis on Richmond’s Monument Avenue.” </span><i><span style="font-weight:400;">The New York Times. </span></i><span style="font-weight:400;">June 11, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/Jefferson-Davis-Statue-Richmond.html</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">4. Robinson, Mark. “It’s unanimous: All nine Richmond City COuncil members back removal of Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue,” </span><i><span style="font-weight:400;">Richmond Times-Dispatch. </span></i><span style="font-weight:400;">June 5, 2020, </span><a href="https://richmond.com/news/local/its-unanimous-all-nine-richmond-city-council-members-back-removal-of-confederate-monuments-on-monument/article_a639a9e9-6757-5278-8da5-bf498241afb9.html"><span style="font-weight:400;">https://richmond.com/news/local/its-unanimous-all-nine-richmond-city-council-members-back-removal-of-confederate-monuments-on-monument/article_a639a9e9-6757-5278-8da5-bf498241afb9.html</span></a></p>
<span style="font-weight:400;">5. Wamsley, Laurel. “Judge Orders Richmond’s Robert E. Lee Statue Can Be Removed.” </span><i><span style="font-weight:400;">NPR. </span></i><span style="font-weight:400;">October 27. 2020,https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/10/27/925407770/judge-orders-richmonds-robert-e-lee-statue-can-be-removed.</span>
2020-2021
Steven Mang ,Monique Garcia, and Kareem Khaled
English
HIST 402A: Fall 2020, Fall 20201, and Fall 2023
Richmond, Virginia
Confederate Dead Monument, Charlottesville
The Confederate Dead memorial in the cemetery at the University of Virginia is a large stone statue of a Confederate soldier designed by Caspar Buberl in 1893 as part of the movement to replace the temporary wooden markers with more permanent ones due to the high number of Confederate soldiers who died in the University hospital. The temporary wooden markers were created by a group of women from Charlottesville called the Ladies Confederate Memorial Association, who took down the names, states, and regiments of those who had died at the University. At the dedication ceremony for the statue, the speech included the idea that slavery had nothing to do with the causes of the Civil War, a point which Alexander Stephens had begun to speak out for following the events of the Civil War despite his Cornerstone Speech which he delivered in 1861. <br /><br />Currently, the Confederate Cemetery rests over a thousand soldiers and is located adjacent to the University Cemetery which rests the university’s former presidents, professors, and students. Found nearby the cemeteries were unmarked graves which later established the African American Cemetery and will be preserved and memorialized by the University.
Caspar Buberl
“Cemetery.” UVA Reveal: <em>Augmenting the University</em>. http://reveal.scholarslab.org/cemetery (accessed December 13, 2020).
Erected: 1893
Sally Hy, Jacob Sandusky
English
Sculpture
HIST 402A Fall 2020-2023
Charlottesville, VA
"At Ready" Confederate Soldier Monument, Charlottesville
“At Ready,” also popularly referred to as “Johnny Reb,” is a Confederate soldier monument in front of the Albemarle County Courthouse in Charlottesville, Virginia. The statue was unveiled in 1909 by the City of Charlottesville and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and represents the formation of the Monticello Guard, which was a militia company started in Virginia in 1857 that joined the 19th Virginia Infantry when they seceded from the Union in 1861. The statue was also accompanied by a time capsule containing Confederate memorabilia including a roster of the Albemarle chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a brief history of the erection of the monument, and a pamphlet containing the history of Charlottesville up until 1909. This statue is one of the many across the country removed following the Unite the Right rally in 2017, which was initially a protest against the removal of confederate monuments, but violent outbursts at the event actually helped to accelerate the movement to remove them. It was removed by unanimous vote by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, and it was relocated for display at the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District in Waynesboro, Virginia in September of 2020 as the first area to remove a war memorial under new Virginia State law as of July 2020.
American Bronze Foundry Co.
"Albemarle County Accepts Offer for At Ready and memorials at Court Square." <em>Albemarle County</em>. https://www.albemarle.org/Home/Components/News/News/108/ (accessed December 13, 2020).<br /><br />"Watch: A Virtual Tour of Charlottesville’s Johnny Reb Statue." <em>University of Virginia</em>. https://religionlab.virginia.edu/news/watch-a-virtual-tour-of-charlottesvilles-johnny-reb-statue/ (accessed December 13, 2020).<br /><br /><div class="csl-bib-body">
<div class="csl-entry">Woods, Charlotte Rene. "Albemarle County Votes to Remove Its Confederate Monuments from Court Square." <em>Charlottesville Tomorrow</em>. August 6, 2020. https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/albemarle-county-votes-to-remove-its-confederate-monuments-from-court-square/ (accessed December 13, 2020).</div>
<span class="Z3988" title="url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.type=webpage&rft.title=Albemarle%20County%20votes%20to%20remove%20its%20Confederate%20monuments%20from%20Court%20Square&rft.description=A%20saga%20that%20began%20in%20Charlottesville%20City%20Hall%20four%20years%20ago%20is%20getting%20a%20new%20chapter%20added%20to%20it%20two%20blocks%20away%20in%20Albemarle%20County.%20Thursday%20night%2C%20followin&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cvilletomorrow.org%2Farticles%2Falbemarle-county-votes-to-remove-its-confederate-monuments-from-court-square%2F"></span></div>
1909
Sally Hy, Jacob Sandusky
English
Sculpture
HIST 402A Fall 2020-2023
Charlottesville, VA
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson Monument, Charlottesville
“Thomas Jonathan Jackson” is an equestrian statue of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson located in Charlottesville Virginia. It was sculpted by Charles Keck as one of four monuments commissioned by Paul Goodloe McIntire from members of the National Sculpture Society, and it was erected in 1921 as a gift to the city of Charlottesville. Just like with the statue of Robert E. Lee nearby, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as an important monument to the Confederacy. Stonewall Jackson was one of the best-known Confederate generals, behind Robert E. Lee, and he was born in what was at the time Virginia, making him an important figure in the state’s Confederate history. This statue came under fire in recent years and proposals were initiated to remove this statue, as well as the statue of Robert E. Lee. <br /><br />The removal of these monuments was blocked by Virginia’s state government under a law that protects war memorials, as well as the public outrage that led to events like the Unite the Right Rally in 2017. However, both of these statues were vandalized with graffiti reading 1619, the year that black slaves were first brought to North America, and damage was inflicted by chiseling portions of the statues in 2019. <br /><br />In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly changed a law that previously protected such monuments to now allow cities to remove or cover statues. After following the requirements of the new law, such as holding public hearings and offering the statues to historical institutions, the Charlottesville city council voted unanimously to remove the statues in June 2021. In the following month, the Robert E. Lee monument was removed with the Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson statue shortly after. The city of Charlottesville published a press release in September that offered the statues to entities interested in acquiring them. The deadline to apply was October 15, 2021, with offers being reviewed within 90 days thereafter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:400;">Since its removal in 2021, the statue was bought by LAXART for 50,000 dollars and is scheduled to be opened in an art display with other Confederate monuments that have been acquired in an exhibition in LA. Originally slated for 2023, the exhibition and the fate of the Confederate monuments in storage are still up in the air.</span>
Charles Keck
“104-0251 Thomas Jonathon Jackson Sculpture.” Virginia Department of Historic Resources website. Accessed December 13, 2020. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/104-0251/
Associated Press. “Charlottesville to Remove Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson Statues on Saturday.” WSLS. WSLS 10, July 9, 2021. https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/2021/07/09/charlottesville-to-remove-robert-e-lee-stonewall-jackson-statues-on-saturday/.
Bidgood, Jess, Matthew Bloch, Morrigan McCarthy, Liam Stack, and Wilson Andrews. “From 2017: Confederate Monuments are Coming Down Across the United States. Here’s A List.” The New York Times, August 28, 2017. Accessed December 13, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/16/us/confederate-monuments-removed.html
“City Seeks Offers to Acquire Ownership of Confederate Statues.” Charlottesville, VA, September 22, 2021. https://www.charlottesville.gov/civicalerts.aspx?aid=839.
Harte, Julia. “Charlottesville Removes Confederate Statue at Center of Deadly 2017 Protest.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, July 12, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/charlottesville-remove-confederate-statue-center-deadly-2017-protest-2021-07-10/.
Stack, Liam. “Charlottesville Confederate Statues Are Protected by State Law, Judge Rules.” The New York Times, May 1, 2019. Accessed December 13, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/charlottesville-confederate-statues.html
Bixby, Ginny. “Art or Ingots” Confederate Statues’ Fate Awaits.” The Daily Progress, July 9, 2022. Accessed November 12, 2023.
https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/government-politics/art-or-ingots-confederate-statues-fates-await/article_04dd2860-fe62-11ec-96e0-f3c89672ffdc.html#:~:text=LAXART%20reimbursed%20the%20city%20of,said%20Hamza%20Walker%2C%20LAXART%20Director.
Erected: 1921
Removed: June 2021
Matthew Mulcaire, Julia Vargas, Michael Westfall
English
Sculpture
HIST 402A Fall 2020-2023
Charlottesville, Virginia
Robert E. Lee Monument, Charlottesville
This statue of Robert E. Lee was erected in 1924 in Charlottesville, Virginia in Market Street Park, which was formerly called Lee Park. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places after being listed in 1997. It is one of four statues created on commission from Paul Goodloe McIntire as a gift to the city of Charlottesville, and it was sculpted by Henry Shrady who was a member of the National Sculpture Society. This statue has also received increased criticism in the last several years through the threat of removal, as well as being the site of the Unite the Right rally in 2017. The rally was a gathering of white supremacists, KKK members, and neo-Nazi groups protesting the removal of Confederate statues. The rally turned violent when counter-protestors and protestors clashed, leading to 33 injuries and 1 death as a protestor drove his car into a crowd of counter-protestors. This came after a 2016 proposal to remove the statue in response to the racially motivated 2015 Charleston church shooting. <br /><br />However, the Virginia government canceled the removal of this statue in 2018, and attempts to cover or remove it were blocked. Despite the blocked attempts to remove the statue, there have been several acts of vandalism against both this and the Stonewall Jackson statue in Charlottesville, both with a chisel to damage the statue and with painted messages against President Trump in 2019. The statue was taken down on June 10th, 2021, being put into storage as the city's property. On October 22nd, 2021, The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center suggested that the statue should be melted down and turned into other works of art. On September 26, 2023, the lawsuit over the removal of the statue ended and the city decided to go with the suggestion to melt the statue down. <br /><br />As of October 26, 2023, the Lee statue was melted down in a private ceremony closed to the public over fear of backlash against the activists and foundry workers responsible for melting the statue. Moving forward the statue's bronze is planned to be turned into a new public art project for the city to display.
Henry Shrady- Sculptor
“104-0264 Robert Edward Lee Sculpture.” Virginia Department of Historic Resources website. Accessed December 13, 2020. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/104-0264/
Bidgood, Jess, Matthew Bloch, Morrigan McCarthy, Liam Stack, and Wilson Andrews. “From 2017: Confederate Monuments are Coming Down Across the United States. Here’s A List.” The New York Times, August 28, 2017. Accessed December 13, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/16/us/confederate-monuments-removed.html
Fortin, Jacey. “The Statue at the Center of Charlottesville’s Storm.” The New York Times, August 13, 2017. Accessed December 13, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/13/us/charlottesville-rally-protest-statue.html
Laughland, Oliver. “White Nationalist Richard Spencer at Rally Over Confederate Statue’s Removal.” The Guardian, May 14, 2017. Accessed December 13, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/14/richard-spencer-white-nationalist-virginia-confederate-statue
Stack, Liam. “Charlottesville Confederate Statues Are Protected by State Law, Judge Rules.” The New York Times, May 1, 2019. Accessed December 13, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/charlottesville-confederate-statues.html
“Charlottesville Takes down Robert E Lee Statue That Sparked Rally.” BBC News, BBC, 10 July 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57788220.
Sullivan, Becky. “A Black Museum Asks to Melt Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee Statue to Create New Art.” NPR, NPR, 22 Oct. 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/10/22/1048380729/black-museum-melt-charlottesville-robert-e-lee-statue.
Neus, Nora. “Robert E Lee statue that sparked Charlottesville riot is melted down: ‘Like his face was crying.’” The Guardian, October 26, 2023. Accessed November 12, 2023.
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/26/charlottesville-robert-e-lee-melted-confederate-statue
Erected: 1924
Removed: June 10, 2021
Matthew Mulcaire, Joey Baum, Michael Westfall
English
Sculpture
Hist 402A Fall 2020-2023
Charlottesville, Virginia