Last city-owned Confederate monument in Richmond removed

Workers in Richmond on Monday removed the last remaining Confederate monument in the city that was formerly the capital of the Confederate States of America. According to CBS News, the statue of Confederate General A.P. Hill was lifted from where it had been mounted and put on a waiting truck.

Photos and a video of the bronze statue’s removal were shared on Twitter by Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney. The removal comes more than two years after the city initiated a process of removing Confederate monuments. 

“Over two years ago, Richmond was home to more Confederate statues than any city in the United States. Collectively, we have closed that chapter,” Stoney shared. “We now continue the work of being a more inclusive and welcoming place where ALL belong.”

Hill’s statue had been sitting atop his grave. But prior to the statue’s removal, there was a legal battle over what the city could actually move – whether his statue or his remains. In October, however, a Virginia circuit court gave the city the green light to remove the monument. 

Hill served as a lieutenant general under General Robert E. Lee. A Union soldier shot and killed him during the Third Battle of Petersburg in 1865. 

The Richmond City Council in 2020 backed an ordinance that gave the city the green light to take down confederate statues mounted on its property, CBS News reported. Eight confederate statues have since been removed. Some of the statues were taken down in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the anti-racism protests that ensued as a result. 

“Richmond had more Confederate monuments than any other city in the United States of America, and we were the former capital of the Confederacy,” Stoney said, per The Associated Press. “And so this wasn’t just two years of work, this was a hundred years of difficult work.”

“I’m proud of my city,” Stoney added. “We’ve done something that a lot of communities have struggled with, and I think a ton of people are ready to turn the page.”