Albemarle County to remove “At Ready” Confederate statue on Sept. 12

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - Albemarle County’s Confederate statue is set to be removed in a little more than a week.

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors announced on Wednesday the At Ready statue in front of the county courthouse will come down Saturday, September 12.

The statue depicts a Confederate soldier in uniform, two cannons and cannonballs. It’s stood in Court Square since 1909.

The county says the removal will be live-streamed on Facebook, but no on-site public viewing is allowed because of gathering restrictions in place due to COVID-19.

“It was really heartening to see the decision at the county board and listen to all of that public testimony and what was once a controversial decision is now a real matter of community consensus as it should be,” 57th District Delegate Sally Husdon said. “We should be deciding what we celebrate and that ain’t it anymore.”

Hudson also says the county has been teeing up local educators, historians, organizers, and elected officials who’ve been involved in the effort to speak during the live-streamed event.

The program will air while the statute is being taken down, which is expected to take several hours.

09/02/2020 Albemarle County Press Release:

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VA - The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors announced that on Saturday, September 12, 2020, the At Ready statue, the two cannons, and the stacked cannonballs located at Court Square will be removed. Due to the current gathering restrictions in-place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the nature of the equipment involved, the removal will be livestreamed and viewable through Albemarle County’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Albemarle.County). There will be no onsite public accommodations to view the removal.

“There has been a robust, community-driven process to bring us to this moment. It would be ideal to mark the removal of At Ready, the cannons, and the cannonballs from the front our historic courthouse together as a community – but that simply is not possible to do safely,” said Ned Gallaway, Chair of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. “The livestream event will provide the best possible view of the removal and will also feature interviews with community members, elected officials, scholars, and professionals. We urge our community to experience this moment together online.”

The Board of Supervisors also announced an adjourned meeting on Tuesday, September 8 at 5 pm, to select the offeror(s) to receive the Memorials at Court Square – the At Ready statue, the two cannons, and the stacked cannonballs. Information on how to attend a virtual Board of Supervisors meeting is available here.

The removal follows the August 6, 2020, public hearing and adoption of the “Resolution to Remove Certain Monuments and Memorials in the County-owned Portion of Court Square Park” (“Resolution”). The Board’s action triggered the 30-day period required by Virginia Code § 15.2-1812 to offer the monuments and memorials (“Memorials”) for relocation and placement to any museum, historical society, government, or military battlefield. The Resolution identified offers would be received until September 5. Any statements of interest sent by mail or private parcel service, or hand-delivery, must be received by the County by September 8, before the Board’s 5 pm meeting that day.