An empty pedestal now sits at the intersection of Prince and Washington Streets.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy removed the Appomattox statue that, since the late 1800s, has stood the middle of the intersection in Old Town.
The bronze statue in Alexandria commemorated Confederate soldiers from Alexandria. M. Caspar Buberl created the sculpture after it was commissioned by the United Confederate Veterans in the late 1880s. Its dedication ceremony was May 24, 1889. It is modeled after a painting of a soldier surveying the damage from the famous battle in Appomattox County, Virginia, during the Civil War.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy, which owns the statue, had it relocated to an undisclosed location Tuesday morning, according to Alexandria officials.
City council members posted photos on Facebook of the statue being removed.
Since 2016, Alexandria officials have requested permission to move the statue and planned to work with the United Daughters of the Confederacy to do so. Earlier this year, Virginia lawmakers passed a statute allowing local governments to decide what to do with Confederate and other historic monuments.
Mayor Justin Wilson wrote on Facebook early Tuesday morning, "Alexandria, like all great cities, is constantly changing and evolving. "
In a Facebook post, City Councilmember John Taylor Chapman wrote, "Some said this day would never come... The confederate statue Appomattox is starting to be taken down. We, our community made this happen. I got the receipts to show it."
Reaction from residents in the area was mixed: Some expressed disbelief, others said they were sad to see it go, and others said, "Finally!"
"Would be great to see another statue or monument in its place. Maybe Mildred and Richard Loving," suggested Trip Hook of Del Ray.
Some residents on Alexandria Living Magazine's Instagram page said the statue should go in a museum where people can learn from it. "We don't have to try to white-wash history, but I do think this statue belongs in a museum as it is a representation of our history," wrote Phallon Perry.
