At Ready (statue)

At Ready
The statue in 2008

At Ready (1909) is a memorial of a Confederate soldier originally located in front of the Albemarle County Courthouse in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. The statue, popularly known as "Johnny Reb,"[1] and accompanying objects were removed on September 12, 2020.[2] The statue and nearby cannon, and cannonballs were removed to be placed on display at the Third Winchester Battlefield,[1] part of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.[2]

History[edit]

The statue was unveiled on May 5, 1909, the anniversary of the 1857 creation of the Monticello Guard,[3] a militia company in Charlottesville that formed in front of the Albemarle County Courthouse when Virginia seceded from the union in 1861, and became part of the 19th Virginia Infantry.

Relocation[edit]

On August 6, 2020, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to remove the statue.[4] While several Virginia communities removed monuments in 2020 due to safety concerns amidst widespread protests, Albemarle was the first locality to remove a war memorial under the procedures of a recently passed statues bill that went into effect on July 1, 2020.[5] The statue was gone in September 2020.[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Here are the (mostly Confederate) mementos in Johnny Reb's time capsule". www.cvilletomorrow.org. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  2. ^ a b Taylor, Derrick Bryson (12 September 2020). "Confederate Statue Near Site of White Nationalist Rally in Charlottesville Is Removed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  3. ^ "May Fifth Date Selected". Daily Progress. Charlottesville, VA: 1, 8. March 15, 1909.
  4. ^ Marcilla, Max (7 August 2020). "Albemarle County to remove "At Ready" confederate statue following public hearing". nbc29.com. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  5. ^ Schneider, Gregory S. "Confederate statue taken down in Charlottesville near the site of violent 2017 rally". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  6. ^ Higgins, Jessie (September 15, 2020). "'Johnny Reb' is gone — Here's the status of the 5 other Charlottesville-area statues activists want removed". www.cvilletomorrow.org.

38°1′53.3″N 78°28′39.7″W / 38.031472°N 78.477694°W / 38.031472; -78.477694