Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - UPDATE: Work Crews recovered the remains of A.P. Hill this morning. He is expected to be reburied in Culpeper County next month.
ORIGINAL: A small crowd gathered Monday morning at the intersection of Laburnum and Hermitage to watch as Richmond dismantled its final public Confederate monument. The removal of this statue, a likeness of Confederate general A.P. Hill, has the center of legal debate as Hill's actual remains are interred at the monument's site. In the end, however, the court ruled to allow the city to remove the monument and re-bury Hill's remains in Culpepper, Virginia, the place of his birth.
As a construction crew separated the statue from its pedestal, a crane lifted the metal figure into the air, placing it onto a flatbed truck where it was strapped down securely. It will join Richmond's other removed Confederate monuments at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia.
Mayor Levar Stoney called this morning "the last day of the Lost Cause," and expressed his satisfaction that the monument could finally be removed. " I'm proud of my city," he said. "We've done something that a lot of communities have struggled with and I think a ton of communities are ready to turn the page." Stoney also pointed out that Robert E. Lee himself was opposed to the erection of Confederate monuments.
One protester was present at the event, holding a cardboard box on with messages written on either side. "What's next," read one side, "Vietnam vets?" The crowd's energy, however, was generally positive. Several other community members present engaged in what appeared to be relatively amicable debate with the protester. Others brought children and dogs, arriving on foot and by bicycle. A group of young children stood outside of Christ Ascension Episcopal Church, adjacent to the monument, and watched as the statue was removed. Several neighborhood residents expressed happiness that the statue was finally being removed, not just for its Confederate ties, but because it made the intersection less safe.
A.P. Hill's remains are set to be transported to Culpepper, where the city has procured a grave plot. The city hopes to have the intersection paved over and operational again by the week's end.
