Virginia Removes 3 Confederate-Era Statues from Capitol Square, Sending Them to Battlefield Sites
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 29
Virginia Removes 3 Confederate-Era Statues from Capitol Square, Sending Them to Battlefield Sites
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 29
Summary
Three statues—of Hunter Holmes McGuire, Stonewall Jackson and former Gov. William "Extra Billy" Smith—were removed Friday from Richmond’s Capitol Square after years of monument removals across Virginia.
State officials and supporters of the move said the monuments remained painful reminders of racism and segregation, with Democratic state Senator Mike Jones arguing they should not continue to dominate a prominent public space.
The removals also swept in McGuire, a Confederate surgeon whose backers say his role in the 1862 Winchester Accord helped establish protections for captured military doctors later reflected in the Geneva Convention.
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation said the 3 statues will be relocated to battlefield sites, shifting them from the state capitol grounds to historical settings rather than destroying them outright.