John Matthews
WMAL.com
ROCKVILLE, MD — (WMAL) It spent more than a century decorating the lawn of Rockville’s Red Brick Courthouse before an anti-Confederate wave swept it out of favor. Now, a retirement home has been found for the much-maligned statue of a Confederate Army soldier.
The 16-foot-tall statue, donated to Montgomery County by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1913, will spend its remaining days along the banks of the Potomac River at White’s Ferry.
The owners of the private ferry, which carries cars between Leesburg and far western Montgomery County, agreed to accept the statue after plans to move it to a historic home in Rockville fell through. The statue will be moved at the county’s expense in late spring or early summer.
White’s Ferry is perhaps an ideal spot for the statue because the boat that carriers passengers and cars across the river is itself named after a Confederate General, Jubal A. Early.
In a statement provided by the county, ferry owner R. Edwin Brown said, “I am happy to provide a place for the statue to be relocated. Those who wish to visit it will be able to do just that.”
County Executive Isiah Leggett ordered the statue’s removal in 2015, shortly after South Carolina removed the rebel battle flag from its state capitol grounds, saying the statue “is not part of the heritage of all of our residents. When originally constructed and placed on County property, it failed to reflect both sides of this unfortunate struggle in our history.”
The statue has been shrouded in a plywood box on the courthouse lawn for nearly two years, since vandals painted it with graffiti. It will remain in the box until it is moved.
Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Peerless Rockville)
