Robert Edward Lee
The sculpture in January 2006
Robert E. Lee Monument (Charlottesville, Virginia) is located in Virginia
Robert E. Lee Monument (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Robert E. Lee Monument (Charlottesville, Virginia) is located in the United States
Robert E. Lee Monument (Charlottesville, Virginia)
LocationMarket Street Park, bounded by Market, Jefferson, 1st and 2nd streets, Northeast
Coordinates38°1′54″N 78°28′50″W / 38.03167°N 78.48056°W / 38.03167; -78.48056
Arealess than one acre
Built1924 (1924)
ArchitectWalter Blair, sculptors,Henry Shrady; Leo Lentelli
Architectural stylebronze sculpture
MPSFour Monumental Figurative Outdoor Sculptures in Charlottesville MPS
NRHP reference No.97000447[1]
VLR No.104-0264
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 16, 1997
Designated VLRJune 19, 1996[2]
Lee sculpture covered in black tarpaulin following the Unite the Right rally of 2017

The Robert E. Lee Monument was an outdoor bronze equestrian statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee and his horse Traveller located in Charlottesville, Virginia's Market Street Park (formerly Emancipation Park, and before that Lee Park) in the Charlottesville and Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District. The statue was commissioned in 1917 and dedicated in 1924, and in 1997 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was removed on July 10, 2021, and melted down in 2023.[1][3][4]

In February 2017, as part of the movement for the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials, the Charlottesville City Council voted 3–2 for the statue's removal, along with the Stonewall Jackson statue, and for the Lee Park to be renamed. The removal proposal generated controversy. A lawsuit was filed on March 20, 2017, and in May 2017 a temporary injunction against its removal was granted by a judge, citing a Virginia state law that blocked the removal. White supremacists organized the Unite the Right rally for August 2017 to protest the proposed removal that drew numerous far-right groups from across the United States; this rally in turn caused counterdemonstrations, which in turn caused serious clashes; the event took a deadly turn when a white supremacist rammed a car into a crowd of counterdemonstrators, killing one and wounding 35. On August 23, 2017, the council had the statue shrouded in black, which in February 2018 a judge ordered removed. In July 2019 a permanent injunction was granted and in July 2020 the state law was amended to remove the grounds for objection raised by the judge. The Virginia Supreme Court lifted the injunction in April 2021, holding that the state law thought to restrict the removal did not apply retroactively to statutes passed before its effect (the law was applied to Virginia cities in 1997, but the statue had been erected in 1924).[5] However, rather than immediately remove the statute, the city opted to employ the new removal process authorized under the law's 2020 amendments, which entails public notice, a public hearing after thirty days, and thirty days to field offers for relocation of the statue.[6]

On July 9, 2021, the City Council announced that the Lee Monument would be removed the following day,[7] and, on July 10, 2021, both the Lee and Stonewall Jackson statues were removed by the city.[8] In October 2023, the Lee statue was cut into pieces and melted down, with the intention of later turning the metal into a new artwork.[4]

History

In 1917, Paul Goodloe McIntire commissioned the statue from the artist Henry Shrady (1871–1922). It was the second of four works he commissioned from members of the National Sculpture Society. McIntire wanted a public setting for the statue, buying a city block of land and demolishing existing structures on it to create a formal landscaped square, later named Lee Park (currently Market Street Park), the first of four parks he would donate to Charlottesville.[9]

Shrady was chronically ill at the time of the commission – he worked on it slowly and it was still unfinished on his death in 1922. Leo Lentelli (1879–1961) completed the sculpture in 1924, and it was dedicated on May 21 of that year. It was cast in the Roman Bronze Works of Brooklyn, New York. Comparison with a surviving model of the proposed statue by Shrady reveals Lentelli's version is less animated than that intended by Shrady. The oval granite pedestal was designed by the architect Walter Blair and on its side has the inscription "Robert Edward Lee" with the dates 1807 and 1870. The sculpture and pedestal combined are approximately 26 feet high, 12 feet long, and 8 feet wide (7.9 m × 3.7 m × 2.4 m) at the bottom of the pedestal.[9]

Attempts to remove the statue

In March 2016, Charlottesville's Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy publicly called on city council to remove the Lee statue and rename Lee Park, saying that the statue's presence "disrespected" parts of the community, and that he had "spoken with several different people who have said they have refused to step foot (sic) in that park because of what that statue and the name of that park represents. And we can't have that in the city of Charlottesville."[10] Local NAACP head Rick Turner supported removal, calling Lee a terrorist. Others accused the city council and Bellamy of disregarding Lee's historical significance; overlooking his importance to Virginia; sowing division; and trying to rewrite history. A petition to remove the statue was initiated, with wording saying the statue represented "hate" and was a "subliminal message of racism".[11][12]

In April 2016, the city council appointed a special commission, named the Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Monuments and Public Spaces, to recommend to city officials how to best handle issues surrounding statues of Stonewall Jackson (Thomas Jonathan Jackson) in Court Square and Lee in Lee Park, as well as other landmarks and monuments. Early in November 2016, the Blue Ribbon Commission voted 6–3 to let both statues remain in place.[13] On November 28, 2016, it voted 7–2 to remove the Lee statue to McIntire Park in Charlottesville and 8–1 to keep the Jackson statue in place,[14] delivering a final report with that recommendation to Charlottesville City Council in December.[14]

On February 6, 2017, Charlottesville's five-member city council voted 3-2 to remove the Lee statue and, unanimously, to rename Lee Park.[15]

Lawsuit

In response, a lawsuit was filed on March 20, 2017, by multiple plaintiffs, including the Monument Fund Inc, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and descendants of the statue's donor and sculptor, to block the removal of the Lee and Jackson statues. The lawsuit sought a temporary injunction to halt the removal, arguing that Charlottesville City Council's decision violated a state law designed to protect veterans' monuments and memorials, in this case veterans of the American Civil War, and that the council had additionally violated the terms of McIntire's gift to Charlottesville of the statue and the land for Lee Park.[16]

The city responded by asking that the temporary injunction be denied, arguing that the two statues were not Confederate monuments and therefore outside the law's protection.[17] The City also argued that the law did not apply to any monuments erected before it was amended to apply to cities in 1997 -- which argument ultimately prevailed.[18]

In April 2017, the city council voted 3-2 (exactly along the lines of the February vote) that the statue be removed completely from Charlottesville and sold to whoever the council chooses.[19]

On May 2, 2017, Judge Richard Moore issued a temporary injunction blocking the removal of the Lee statue for six months, in the public's interest, pending his final decision in the suit.[17]

In October 2019 Judge Moore ruled that local authorities in Charlottesville cannot remove the two Confederate statues because they were war memorials protected by state law, and issued a permanent injunction preventing their removal.[20]

On April 1, 2021, the Virginia Supreme Court overturned Judge Moore's decision and lifted the injunction.[5]

After the statue's removal, in December 2021 Charlottesville City Council approved a proposal to melt the statue down and repurpose the material for public art.[21] A second lawsuit was filed by the Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation and the Ratcliffe Foundation shortly thereafter.[22] In 2023, the counts pertaining to the statue's fate were dismissed for lack of standing, clearing the way for the project to proceed.[23]

Unite the Right rally

On May 13, 2017, neo-Nazi Richard B. Spencer led a torch-lit rally in Lee Park in protest at the Charlottesville town council's decision to remove and sell the statue and chanted "you will not replace us" and "Russia is our friend".[24][25][26][27] Some of the ralliers procured bamboo tiki torches for a second, nighttime rally and shouted slogans including "Jews will not replace us", but put out their torches and left as police officers began to arrive to disperse them.[25]

Protesters to the rally itself gathered the following day and held a silent candlelight vigil that attracted over a hundred of the town's citizens,[26][28] and the incumbent mayor of Charlottesville, Michael Signer. Signer, who opposed the statue's removal, condemned the initial rally the night before. The organizations dedicated to preserving the Robert E. Lee statue issued a statement denying any involvement in the rally.[25] Despite some conflict, no arrests were made and no one was injured.[27][24]

On July 8, 2017, the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Charlottesville protesting the city's plan to remove the statue. The approximately 50 Klansmen were met by several hundred counter-protesters. The police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, and made 23 arrests.[29]

On August 12, 2017, during the Unite the Right rally, clashes broke out between supporters of the statue, who marched under Confederate, American, and Revolutionary flags, and counter-protesters. During the rally, counter-protester Heather Heyer was killed and 19 injured by a car ramming attack.[30]

City and public responses

On August 20, 2017, the city council unanimously voted to shroud both the Lee and Jackson statues in black. The council "also decided to direct the city manager to take an administrative step that would make it easier to eventually remove the Jackson statue."[31] The statues were covered in black shrouds on August 23, 2017.[32] On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Richard Moore ruled that the City of Charlottesville must remove the black tarps covering the statues, and the city complied removing the shrouds a day later.[33]

Sometime overnight between Friday July 7 and Saturday July 8, 2017, the statue was vandalized by being daubed in red paint.[34] It had been vandalized before; in June 2016, the pedestal was spray painted with the words "Black Lives Matter".[12]

In 2018, the statue was placed on the Make It Right Project's list of ten Confederate monuments it most wanted to see removed.[35]

In October 14, 2019, both statues were damaged by a chisel (the Jackson statue being damaged a second time, as it was prior in September). Charlottesville police stated that they were investigating the vandalism.[36] On November 28, 2019, the statue was painted with graffiti, saying: "Impeach Trump" and "This is Racist".[37]

Removal and melting down

On the morning of July 10, 2021, the statue was removed from its plinth by the city.[8] The mayor of Charlottesville, Nikuyah Walker, stated that "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."[38][39] The statue was taken away from the site on a flatbed truck.[40] The city stated that statue would be put into storage and the stone base removed at a later date, and that the final disposition of the statue was yet to be decided.[41] Charlottesville City Council approved a plan in December 2021 to melt the statue and repurpose its material for public art.[21] Lawsuits temporarily blocked the progress; as of mid-2023, all but one plaintiff and one count of the suit had been dismissed.[22][23] In October 2023, the statue was taken to a foundry in an undisclosed location and melted down.[42][43]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "Statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee removed in Charlottesville, Va". CBC. CBC. July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Robert E Lee statue that sparked Charlottesville riot is melted down: 'Like his face was crying' | Virginia | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  5. 1 2 Allyson Waller (April 1, 2021). "Charlottesville Can Remove Confederate Statues, High Court Rules". New York Times.
  6. ↑ Charlotte Rene Wood (May 3, 2021). "Charlottesville's Confederate monuments could come down July 7". Charlottesville Tomorrow.
  7. ↑ Deepa Shivaram (July 9, 2021). "Confederate Monument That Sparked Deadly Charlottesville Rally To Be Removed Saturday". NPR.
  8. 1 2 Paviour, Ben (10 July 2021). "Charlottesville Removes Robert E. Lee Statue That Sparked A Deadly Rally". NPR.org.
  9. 1 2 Betsey Gohdes-Baten (April 1996). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Robert Edward Lee Sculpture" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
  10. ↑ "Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy: Take Down Robert E. Lee Statue". www.nbc29.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ↑ "People Show Support for, Opposition to Lee Statue in Charlottesville". www.nbc29.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-08. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  12. 1 2 Fortin, Jacey (August 13, 2017). "The Statue at the Center of Charlottesville's Storm". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ "Commission Votes 6-3 to Keep Confederate Statues in Charlottesville". www.nbc29.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-08. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  14. 1 2 "Blue Ribbon Commission Votes on Plans for Statues at Final Meeting". www.nbc29.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-08. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  15. ↑ Laughland, Oliver (May 14, 2017). "White nationalist Richard Spencer at rally over Confederate statue's removal". The Guardian. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Groups File Lawsuit to Stop Removal of Confederate Statues". www.nbc29.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  17. 1 2 "Judge halts removal of Lee statue for 6 months". Wdbj7.com. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "Virginia Suprem Court sides with Charlottesville Over Confederate Statues". www.nbc29.com. April 2021.
  19. ↑ Charlottesville City Council Votes to Sell Statue by Bid, Rename Lee Park Archived 2017-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ Van Sant, Shannon (14 September 2019). "Judge Blocks Removal Of Confederate Statue That Sparked Charlottesville Protest". NPR. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  21. 1 2 Magazine, Smithsonian; McGreevy, Nora. "Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee Statue Will Be Melted Down, Transformed Into New Art". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  22. 1 2 Armus, Teo (2022-06-27). "Lawsuit seeks to stop Charlottesville Lee statue from being melted down". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  23. 1 2 "Judge dismisses two counts of lawsuit that would block melting Lee statue". Judge dismisses two counts of lawsuit that would block melting Lee statue - The Cavalier Daily - University of Virginia's Student Newspaper. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  24. 1 2 McCausland, Phil (13 May 2017). "White Nationalist Leads Torch-Bearing Protesters Against Removal of Confederate Statue". NBC News. NBC. NBC. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  25. 1 2 3 Hensley, Nicole (2017-05-14). "Torch-wielding protesters chanting 'Russia is our friend' rally at Confederate statue in Virginia". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  26. 1 2 "Mayor: Torch-lit protest in Charlottesville, Va. "hearkens back to the days of the KKK"". CBS News. May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  27. 1 2 Laughland, Oliver. "White nationalist Richard Spencer at rally over Confederate statue's removal". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  28. ↑ Wise, Scott. "Counter-rally lights up Lee Park with candles, not torches". CBS 6. CBS. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  29. ↑ Ellis, Ralph (July 8, 2017). "Counterprotesters outnumber, confront Klan supporters at Virginia KKK rally". CNN. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  30. ↑ "State of emergency declared amid violence at Charlottesville's 'Unite the Right' rally". CNN. August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  31. ↑ Brown, Emma (August 22, 2017). "Charlottesville City Council votes to shroud Confederate statues in black". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  32. ↑ FOX. "Charlottesville's Confederate statues shrouded in black". fox5ny.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  33. ↑ Held, Amy (28 February 2018). "Shrouds Pulled From Charlottesville Confederate Statues, Following Ruling". NPR.org.
  34. ↑ "Lee Statue Vandalized Ahead of KKK Rally in Charlottesville". www.nbc29.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  35. ↑ Independent Media Institute (2018). "10 Most Unwanted". Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  36. ↑ Stack, Liam (May 1, 2019). "Charlottesville Confederate Statues Are Protected by State Law, Judge Rules". The New York Times.
  37. ↑ "Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville tagged with 'Impeach Trump' on Thanksgiving". WTVR.com. 2019-12-01. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  38. ↑ Covington, Abigail (2021-07-11). "Charlottesville Removed the Robert E. Lee Statue that Sparked the Deadly "Unite the Right" Rally". Esquire. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  39. ↑ "'Such a relief': Charlottesville onlookers cheer the removal of Confederate statue". the Guardian. 2021-07-10. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  40. ↑ Politi, Daniel (2021-07-10). "Charlottesville Removes Robert E. Lee Statue Four Years After Deadly White Supremacist Rally". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  41. ↑ "Charlottesville to Initiate Statue Removals". Charlottesville, VA. Archived from the original on 2021-07-17. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  42. ↑ Elliott, Debbie (26 October 2023). "Confederate monument melted down to create new, more inclusive public art". NPR.
  43. ↑ Thompson, Erin (2023-10-27). "Opinion | The Most Controversial Statue in America Surrenders to the Furnace". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
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