By Ginny Bixby
The (Charlottesville) Daily Progress
CHARLOTTESVILLE â The statues of Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas âStonewallâ Jackson, as well as a one of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Shoshone interpreter Sacagawea, all were removed within a span of eight hours Saturday â capping a years-long effort by many to rid the city of the monuments.
Erected over the course of five years, the three statues, all commissioned by Paul Goodloe McIntire and gifted to the city, stood for a century. Now, only their pedestals remain.
The historic moment was subdued and peaceful, with dozens gathering on a warm, clear Saturday morning to watch the removals at Market Street and Court Square parks. Crews needed less than two hours to unscrew, remove and load each statue on a flatbed trailer.
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A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stands in Market Street Park in Charlottesville, Va. (Wikipedia Commons)
The city of Charlottesville, Va., will take down two prominent Confederate monuments Saturday, officials said, capping an intense push in courtrooms and on city streets to remove the state of Gen. Robert E. Lee that became a focal point of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in 2017.
The removal is the result of more than five years of campaigning by residents to take down monuments to Lee and fellow Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson all of which began with a petition in 2016 from Zyahna Bryant, then a local high school student.
Sunday, 11 Jul 2021 09:15 AM MYT
Police look on as the statue of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacagawea is removed from Charlottesville, Virginia on July 10, 2021. AFP pic
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, July 11 The southern US city of Charlottesville yesterday took down controversial statues including two honouring Civil War pro-slavery generals which had become the focus of protests.
The statues of generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson are among hundreds of Confederate monuments in the United States now widely considered symbols of racism, even if their supporters argue they are a historical legacy.
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Onlookers cheered as the statue was put on a truck and driven away. City authorities had welcomed viewers from 6 a.m. to the site of the statue in Market Street Park.
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Statues honouring leaders of the pro-slavery Confederate side in the American Civil War have become a focus of protests against racism in recent years.
After the removal of the Lee statue, the focus will now move to a second park in the city where a statue of Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson is due for removal, according to city spokesperson Brian Wheeler.