Families, friendships, and the so-called “United” States were torn apart. From 1861-1865, the United States fought over the ideas of slavery, tariffs, and state rights in the Civil War. The war was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, with many of the Confederate generals being for the idea of slavery and many of the Union soldiers being against the idea of slavery. After the war, many of the Confederate generals were hailed as heroes. Now, many of these same Confederate generals, including Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson have been hailed as “controversial.” Many of these same generals have been given monuments all over the country, but more specifically on Monument Avenue in Richmond. Originally, the monuments were meant to show the bravery of the soldiers throughout the war. Now, they have come under fire for a multitude of reasons, including “allowing domestic terrorism” and “having a toxic effect”. Robert E. Lee, known as a commander of the Confederate States Army, was given a monument on Richmond’s Monument Avenue, although the reception of the monument has changed drastically between from its unveiling to now.
Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807. He was born in Westmoreland
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Lee Monument was cast in Paris, then shipped to New Jersey in crates. From there, the crates were sent to Richmond by railroad. To move the crates to the site of the monument, they were loaded onto wagons and pulled from the railroad. The statue was dedicated on May 27, 1890 and it was unveiled on May 29, 1890 (The Robert E. Lee Monument). The monument was sculpted by Marius Jean Antonin Mercié and the pedestal was designed by Paul Pujol (Robert E. Lee Statue). The monument is composed of two distinct sections, the pedestal and the statue itself. The statue sits on a pedestal that has two gray marble columns on the eastern and western sides. On the top of the pedestal, Lee is sitting tall and proud on his horse,