Virginia Monument

Originally erected in front of the Albemarle County Court House in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1909, this monument was paid for by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Albemarle County, and the City of Charlottesville. The bronze soldier on top, known as "At Ready," was purchased from a foundry that mass produced Confederate monuments in the late 18th and early 19th century. In 2020, during nationwide debates and controversies over Confederate monuments, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted to remove the monument and cannon, and the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District accepted ownership with the intention of placing it on one of its battlefield sites where Virginians played a major role. After much consideration, the National Historic District chose the New Market battlefield as its new home, where it stands in memory of the sons of Virginia who fought across these fields at New Market on May 13-15, 1864, many of whom advanced and fought across the very ground where it now stands. Virginia units that fought at New Market on May 13-15, 1864, included infantry under Brig. Gen. John Echol and Brig. Gen. Gabriel C. Wharton, unattached commands including the Augusta Reserves, Rockingham Reserves, Virginia Military Institute Cadet Battalion, and 3rd Confederate Engineers Co. E, cavalry under Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden, and artillery under Maj. William McLaughlin; a total of 5,125 were engaged, with 39 killed, 495 wounded, and 13 missing.

New Market, Virginia · United States