Statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee Comes Down in Richmond, VA
Crews remove one of the country’s largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy, a towering statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
One of the nation’s largest Confederate monuments has come down in the former capital of the Confederacy.
The figure of Gen. Robert E. Lee atop a horse towered over Richmond, Virginia, since 1890.
It was lowered to the ground Wednesday morning, and a work crew began cutting it into pieces. A crowd of onlookers erupted in cheers and song.
Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the statue’s removal last summer, citing nationwide pain over the death of George Floyd at the hands of white police officers in Minneapolis. Litigation tied up his plans until the Supreme Court of Virginia cleared the way last week.
It was the sixth and final Confederate statue on Richmond’s Monument Avenue.
COVERAGE FROM CBS NEWS
COVERAGE FROM ABC NEWS
The statue will be held in state-owned storage until a decision is made about its future. The 40-foot pedestal will remain in place until its future is determined.
Richmond became the capital of the Confederacy when the capital was moved from Montgomery in 1861.
(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
