The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is relocating a statue of Confederate Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson from its campus to another VMI property, the Virginia Museum of the Civil War.
The statue and pedestal were recently removed from the front of campus student barracks and will be placed in the Civil War museum in the coming months for an expected early fall 2021 completion, said Col. Bill Wyatt, director of communications and marketing at VMI.
Two members of the board resigned before the vote with no explanation. In the wake of allegations of racism, the school appointed Retired Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins to serve as interim superintendent. It is the first time an African American has led the 181-year-old institution.
The statue – sculpted by Moses Ezekiel, class of 1866, and donated to the school in 1912 – has stood for more than 100 years. It depicts the Confederate general, known for his 1862 Shenandoah Valley campaign, Wyatt said.
Jackson could be said to have had two personas, Wyatt said.
“You have Major Thomas Jackson, who was a professor at VMI. And then you have, Gen. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson, who became famous for his exploits during the Civil War,” Wyatt said. “Gen. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson really didn’t have much to do with VMI. Major Thomas Jackson was a physics professor here for a few years.
