Three remaining Confederate statutes removed from Virginia's Capitol, including 'Stonewall' Jackson

Statues of Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall Jackson,” Gov. William "Extra Billy" Smith and physician Hunter Holmes McGuire were removed six years after civil rights demonstrators in Richmond took down an iconic statue of Jefferson Davis.

Published: August 31, 2026 7:28am

Work crews on Friday removed the three remaining statutes of Confederate heroes. 

Statues of Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall Jackson,” Gov. William "Extra Billy" Smith and physician Hunter Holmes McGuire were removed six years after civil rights demonstrators in Richmond took down an iconic statue of Jefferson Davis, the Washington Post reported

The Jackson statue was erected in 1875, the Smith statue in 1906 and the McGuire statue in 1904, according to Virginia’s Department of General Services. 

Since the 2020 protests, Democratic lawmakers sought to rid the Capitol grounds of what they say was an embarrassing tribute to an era marked by slavery and racism. 

Virginia Sen. Adam Ebbin, a Democrat who left office earlier this year, inserted a measure to remove the statutes into a budget bill, which passed in June. 

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation gifted the statues to the commonwealth, and the organization will determine where they'll be relocated for future display, according to Virginia’s Department of General Services. 

 

 

 

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