| Norfolk Confederate Monument | |
|---|---|
 The monument in 2017 | |
 | |
| Artist | J. D. Couper and William Couper [1] |
| Year | 1907 |
| Subject | Confederate soldier [1] |
| Condition | Dismantled, removed and in storage [2] |
| Location | Norfolk Southern Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 36°50′44.6″N76°17′19.1″W / 36.845722°N 76.288639°W | |
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.
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]
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. [2] Mayor Alexander said the "Johnny Reb" statue would be put into storage, and an upcoming hearing would determine the future location of the monument. [6]
Monroe Park is a 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) landscaped park 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the Virginia State Capitol Building in Richmond, Virginia. It is named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States (1817–1825). The park unofficially demarcates the eastern point of the Fan District and is Richmond's oldest park. It occupies the center of the Virginia Commonwealth University Monroe Park Campus.
The Confederate War Memorial was a 65 foot (20 m)-high monument that pays tribute to soldiers and sailors from Texas who served with the Confederate States of America (CSA) during the American Civil War. The monument was dedicated in 1897, following the laying of its cornerstone the previous year. Originally located in Sullivan Park near downtown Dallas, Texas, United States, the monument was relocated in 1961 to the nearby Pioneer Park Cemetery in the Convention Center District, next to the Dallas Convention Center and Pioneer Plaza.
The Confederate Monument in Portsmouth, Virginia, was built between 1876 and 1881. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1997.
The Denton Confederate Soldier Monument was an outdoor Confederate memorial installed in downtown Denton, Texas, in the United States.
More than 160 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America and associated figures have been removed from public spaces in the United States, all but five since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn down by protestors.
The Charlottesville historic monument controversy is the public discussion on how Charlottesville should respond to protesters who complain that various local monuments are racist. The controversy began before 2016 when protest groups in the community asked the city council for the local removal of Confederate monuments and memorials. Other monuments became part of the controversy, including those of Thomas Jefferson because of his ownership of slaves and those of Lewis and Clark for their advocacy of white colonists over Native Americans.
Christopher Columbus, or simply Columbus, is a 1955 sculpture by Edoardo Alfieri, originally installed outside Columbus, Ohio's City Hall, in the United States. The statue was unveiled in 1955, celebrating Christopher Columbus's voyages to the New World. It was removed in July 2020, in light of the explorer's abusive relationship with indigenous Americans.
Richmond, Virginia, experienced a series of protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Richmond was the first city in the Southeastern United States to see rioting following Floyd's murder. Richmond, formerly the capital of the short-lived Confederate States of America, saw much arson and vandalism to monuments connected with that polity, particularly along Monument Avenue.
The statue of the Confederate States of America cavalry general Williams Carter Wickham by Edward Virginius Valentine was installed in Richmond, Virginia's Monroe Park in 1891, near Virginia Commonwealth University's main campus. It was toppled in June 2020 during the George Floyd protests.
The Confederate Memorial, was installed in Jacksonville, Florida's Hemming Park, in the United States. The monument was removed in June 2020.
The Confederate Soldier Memorial, or Confederate Monument, is located in the Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.
A statue of Philip Schuyler by J. Massey Rhind was installed outside Albany City Hall in Albany, New York, United States. The memorial was slated for removal in June 2020. It was removed from outside Albany City Hall on June 10, 2023.
The Howitzer Monument was installed in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. It commemorated the Richmond Howitzers, a Confederate artillery unit. The statue was created by Caspar Buberl. It was located on Virginia Commonwealth University's Monroe Park campus.
Our Confederate Soldiers is a Confederate monument in Beaumont, Texas, United States. The memorial was removed and put into storage on June 29, 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests.
The Christopher Columbus Monument was a marble statue of the explorer Christopher Columbus in the Little Italy neighborhood of Downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The monument was brought down by protesters and dumped into the Inner Harbor on July 4, 2020, one of numerous monuments removed during the George Floyd protests. The statue is being reproduced by the Knights of Columbus.
A statue of Alfred Mouton, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, was installed in 1922 in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. The sculptor's identity is unknown.
At Ready (1909) is a memorial of a Confederate soldier originally located in front of the Albemarle County Courthouse in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. The statue, popularly known as "Johnny Reb," and accompanying objects were removed on September 12, 2020. The statue and nearby cannon, and cannonballs were removed to be placed on display at the Third Winchester Battlefield, part of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy Monument is a Confederate monument in Cleveland, Tennessee owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was sculpted in 1910 and installed in 1911.
