The Confederate Statue

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008

1. The Confederate Statue Marker

Inscription. 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.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Sons of Confederate Veterans/United Confederate Veterans series list. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1859.

Location. Marker has been permanently removed. It was located near 38° 48.236′ N, 77° 2.833′ W. Marker was in Alexandria, Virginia. It was in Old Town. Marker was at the intersection of South Washington Street (Virginia Route 400) and Prince Street, on the right when traveling south on South Washington Street. Marker was on the southwest corner, at the Lyceum. Statue was in the middle of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Alexandria VA 22314, United States of America.

We have been

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

informed that this sign or monument is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. The Lyceum (within shouting distance of this marker); The Methodist Episcopal Congregation of Alexandria (within shouting distance of this marker); The Patton-Fowle House (within shouting distance of this marker); Swann-Daingerfield House (within shouting distance of this marker); Suffragists and a Courtroom Decision in Alexandria (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Portner's (about 400 feet away); The Alexandria Lyceum (about 400 feet away); Timberman Brothers (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Alexandria.

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

The Confederate Statue Marker and the Lyceum image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008

2. The Confederate Statue Marker and the Lyceum

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.”

Also see . . .
1. Confederate “Appomattox” Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. 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

The Confederate Monument “Appomattox” image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008

3. The Confederate Monument “Appomattox”

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.”

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.’ ” (Submitted on June 28, 2008.)

2. Confederate Monument Postcards. Postcards in the Alexandria Public Library collection. Click on each image to enlarge. (Submitted on June 28, 2008.)

3. The Confederate Statue. “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.’ ” (Submitted on June 28, 2008.)

4. Alexandria's Confederate statue removed on June 2, 2020. (Submitted on June 2, 2020, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana.)

Additional commentary.
1. List of Names on Base of Statue
(west side)

Confederate Monument, South Washington Street, Alexandria, Va. image. Click for full size.

J. J. Prats Postcard Collection

4. Confederate Monument, South Washington Street, Alexandria, Va.

1946 postcard has no legend on back. It is a "genuine Curteich-Chicago ‘C.T. Art-Colorone’ post card" in the B.S. Reynolds Co. (Washington D.C.) scenic art series, No. 6 B-H623. Compare with Photo 5.

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. 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,

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

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.

— Submitted June 28, 2008.

2. 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

The Confederate Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008

6. The Confederate Monument

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

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.

— Submitted February 6, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

The Confederate Soldier Faces South image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008

7. The Confederate Soldier Faces South

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

The Confederate Soldier image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008

8. The Confederate Soldier

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008

9. The Confederate Soldier

The Confederate Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 28, 2008

10. The Confederate Statue

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

Credits. This page was last revised on January 28, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 28, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 12,100 times since then and 158 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 28, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 4. submitted on July 17, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on June 28, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.