ARARAT, Va. — It’s been a rough summer for Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, especially his statue, but it could wind up in Ararat.
The J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust Inc., an organization that oversees the grounds of Laurel Hill where the cavalry commander spent his early days, is seeking to have Stuart’s statue — unceremoniously removed, along with others honoring Confederates, from a longtime perch along Richmond’s Monument Avenue — relocated to that site near the North Carolina border.
The group has received the blessing of a medical doctor who is a direct descendant of the Civil War figure for the plan that could be viewed as a relatively happy ending for history enthusiasts.
“J.E.B Stuart V is wanting J.E.B.’s statue from Monument Avenue to be moved to Laurel Hill here in Patrick County,” trust spokesman Tom Bishop said Tuesday. “He’s come out publicly saying this,” Bishop added regarding the Stuart family member who is an orthopedic surgeon in Richmond.
Dr. Stuart made a formal request Monday to Mayor Levar Stoney and the Richmond City Council to permit the transfer of the statue to the birthplace group, according to news sources in Virginia. For nearly 30 years, that non-profit organization has worked to preserve and improve the former Stuart farm located at 1091 Ararat Highway, containing hiking trails, graveyards and educational features.
Group makes request
Monday’s request came on the heels of a July 7 letter from the J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust Inc. to Richmond officials asking that it acquire and re-erect the statue.
That request came the same day it was removed from a spot on Stuart Circle along Monument Avenue where the statue had stood since 1907. Such monuments have come under fire in recent weeks during protests and riots triggered by the death of Minnesota resident George Floyd at the hands of police in late May, including some statutes being forcibly taken down or disfigured.
Birthplace leaders have been tracking the status of the J.E.B. Stuart statue since.
“They’ve taken it down and put it into some kind of storage facility,” Bishop said Tuesday, thought to be a water- or sewage-treatment plant. He has seen photos of the tarpaulin-covered statue at that location, flopped over on its side.
The birthplace group is seeking a more-dignified spot for the historic piece of artwork, though one not as well-traveled as Monument Avenue in Virginia’s capital city.
“We have 70-some acres, so we have plenty of possibilities,” Bishop said of the birthplace complex boasting scenic hillsides and meadows that also are home to a Native American archaeological spot.
“We have an ideal site,” he summed up in describing the birthplace located just a few miles from Mount Airy, where the Stuart statue would be free from further abuse. This includes a security gate and cameras on the grounds, where a fire in 1848 destroyed the home in which Stuart was born in 1833. He died in 1864 after being wounded in battle.
While the local group has expressed its “fervent desire” to take possession of and move the Stuart statue to Ararat at its expense, no response had been received from Richmond officials as of Tuesday.
“So far we have not gotten a reaction and we have no idea in the world how they might react,” Bishop said.
“We don’t have any feedback on it so far … we just pray that some good will come of it,” he reported Tuesday.
Bishop said other preservation organizations are trying to provide new homes for Confederate statues that have been taken down, including locations in the Shenandoah Valley that was a hotbed of Civil War activity.
Meanwhile, the endorsement of the Patrick group’s plan by Dr. James E.B. Stuart V coincides with a new state law allowing displaced statues or monuments to be transferred to and displayed by historical societies, museums, governmental units and battlefield operators.
Based on published reports reflecting the surgeon’s sentiments, the birthplace would be a non-controversial location for his ancestor’s statue which would position it in a historical context and effectively allow the lifelike creation to come home to Patrick County.
The move also would mirror private philanthropic efforts of Stuart’s father, J.E.B. Stuart IV, who died in April and had raised money to restore and protect the statue. This included erecting protective fencing around the monument that protesters subsequently tore down.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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