Line Fos News: Richmond set to remove A.P. Hill statue as early as Monday

Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill is buried beneath his monument in Richmond's North Side.

After several legal battles, Richmond’s A.P. Hill statue is set to fall as early as Monday, according to court documents filed in Richmond Circuit Court.

On Thursday, Judge David Eugene Cheek Sr. denied a motion from the legal counsel of the Confederate general’s indirect descendants to delay the statue’s removal, giving the green light for city administers to disassemble the monument.

Barring any subsequent legal challenges or unforeseen logistical hurdles, removal of the last city-owned Confederate monument can begin Dec. 12, city officials told the Times-Dispatch.

Richmond’s efforts to remove the city’s Confederate monuments began June 3, 2020, when Mayor Levar Stoney announced plans to take them down. At the time, the city had seen night after night of protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

Last year, the city announced it would transfer the removed Confederate monuments to the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia.

Removing the Hill statue proved to be a particular challenge, because the general’s remains were buried there in 1891. His remains are said to be located inside the plinth on the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road.

A.P. Hill Statue — A.P. Hill statue is shown on the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road in Richmond, Va., on Monday, September 27, 2021.
Daniel Sangjib Min/TIMES-DISPATC

The city petitioned the court to allow the city to relocate Hill’s remains to a gravesite in Culpeper where Hill was born. However, several indirect descendants of the Confederate general opposed the city’s plans and made their case in court following the city’s court petition in May 2022.

Although the descendants did not object to moving Hill’s remains to the Culpeper cemetery, their dispute centered around who was the rightful owner of the 130-year-old monument.

The group claimed to be the rightful owners of the monument because the monument itself is a cemetery neglected by the city.

Over the course of several months, the two parties presented arguments to the court to determine the statue’s rightful owner. Ultimately, Judge Cheek ruled in favor of the city to decide where the remains and burial marker will lay on Oct. 25.

“We’re gratified by Judge Cheek’s ruling,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said in a statement following the ruling. “This is the last stand for the Lost Cause in our city.”

Though the judge ruled in favor of the city, the distant relatives vying for control were given several weeks to file an appeal. They filed several documents to the court including a motion to stay the statue’s removal pending the judge’s decision and a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Judge Cheek considered the counsel’s motions on Dec. 8, but during the hearing, the group vying for ownership admitted to having mistakenly directed their appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court rather than the Court of Appeals, according to court documents.

Given the respondents gave no argument or evidence regarding the likelihood of their success on appeal, Cheek denied their motion to stay the removal of the Hill monument.

The judge also found that delaying the removal would result in additional cost and remain a potential traffic hazard. Evidence presented in the court’s September hearing found that at least one vehicle collision has occurred at the monument since the court issue its initial letter of opinion.

The city has spent at least $1.8 million removing other city-owned monuments. Evidence provided to the court by city contractors estimate any further delays would result in more than $30,000 in additional cost.

“Ultimately, even if the Respondent’s prevail on appeal, and the appellate court finds that they are entitled to the statue, any injury the Respondents suffered from the monument’s early removal is entirely reversible,” said Cheek in his letter of opinion.