RICHMOND, Va. — The remaining pedestals that once held Confederate monuments along Monument Avenue will start to come down this week — including the pedestal, statue and remains of Confederate General A.P. Hill.
The remaining pedestals being removed were associated with the monuments of Matthew F. Maury, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Jefferson Davis and J.E.B. Stuart. Confederate Soldiers and Sailors and the Confederate Cannon are included in the contract.
Monday morning, workers successfully removed the bases of two Confederate cannons, the base of the Williams Carter Wickham statue in Monroe Park and the pedestal of the First Virginia Regiment.
All of the dismantled pedestal materials will be documented and stored in a secure location, the city said. They will be given to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia along with the statues, according tothe decision of Richmond City Councilon Jan. 24.
The city said they've contracted with Team Henry Enterprises to dismantle and transport the pedestals to storage, which is the same company they used to remove the statues. Their bid met all the requirements at the lowest cost, according to the city.
Team Henry Enterprises was also contracted by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of General Services to remove the Robert E. Lee statue and pedestal from Lee Circle.
The city said for the pedestal materials to be stored correctly, they need to be placed on plastic pallets instead of wooden ones. To accommodate this change, the city issued a change order and increased the size of the contract by $67,965.17 — totaling $1,563,963.17.
While the A.P. Hill statue and pedestal are also included in the contract, the city plans to coordinate the chain of custody for the burial site and remains of A.P. Hill as well as the required permits with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
The circles that housed the Stonewall Jackson and A.P. Hill statues will be paved to become part of the roadway.
Pedestal removals may require traffic detouring and could take months of work.
