Norfolk Confederate Monument

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Norfolk Confederate Monument
Main and Commercial, Norfolk CSA monument.jpg
The monument in 2017
Norfolk Confederate Monument
ArtistJ. D. Couper and William Couper [1]
Year1907
Subject Confederate soldier [1]
ConditionRelocated to Elmwood Cemetery [2]
Location Norfolk Southern Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Coordinates 36°50′44.6″N76°17′19.1″W / 36.845722°N 76.288639°W / 36.845722; -76.288639

The Norfolk Confederate Monument was a Confederate memorial in front of the Norfolk Southern Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. The monument was removed in June 2020.

Contents

Description and history

The initiative to build the monument was taken by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, as one of many Confederate monuments they established throughout the country. [3] Construction of the monument began on February 22, 1898, when the cornerstone was laid; it was completed in 1907 and dedicated on May 16 that year. [1] The artists involved were J. D. Couper (designer) and William Couper (sculptor) from Couper Marble Works. [1] It features the text "Our Confederate Dead, 1861–1865", the letters "CSA" (from "Confederate States of America"), a Confederate battle flag, and the statue of an unidentified Confederate soldier, who is often referred to as "Johnny Reb". [3] [1] The monument was removed in 1965 to make room for the construction of the Virginia National Bank, but reinstalled six years later in 1971 at about 150 feet from its original location. [1]

Removal

In the 21st century, there were several calls and legal attempts to have the monument removed, and it was vandalized at least once. [3] In early June 2020, during the George Floyd protests, the Norfolk City Council announced plans to remove the Norfolk Confederate Monument by August 2020. The Downtown Norfolk Council announced that it would no longer clean the monument. [4]

On June 12, 2020, the "Johnny Reb" statue was removed by crane from the top of the monument under orders of Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander. Mayor Alexander acknowledged that the state law allowing the monument to be removed had not yet gone into effect. The removal was expedited because of public safety concerns after a protester sustained life-threatening injuries in neighboring Portsmouth days earlier after being hit by a falling statue during protests against the Portsmouth Confederate Monument. [5] Crews later dismantled the 60 foot marble column. [6] Mayor Alexander said the "Johnny Reb" statue would be put into storage, and an upcoming hearing would determine the future location of the monument. [7] The monument was then relocated to the Elmwood Cemetery north of downtown Norfolk, where it was reconstructed minus the column that made up the middle section. [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Norfolk Confederate Monument, (sculpture)". Art Inventories Catalog. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Hall, Brett (December 10, 2020). "Sons of Confederate Veterans praises Norfolk's handling of monument relocation". WAVY.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Dyer Oxley (August 22, 2019). "Rob McKenna: Newest Confederate monument argument likely won't work". KIRO-FM . Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  4. Murphy, Ryan (June 3, 2020). "Norfolk's Confederate monument could be removed as soon as August". Norfolk Daily Press . Archived from the original on February 13, 2023.
  5. "Statue of Confederate soldier removed from downtown Norfolk". June 12, 2020. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  6. Murphy, Ryan (June 22, 2020). "Norfolk's Confederate Monument is all but gone from downtown. Now what?". The Virginian-Pilot . Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  7. "Crews remove 'Johnny Reb' statue from Confederate monument in Downtown Norfolk". June 12, 2020. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.