Appomattox

Appomattox is a bronze statue commemorating soldiers from Alexandria, Virginia, who had died while fighting for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The memorial was located in the center of the intersection of South Washington Street (Virginia Route 400) and Prince Street in the Old Town neighborhood of Alexandria. The National Park Service placed the monument on the National Register of Historic Places during 2017. The statue was removed on June 2, 2020, during nationwide protests during which vandals defaced segregation-era statues following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. History In 1889, sculptor M. Caspar Buberl cast the statue, which the Robert E. Lee camp of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) commissioned and erected. The form of the soldier was designed by John Adams Elder, who modeled it after a painting of the same title that shows a lone Confederate viewing the aftermath of the battle of Appomattox Court House, where Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union general Ulysses S. Grant. The dedication ceremony was held on May 24, 1889, and was attended by a vast crowd. It was noted that by noon of that day, a great influx of visitors had swarmed the town of Alexandria to take part in the ceremony, which was overseen by Fitzhugh Lee, who was governor of Virginia at that time. Joseph E. Johnston, former Confederate general of the Army of Tennessee, was also in attendance. The UCV foresaw the controversy that would arise over the monument. Thus, they petitioned the Virginia House of Delegates in the same year to have it protected by state law.