LEXINGTON, Va. – Virginia Military Institute starting the process of relocating its Stonewall Jackson Statue on Monday.
The statue was removed from its current location and contractors will spend the next several days repairing the stone pedestal before it’s moved from in front of the barracks.
“VMI does not define itself by this statue and that is why this move is appropriate. We are defined by our unique system of education and the quality and character of the graduates the Institute produces. Our graduates embody the values of honor, respect, civility, self-discipline, and professionalism. This is how we will continue to be defined,” said Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins in his statement, sent out Monday morning.
The move is said to cost $209,000, which will come from VMI’s facility maintenance account.
“I think General Wins’ focus is to ensure that our system of education remains the same being able to build up leaders of character, that’s how we define ourselves so we don’t define ourselves by any single statue rather we define ourselves by the graduates we produce and the character they take out in the world,” said VMI spokesperson Col. Bill Wyatt.
Once all parts have arrived, crews will work to install the statue in the roundabout in front of the Virginia Museum of the Civil War. Officials said they expect the process to be complete by the summer or fall of 2021.
The statute was given to VMI in 1912 by Sir Moses Ezekiel, a sculptor and 1866 alumni. He was VMI’s first Jewish cadet and a veteran of the Battle of New Market.