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Another battle over Confederate imagery at Washington and Lee University has erupted, this time over Robert E. Lee’s horse.
As part of a series of plaque relocations last week, the United Daughters of the Confederacy plaque at Traveller’s gravesite outside of University Chapel was removed by the school.
When a photo of the gravesite, taken as the work was in progress, was posted on social media, it produced a firestorm of criticism and debate on various posts.
W&L on Sunday responded with a lengthy statement on its website concerning the plaque and the others that were relocated.
According to the statement, four historical plaques on campus were removed last week to be installed, along with other historically significant plaques, in a new exhibit in University Chapel entitled “The Power of Memory: Remembering Robert E. Lee.”
The four plaques include one from Payne Hall denoting where Lee took his oath of office as president of Washington College, another from Payne Hall identifying the room that served as Lee’s office from 1865 to 1868, and two dedicated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to commemorate Traveller located on the side of the Lee House garage and at Traveller’s gravesite.
“As the board of trustees emphasized in its messages to the university community in June 2021 and September 2022, W&L is an educational institution and, as such, its campus is not a museum or an appropriate repository for Confederate artifacts,” reads the statement. “In keeping with this principle, over a year ago, the board determined that these plaques should be relocated to educational exhibitions.”
- The statement noted that Traveller’s remains are “untouched” and that a new marker has been installed. “The other related plaques and interpretive signage at the site will also be updated,” the statement reads.
The former UDC marker at the site read, “TRAVELLER, Horse of GEN. ROBERT E. LEE, placed by VIRGINIA DIV UDC, May 8, 1971.”
The new sign installed by W&L last week reads, “TRAVELLER, 1857-1871.”
Beside the gravesite currently is an exhibition panel highlighting the history of Traveller “made possible by a generous gift of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars.” The panel shows photos of Lee on the horse and of Traveller’s skeleton, which was on display first at the university’s Brooks Museum of Natural History and then at Lee Chapel from 1929 until a renovation of the chapel in the 1960s.
Also, a flat marker among the pavers just to the lower left of the newly installed marker denotes the renovation and landscaping of the site in the 1990s done in honor of Anne Wilson, wife of W&L President John Wilson (1983-1995). “Like General Lee, Anne Wilson is a lover of animals who believes that their company and care enhance the human condition,” part of the plaque reads. - According to the W&L statement, the Traveller marker relocated from the Lee House garage “will be replaced with a new marker at the same location in the near future that is consistent with other markers across our campus.” - The W&L statement notes that over the past several years the board of trustees “has engaged in a careful review of the university’s symbols, names, and practices with the understanding that these communicate the university’s values and are an important component of its reputation.”
The review has involved outreach to students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and independent historians.
“As outlined in the board’s June 2021 and September 2022 messages to the university community,” the statement reads, “the board’s work has been guided by four key, overarching objectives: “recognizing George Washington and Robert E. Lee for their important contributions to the institution; “helping all students, faculty, and staff feel welcome, included, and able to thrive on our campus; “reaffirming the university’s rejection of Confederate ideology; and “presenting the university’s entire history fully and honestly.”
The statement says that the board of trustees’ work “has resulted in an approach to campus symbols that attempts to balance the university’s rich and complicated history with its educational mission.
“Washington and Lee University is an educational institution,” the statement continues. “Its campus is neither a museum nor an appropriate repository for Confederate artifacts, and as such, the board determined that a number of plaques on campus should be relocated to a museum to be appropriately interpreted. These include certain historic plaques located in current academic, residence and gathering spaces and others placed by third parties such as The United Daughters of the Confederacy or honoring Robert E. Lee’s service as the commander of the Confederate forces.”
The relocation of plaques to the new permanent exhibit in University Chapel “is part of a carefully considered series of steps to create educational exhibits and place Confederate artifacts in those exhibits and in context.”
The current actions, the statement reads, “are important steps in recognizing, preserving, and telling Washington and Lee’s extensive history as one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the United States. The next and most significant step is construction of the Museum of Institutional History that will feature fixed and rotating museum exhibits, rotating gallery spaces, storage, classrooms, and an auditorium for events.”
A working group of trustees, administrators, faculty and alumni was formed last fall and, with the assistance of a national architectural firm and museum consultant, has begun to develop a plan for the construction of the museum. - Generals Redoubt, an advocacy group established by W&L alumni and which has been critical of a number of actions by the school’s board and president in recent years, was quick to respond to these latest moves by the school. An ad placed in this week’s paper is headlined “SHAME.”
The News-Gazette also asked for comments from the group’s president, Stephen Robinson, a 1972 graduate of the university and a 1975 graduate of the law school. His response follows: “The removal of the two plaques related to Traveller is just the latest effort by an administration determined to destroy the culture and history that have made Washington and Lee a special place for so many students; and to diminish Lee Chapel and the grave of Traveller, both of which are two of the most significant historical locations and tourist attractions in Rockbridge County.
“The administration’s explanation that ‘its campus is not a museum or appropriate repository for Confederate artifacts’ is an unfortunate continuation of its misguided and factually unsupported position that anything related to what Robert E. Lee did in Lexington is somehow part of ‘The Lost Cause.’ If Robert E. Lee had not become the president of Washington College, the college would most likely have failed and there would be no Washington and Lee University today. If Lee had not made his efforts, particularly in the North, to encourage reconciliation, the college would likely have not survived. There are numerous other examples of the laudatory things he did while in Lexington, all of which are unrelated to his prior military service.
“A plaque noting where he took his oath to become the president of Washington College, or one denoting the pew where he sat for chapel every day are not Confederate artifacts; they are part of his daily life in Lexington and celebrate some of his incredible accomplishments while president of Washington College.
“As many have said, ‘history cannot be erased, but we should learn from it.’
“Most places of higher learning also have historical significance, and because that, historical memorabilia. Should all references and objects related to Thomas Jefferson be removed from that campus? Should Yale box up and hide all references to it founder? Why should Washington and Lee ignore its noble and incredible history?
“Which brings me to Traveller, a horse who served his master unconditionally and faithfully, and did not have, unlike the administration, an agenda or a bias. He was a horse, who did not have an evil bone in his body, but yet last week for some reason (with no notice to any students, alumni, or parents), was the victim of a malicious attempt to remove evidence of his existence from campus. Apparently, guilt by association is alive and well on West Washington Street.
“What kind of person attacks the memory and grave of a horse that has been dead for 150 years?
“Draw your own conclusions.”
