If a court clears the way, the state of Virginia expects to remove not just a soaring statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue, but also a little-known piece of history tucked inside the massive sculpture’s base: A 134-year-old time capsule.
Historical records and recent imaging tests suggest the presence of the time capsule, which some have speculated might contain a rare, valuable and historically significant photo of deceased President Abraham Lincoln. “Anyone who has an interest in Civil War history or Richmond history would be very intrigued by this item,” said Dale Brumfield, a local historian and author who has conducted extensive research on the aged copper receptacle and rumored photo.
Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s office shared details of the time capsule removal project and the state’s plans to replace it with a new one with The Associated Press ahead of a formal announcement on Tuesday calling for the time capsule’s contents to be replaced with items reflecting Virginia’s diversity.
“It’s time to say to the world this is today’s Virginia, not yesterday’s,” Gov. Northam stated. “And one day, when future generations look back at this moment, they will be able to learn about the inclusive, welcoming Commonwealth that we are building together. I encourage Virgin- ians to be part of this unique effort to tell our shared story.”
Anyone interested in providing an item can submit a description of their artifact, including its size, shape and material and an explanation of its suitability through the online page governor. virginia.gov/timecapsule. Applications can be submitted through Tuesday, July 20.
The new capsule is to be located on the roundabout at Monument and Allen avenues on which the pedestal and statue stand.
The statue removal work is contingent on the resolution of two still-pending lawsuits seeking to keep the monument in place.
The bronze equestrian statue of Gen. Lee was one of five enormous Confederate tributes along Monument Avenue and the only one that belonged to the state. Like many other cities across the South, Richmond removed the figures on its monuments last summer amid nationwide protests against racial injustice and criticism that the statues are symbols of white supremacy that should not occupy public places.
A newspaper article from 1887 suggests that what is inside the Lee monument capsule is mostly memorabilia, including a U.S. silver dollar and a collection of Confederate buttons.
One line from that article has generated buzz, however: A “picture of Lincoln lying in his coffin.” The newspaper identified the donor of that item as “Miss Pattie Leake,” who was a school principal from a prominent local family, according to Mr. Brumfield.
Harold Holzer, a historian and Lincoln scholar, said he believes it’s highly doubtful that the picture is an actual photograph of President Lincoln in his coffin because the only known photo of President Lincoln in death was taken by photographer Jeremiah Gurney in City Hall in New York on April 24, 1865.
More likely, Mr. Holzer said, it could be a popular Currier & Ives lithographic print of President Lincoln lying in state in New York or a sketch done by an artist who may have witnessed President Lincoln’s body during a two-week tour before his burial in Springfield, Ill.
Mr. Brumfield, who wrote about the time capsule and possible Lincoln photo in a 2017 article for Richmond magazine, said he believes the image was included as a reflection of Rich- mond’s role as the capital of the Confederacy during most of the Civil War.
“I think it just gives a big middle finger to Lincoln, the Union and what it stood for,” Mr. Brumfield said.
He said he found another newspaper article from the same time period that described a cornerstone-laying ceremony on Oct. 27, 1887, attended by about 25,000 people. The article said 60 donated artifacts, including the Lincoln picture, were sealed in the copper box and placed inside the cornerstone.
What kind of shape might the contents of the time capsule be in?
“We have no idea,” said Julie Langan, director of the state Department of Historic Resources.
Even if the capsule hasn’t sustained water damage, Ms. Langan said paper products from the time would have had a high acid content and would be expected to be extremely fragile. Plans call for law enforcement to take immedi- ate possession of the time capsule and bring it to the state’s conservation lab, where it will be opened in the presence of expert staff ready to triage the objects as needed.
The Lee statue, which weighs an estimated 12 tons and stands 21 feet tall on a pedestal nearly twice that height, became the epicenter of racial justice protests last summer after the Min- neapolis police killing of George Floyd. Gov. Northam announced then that he intended to remove the monument, but he has been fighting in court ever since.
For the time being, the governor plans to leave in place the statue’s enormous pedestal, now covered with anti-police and anti-racism graffiti. Some racial justice advocates see it as a symbol of the protest movement that erupted after Mr. Floyd’s killing and don’t want it moved.
Richmond officials, meanwhile, are advancing plans to remove the pedestals and other remnants of the four city-owned statues on Monument Avenue tributes and at least temporarily pave over or re-landscape the sites. Gov. Northam tapped the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to lead a community-driven redesign process for the whole of Monument Avenue, but that process is expected to be a long one and is not yet underway.
The General Assembly provided $1 million to allow the VMFA to lead the planning, in partnership with the city, and also provided at least $9 million more to carry out the plan.
Without waiting for the plan, Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration has sought approval from the city Planning Commission — which controls monuments — to dismantle the existing pedestals from which Confederate statues that have been removed.
The commission on Monday approved the city’s plan to remove the statue, pedestal and remains of Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill from its location at Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road but held off action on the pedestals on Monument Avenue and Libbie Hill.
Ahead of the Planning Commission meeting, Gov. Northam and others urged the commission to halt the rush to dismantle and to wait for the museum’s plan to be developed.
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Virginia hopes to remove time capsule along with Lee statue - Richmond Free Press
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