The Commonwealth of Virginia has removed three Confederate memorials from Capitol Square, a public park and civic campus near the state Capitol in Richmond. The statues honored Confederate Generals Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and Gov. William “Extra Billy” Smith, and Confederate Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire.
These monuments had been on display for more than 100 years. The Virginia legislature ordered their removal during its 2026 session. Efforts to remove Confederate statues from prominent public spaces in Richmond began in 2018.
Former State Sen. Adam Ebbin, who sponsored the legislation, stated that the removals do not change the history of the Civil War but alter "who we choose to venerate on the Capitol lawn." Sen. Mike Jones described the monuments as symbols, questioning their representation of the Commonwealth's values and public image.
The Virginia division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy expressed a desire for the memorials to remain on display for public education and reflection, stating they were intended as tributes to "valor, sacrifice and community heritage during a difficult chapter in American history."
The monuments are slated to be preserved by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and relocated to battlefield sites within the Shenandoah Valley.