Equestrian Statue of Stonewall Jackson
The Equestrian statue of Stonewall Jackson is a bronze equestrian statue of the American secessionist military leader Thomas Jonathan Jackson, known as Stonewall Jackson. It is located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The work was created by Charles Keck and erected in 1921. It was listed as a Virginia Historic Landmark and also added to the National Register of Historic Places. In the late 2010s, as Confederate monuments became increasingly controversial, the city initially failed to secure approval for its removal. The park where it stood was renamed Justice Park, the statue was vandalized in 2019, and the city council finally voted to remove it in 2021.
September 2014 © Nickmorgan2 · CC BY-SA 3.0
© photo by Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0
© User:Carptrash · CC BY-SA 3.0
October 1921 © Holsinger Studio, Charlottesville, VA 1921 · Public domain
July 2008 © Bill McChesney · CC BY 2.0
Identification | |
| Title | Equestrian statue of Stonewall Jackson |
| Type | Equestrian statue |
| Original title | Statua equestre di Stonewall Jackson |
Historical context | |
| Depicted person | Thomas Jonathan Jackson (Stonewall Jackson) |
| Subject occupation | Confederate general |
| Installation date | 1921 |
| Historical context | Installed in Charlottesville during a period of Confederate monument creation in the 1920s |
Creator | |
| Sculptor | Charles Keck |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Commissioned by | Paul Goodloe McIntire |
| Funding and commission context | Third of four works commissioned by McIntire from members of the National Sculpture Society; second of three statues he donated to Charlottesville |
| Donation period | 1919–1924 |
Physical characteristics | |
| Depiction | Jackson shown on horseback |
| Support | Granite plinth |
| Material | Bronze |
Appearance | |
| Base inscription | Jackson's name and years of birth and death |
| Front base figures | Two winged figures representing Valor and Faith |
| Front inscription | MANASSAS |
| Rear decoration | A laurel wreath between two swords |
| Rear date | 1919 |
| Side inscriptions | Jackson's name, birth year 1824, and death year 1863 on both sides of the base |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Meaning of front inscription | Refers to the military operations at Manassas Station during the American Civil War |
| Valor figure | A warrior holding a sword and a shield with the Confederate flag |
| Faith figure | A woman in a long ancient-style dress with her hands joined on her chest |
Location and ownership | |
| Park rename | Renamed Justice Park in 2017 |
| Ownership transfer | Transferred to The Brick, a Los Angeles-based art nonprofit, in December 2021 |
| Current location | Los Angeles |
| Park | Jackson Park |
| Location context | Installed on the site of Charlottesville's old jail |
| Original location | Jackson Park, Court Square, next to the Albemarle County Courthouse, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States |
History and restoration | |
| Related public-art context | Two other monuments commissioned for Charlottesville by Paul Goodloe McIntire were moved from their public spaces, including Their First View of the Pacific and The Conqueror of the Northwest |
| Related nearby monument | Another Confederate statue had stood next to the courthouse since 1909; it was removed in 2020 and sent to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation |
| Related protest context | Plans to remove the monument helped trigger the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville |
| Plinth-derived work exhibition | Also part of the Monuments exhibition |
| Plinth-derived work artist | Bethany Collins |
| Plinth-derived work title | Love is dangerous |
| Plinth transformation | Bethany Collins transformed the granite plinth into Love is dangerous, a work involving a series of rose petals |
| Museum acquisition | The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles acquired Unmanned Drone in 2026 |
| Exhibition | Monuments at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles |
| Post-removal work completion | 2023 |
| Post-removal work title | Unmanned Drone |
| Post-removal transformation | Kara Walker cut the statue into pieces and transformed it into Unmanned Drone |
| Associated removal | Removed together with the Robert E. Lee monument |
| Removed by | Charlottesville city council |
| Removal date | 10 July 2021 |
| Vandalism | Vandalized in September 2019 with '1619' graffiti and again in October 2019 |
| Removal delays | Removal was delayed by the Unite the Right rally, lawsuits, and a law blocking Charlottesville from removing war memorials until it was repealed in 2020 |
| Removal vote | Charlottesville City Council voted 3–2 in February 2017 to remove the statue together with the Robert E. Lee monument |
| Blue Ribbon Commission | In April 2016, the Charlottesville city council appointed the Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Monuments and Public Spaces |
| Controversy | Became controversial in the late 2010s amid debates over Confederate monuments |
| Dedication context | Attendees praised Confederate veterans and presented Jackson as a hero |
| Dedication attendance | 5,000 people |
| Unveiling | Unveiled by Anna Jackson Preston, a descendant of Jackson |
| Dedication event | Annual reunion of the Confederate Veterans and Daughters of the Confederacy |
| Dedication date | 1921 |
| Related artwork | The ingots from the Lee statue were used as supplies for ROOTED, a public artwork in Charlottesville's Market Street Park |
Significance | |
| National Register of Historic Places listing | Listed in 1997 |
| Virginia Historic Landmark designation | Listed as a Virginia Historic Landmark |