A time capsule was placed under the Robert E. Lee statue in 1887. Gov. Northam says he will remove it.
Gov. Ralph Northam plans to remove a time capsule placed under the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue in 1887 and replace it with a new one, he announced Tuesday, as the state begins to form its plans for the future of the much-contested monument.
The capsule was placed in the northeast cornerstone of the 40-foot-tall granite pedestal on Oct. 27, 1887, and contains about 60 objects largely related to the Confederacy, including a picture of Abraham Lincoln lying in his coffin, according a story in the archives of The Richmond Dispatch — a predecessor to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
To mark the occasion, the city held a massive celebration attended by 25,000 Confederate veterans and supporters from across the South that filled local hotels. The Richmond Dispatch called it a “brilliant street parade” and reported that hotels were full across the city and armed guards would be stationed near the site of the monument’s pedestal.
One of the speakers was Col. Charles Marshall, who blamed the Civil War on Lincoln and told the crowd that Lincoln’s only motive for freeing the slaves was to win the war. Three years later, in 1890, the 21-foot-tall Lee statue was unveiled and another celebration was held.
Lee, the first of five monuments to Confederate military figures along Monument Avenue in the Fan District, is the only one that remains standing after a summer of protests against racial injustice.
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It goes on to describe the items in the time capsule - one being a picture of Abe Lincoln, dead in his coffin. "Heritage not hate" my dyin' ass, Cletus.
There's also a series of lawsuits moving thru Virginia courts which are looking to block the removal (seems a little late, since they've all been removed), and force their return to places of prominence.
The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.
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