Appomattox, (sculpture).

Appomattox, (sculpture).

Buberl, Caspar, 1834-1899, sculptor.

Elder, John Adams, 1833-1895, designer.

Leal, William, carver.

Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, founder.

Appomattox, (sculpture).

Alexandria Confederate Memorial, (sculpture).

Confederate Monument of Alexandria, (sculpture).

Confederate War Memorial, (sculpture).

Commissioned Sept. 7, 1988. 1889. Dedicated May 24, 1889. Copyrighted Oct. 26, 1892. Rededicated May 24, 1961. Reinstalled Nov. 13, 1988. Removed June 2, 2020.

Digital Reference:

Statue: bronze; Base: granite.

Statue: approx. 8 ft. x 27 in. x 27 in.; Base: approx. 10 1/2 ft. x 5 ft. 6 3/4 in. x 5 ft. 7 1/2 in.

(On plinth on west side of statue:) Designed by John A. Elder C Buberl, Sculptor, 1888 Cast by the Henry Bonnard Bronze Co. New York 1889 (On mid-section of south side of base, incised:) ERECTED/TO THE MEMORY OF THE/CONFEDERATE DEAD/OF ALEXANDRIA, VA.,/BY THEIR/SURVIVING COMRADES./MAY 24TH 1889 (On lower section of south side of base, incised:) THIS MONUMENT MARKS THE SPOT FROM/WHICH THE ALEXANDRIA TROOPS LEFT TO/JOIN THE CONFEDERATE FORCES./MAY 24, 1861 (On north side of base:) They died in the/consciousness of duty/faithfully performed. (Names of Confederate dead appear on the west and east sides of the base) signed Founder's mark appears.

Statue of a standing male figure with lowered head, arms folded across his body, and a slouch hat held in his proper right hand. He wears knee-high boots, and draped over his proper right shoulder are a canteen and haversack. His belt buckle reads "CSA." The statue was mounted on a multi-tiered base.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Coadministered by United Daughters of the Confederacy, Mary Custis Lee-17th Virginia Regiment Chapter #7, 806 Prince Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314

Coadministered by City of Alexandria, Department of Historic Resources, Alexandria, Virginia

Formerly located Prince & South Washington Streets, Alexandria, Virginia until June 2, 2020.

Erected by the Robert E. Lee Camp, United Confederate Veterans, in memory of the men from Alexandria who died for the Confederacy. Cost: $4,500. The statue marks the location where the men left with their units from Alexandria to join the Confederate Army. 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 that it was an offensive reminder of slavery and that its location in the middle of an intersection was impractical. After the base suffered nicks from passing automobiles for several years, a van hit the monument in August 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 issue continued to be debated, and in September 2016 the Alexandria City Council voted to bring the relocation of the statue before the General Assembly.

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. The statue was executed by sculptor Caspar Buberl and cast by the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company. William Leal was the carver of the base.

IAS files contain transcription of nearby plaque, and detailed information about the monument, including a paper written by T. Michael Miller of the Alexandria Library, Lloyd House, Aug. 22, 1988, "The Confederate Statue in Alexandria, Virginia -- A Chronology of its Construction, Dedication & Maintenance;" and a brochure published by the Office of Historic Alexandria, "The Confederate Statue," which lists the names of the Confederate dead that are inscribed on the base. IAS files also contain articles from the Alexandria Journal, Oct. 5, 1979 and Aug. 26, 1988; The Washington Post, Aug. 21, 1988 and Aug. 23, 1988; The Fairfax Journal (Virginia), Aug. 22, 1988; The Washington Times, Aug. 23, 1988; Alexandria Gazette Packet, Aug. 24, 1988, Aug. 26, 1988, and Nov. 16, 1988; The Journal (Virginia), Sept. 15, 1988; and The United Daughters of the Confederacy Magazine (March 1989). The articles primarily discuss the van accident, and subsequent restoration, controversy surrounding the location, and reinstallation of the monument. IAS files contain related article from Washington Post, March 21, 2009, pg. B1-B3 discussing confederate memorials in Virginia. IAS files also contain an article from the Washington Post, Sept. 18, 2016, discussing the Alexandria City Council's vote to bring the relocation of the statue before the General Assembly. For related publication see: Hillman, Benjamin J., "Monuments to Memories: Virginia Civil War Heritage in Bronze and Stone," [Richmond:] Virginia Civil War Commission, [1965], pg. 33.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Virginia survey, 1995.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, E-26.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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