The Confederate Statue (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

The Confederate Statue
The unarmed Confederate soldier standing in the intersection of Washington and Prince Streets marks the location where units from Alexandria left to join the Confederate Army on May 24, 1861. The soldier is facing the battlefields to the South where his comrades fell during the War Between the States. The names of those Alexandrians who died in service for the Confederacy are inscribed on the base of the statue. The title of the sculpture is “Appomattox” by M. Casper Buberl.

The statue was erected in 1889 by the Robert E. Lee Camp, United Confederate Veterans.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

The Confederate Monument:

“Appomattox” by Caspar Buberl (1834–1899). 1889 bronze is approximately 8 feet tall on a 10½ foot granite base.

Inscription reads “Erected to the memory of the Confederate dead of Alexandria Va. by their surviving comrades, May 24th, 1889.” On the base it reads “This monument marks the spot from which the Alexandria troops left to join the Confederate forces. May 24, 1861.”

Names of the Confederate dead of Alexandria are inscribed on the east and west faces of the base.

Inscription on north face of base reads “They died in the consciousness of duty faithfully performed.”


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Regarding The Confederate Statue. From the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System:

“The Robert E. Lee Camp introduced legislation into the Virginia House of Delegates, Jan. 9, 1890, to ensure that the statue would never be moved from its location, in the middle of the intersection of Prince and South Washington Streets. Numerous attempts were made in the late 20th century to remove the statue on the grounds either that it was an offensive reminder of slavery, or simply that its location in the middle of an intersection was impractical. After the base had suffered nicks from passing automobiles for several years, a van hit the monument in Aug. 1988 and knocked the statue off its base. The statue and base were temporarily relocated while the base was restored. After much controversy over whether the statue should be permanently relocated, the statue and base were reinstalled at their original location."

“The statue was designed by John Adams Elder, modeled after the figure in his painting ‘Appomattox,’ which depicts a Confederate soldier viewing the battlefields after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865.”


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Short essay and photographs by Willard Sturgill. “To ensure that the statue would not be moved at some future date, the UCV had legislation introduced into the Virginia House of Delegates which passed on January 9th, 1890 and which reads in part: ‘And whereas it is the desire of the said Robert E. Lee camp of Confederate Veterans and also the citizens and inhabitants of said City of Alexandria that such a monument shall remain in its present position as a perpetual and lasting testimonial to the courage, fidelity and patriotism of the heroes in whose memory it was erected… the permission so given by the said City Council of Alexandria for its erection shall not be repealed, revoked, altered, modified, or changed by any future Council or other municipal power or authority.’ ”

Confederate "Appomattox" Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia
Pictures and text by Willard Sturgill

The sentiment engendered by the Civil War and the military occupation of Alexandria gave rise to a chapter of the United Confederate Veterans organization. In 1886 a proposal was put forth to the UCV to erect a memorial to the men of Alexandria who died in the war. A statue was commissioned based on a previously published drawing of an unarmed Confederate soldier, head bowed, observing the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. On May 24th, 1889 the memorial was dedicated on the spot where Alexandria's troops had departed the city 28 years earlier. The statue portrays a Confederate soldier who faces South as if in deep contemplation. The inscription on the South face of the monument's base reads: Erected to the memory of Confederate dead of Alexandria, Va. By their Surviving Comrades, May 24th 1889. On the North side of the monument the inscription reads: They died in the consciousness of duty faithfully performed. On the West and East sides of the base were listed the names of 99 men of Alexandria who gave their lives during the war. The name of James W. Jackson, the proprietor at Marshall House, was added to the East side of the monument in 1900. Huge crowds attended the dedication ceremonies where the keynote speakers were the Governor of Virginia, former Confederate Cavalry commander and nephew of General R.E. Lee, Fitzhugh Lee, and former commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee General Joseph E. Johnston. To ensure that the statue would not be moved at some future date, the UCV had legislation introduced into the Virginia House of Delegates which passed on January 9th, 1890 and which reads in part: And whereas it is the desire of the said Robert E. Lee camp of Confederate Veterans and also the citizens and inhabitants of said City of Alexandria that such a monument shall remain in its present position as a perpetual and lasting testimonial to the courage, fidelity and patriotism of the heroes in whose memory it was erected… the permission so given by the said City Council of Alexandria for its erection shall not be repealed, revoked, altered, modified, or changed by any future Council or other municipal power or authority. The memorial became very popular and several copies were made and placed in various locations throughout the South until the UCV obtained a copyright in October 1892.

Alexandria's location at the southern approaches to Washington caused her to suffer during the war and geography figures prominently in the history and the placement of the "Appomattox" memorial, known locally as "The Confederate Statue". The same year that the memorial to Confederate veterans was proposed, the citizens of Alexandria also proposed the creation of a 16-mile long scenic highway connecting George Washington's home at Mount Vernon, located eight miles South of Alexandria, to Arlington eight miles northward. Congress authorized a survey in 1889 but construction did not begin until 1929. The Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway has a minimum right of way of 200 feet, except through the city of Alexandria where it narrows due to the street lay out of "Old Town". The area around the Confederate Statue measured at one time 40 by 60 feet and had a fence and ornamental gas lamps but, as traffic increased on South Washington Street, the area was reduced first in 1923 and again in 1932 when construction of the Parkway was completed.

The Confederate Statue standing in the center of the intersection of Prince and Washington Streets. Front view. During research for this project I discovered that on several occasions drivers have crashed their vehicles into the statue and petitions have been filed to have the memorial moved. However, despite the traffic impediments, which also prevented close up photographs, Virginia state law trumps the unpatriotic sentiment of those who would move it.

A marker with a bronze plaque, which provides a description and history of the monument, was placed on the Southwest corner of the intersection on the grounds of the Alexandria Lyceum.

The Confederate Statue from right rear with the Alexandria Courthouse and Alexandria Baptist Church (with scaffolding) in the background. The Baptist Church was also used as a Union Army hospital during the war. The Courthouse is a modern building with classical architectural styling to blend with the period buildings and conforming to the requirements of the city's designation as a "Historic District". In 1946 Alexandria was the third city in the United States to be designated a historical district, after New Orleans, Louisiana and Charleston, South Carolina, an indication of Alexandria's importance to the nation's history.

An image of the Confederate Statue taken from a postcard, circa 1910. Note the iron fence and gaslights.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

“The dedication ceremony was held on May 24, 1889. Virginia Governor Fitzhugh Lee, formerly a major general of cavalry in the Army of Northern Virginia and a nephew of General Robert E. Lee, delivered the dedicatory address. The Alexandria Gazette recorded the event: ‘The population was soon doubled by the large influx of visitors and former residents from every part of the compass. . . In addition to the extraordinarily large number landed by boat, parties from the neighboring counties in carriages and all sorts of vehicles poured into the streets from early morning and by noon the neighborhood of the statue was packed by a huge mass of humanity.’


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows an excerpt from the "Alexandria Living" newspaper as written by by Beth Lawton on June 2, 2020:

Alexandria's Confederate Statue Removed from Old Town Intersection
The owners of the statue, United Daughters of the Confederacy, took it down Tuesday morning.

An empty pedestal now sits at the intersection of Prince and Washington Streets.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy removed the Appomattox statue that, since the late 1800s, has stood the middle of the intersection in Old Town.

The bronze statue in Alexandria commemorated Confederate soldiers from Alexandria. M. Caspar Buberl created the sculpture after it was commissioned by the United Confederate Veterans in the late 1880s. Its dedication ceremony was May 24, 1889. It is modeled after a painting of a soldier surveying the damage from the famous battle in Appomattox County, Virginia, during the Civil War.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy, which owns the statue, had it relocated to an undisclosed location Tuesday morning, according to Alexandria officials.

City council members posted photos on Facebook of the statue being removed.

Since 2016, Alexandria officials have requested permission to move the statue and planned to work with the United Daughters of the Confederacy to do so. Earlier this year, Virginia lawmakers passed a statute allowing local governments to decide what to do with Confederate and other historic monuments.

Mayor Justin Wilson wrote on Facebook early Tuesday morning, "‪Alexandria, like all great cities, is constantly changing and evolving. "

In a Facebook post, City Councilmember John Taylor Chapman wrote, "Some said this day would never come... The confederate statue Appomattox is starting to be taken down. We, our community made this happen. I got the receipts to show it."

Reaction from residents in the area was mixed: Some expressed disbelief, others said they were sad to see it go, and others said, "Finally!"

"Would be great to see another statue or monument in its place. Maybe Mildred and Richard Loving," suggested Trip Hook of Del Ray.

Some residents on Alexandria Living Magazine's Instagram page said the statue should go in a museum where people can learn from it. "We don't have to try to white-wash history, but I do think this statue belongs in a museum as it is a representation of our history," wrote Phallon Perry.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

List of Names on Base of Statue
(west side)
Seventeenth Virginia Infantry

Company A — Capt. A.J. Humphreys, Sgt. Addison Saunders, Sgt. W. T. Morrill, Corp. J.H.L. Sangster, Frank Abbot, E.V. Fairfax, Robt. H. Green, Eph. Hartley, Hugh S. Hite, L.L. Hutchinson, R. Conrad Johnson, Daniel M. Lee, Samuel McMurran, T.A. Patiow, Thos. R. Sangster, John N. Swann

Company E - Sgt. Jas A. Proctor, Corp. W.M. Harper, Corp. Jas. E. Molair, Corp. Gee. T. Warfield, Jno. Allison, Jos. Bushby, Jos. Calmes, Jno. T. Cook, B.F. Emerson, Jno. Greenwood, H. Kidwell, W.T. Padgett, Jos. Penn, A.E. Skidmore, Jos. Williams, A. Woolls

Company G - Lieut. W.E. Gray, Lieut. Saml. B. Paul, Lieut. Jno. F. Addison, Sgt. Jas. W. Ivor, Corp. P. Doyle, D. Dohoney, P. Harrington, Jno. Horrigan, Jas. Keating, Jno. Murphy, Wm. Purcell

Company H - Lieut. Thos. V. Fitzhugh, Sgt. W. H. Boyer, Sgt. W.A. Lovelace, Corp. E.G. Barbour, Jas. E. Grimes, Corp. W.H.H.
The Confederate Soldier Observes the Traffic on Washington Street image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008
5. The Confederate Soldier Observes the Traffic on Washington Street
Smith, J.W. Baldwin, F.S. Ballenger, C.P. Ballenger, E.S. Beacham, R.E. Buchanan, Chas. R. Burgess, W.A. Castleman, Hayden Fewell, Wm. J. Higdon, P. Lannon, W.H. Lunt, D. McDermont, Jno. T. Mills, Jno. S, Murray, B.F. Padgett, Wm. Terrett, Monroe Whittington

Company I - Jno. S. Hart, A. Gousher, Jno. Slemmer

(east side)
Alexandria Artillery — Ed. Calmes, E. Frank Elliott, Jas. Greenwood, P. Foster, W. Harding, Thos. Murphey, Richard Owens, T. A. Petty, Robt. Posey,

Col. Wm. Orton Williams, C.S.A.; Col. Lewellyn Powell, C.S. Arty; Lt. Col. S.W. Presstman, Eng. Corps; Lt. Col. W.F. Lee, 33rd Va. Infty.; Maj. Johnston de Lagnel, Arty., P.A.C.S.; Lieut. Harry White, Co. D., Scruggs Bat.; Lieut. Benj. King, 13th La. Infty.; Lieut. A. J. Arnold, Co. F. 5th Va. Infty.; Sgt. W. Craig Page, Co. B., 2nd Md. Infty.; Eugene Webster, Eng. Corps; Randolph Fairfax, Rockbridge Arty.; H. J. Brent, Stribling’s Arty.; Wilson Turner, Horse Arty.; Thos. B. Turner, Horse Arty.; Peter Crane, Co. H. 4th Va. Cav.; Robt. E. Crosen, Co H. 4th Va. Cav.; Mont. Brent, Co. A., 6th Va. Cav.; C. L. Powell, Jr., Fed’sburg Arty.; Jas. Foard, Letcher Arty.; Lloyd Powell, Co. F., 2nd Va. Infty.; Benj. Swann; James W. Jackson.

James W. Jackson’s name was added to the east side of the statue in 1900. He was the proprietor of the Marshall House who was killed on May 24, 1861, during the occupation of the city.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Attempt to relocate statue.
In September 2016, the Alexandria Town Council voted to move this statue from its busy crossroads to the nearby Alexandria History Museum - The Lyceum. The state legislature, a few months later, told the council that there was no reason to think the legislature would approve an exemption from a state law that prohibits the relocation of war memorials.

The statue has long been a sore point for some Alexandria residents, who say it glorifies the army that fought to retain slavery in the Civil War. Others call it a legitimate historical marker, occupying the spot where a local regiment mustered to retreat from the city just before Union troops seized Alexandria in 1861.