Robert E. Lee (Valentine)
Robert E. Lee is a bronze sculpture commemorating the general of the same name by Edward Virginius Valentine, installed in the crypt of the United States Capitol as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.[1][2][3] The statue was gifted by the commonwealth of Virginia in 1909.[4]
Robert E. Lee | |
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The statue | |
Artist | Edward Virginius Valentine |
Medium | Bronze sculpture |
Subject | Robert E. Lee |
Location | Washington, D.C., United States |
Replacement
On January 2, 2020, Virginia governor Ralph Northam (D) requested a bill to remove the statue from the U.S. Capitol building. The idea came from Reps. Jennifer Wexton and Donald McEachin. "These statutes aimed to rewrite Lee’s reputation from that of a cruel slave owner and Confederate General to portraying him as a kind man and reluctant war hero who selflessly served his home state of Virginia," Wexton and McEachin wrote in a letter to Northam. A statue of educator and orator Booker T. Washington or civil rights attorney Oliver Hill could replace the Lee statue.[5]
References
- "Journal of the Senate of Virginia". Commonwealth of Virginia. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017 – via Google Books.
- "Why Are They There?: The Confederate Statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection – The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History". Gilderlehrman.org. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "25 conflict leaders in Statuary Hall". The Washington Times. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "Robert E. Lee". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- Virginia governor seeking to remove Robert E. Lee statue from US Capitol BY MARINA PITOFSKY, The Hill, Jan 2, 2020