Lee Rides Again is a campaign by the Gordonsville Grays Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 2301 to raise a new replica of the Lee equestrian statue from Richmond’s Monument avenue that was desecrated and removed in 2021.

     We are the Gordonsville, VA chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a fraternal heritage organization open to male descendants of Confederate Veterans. We stand for the good name of the Confederate soldier and the preservation of his history. The Gordonsville Grays and the national SCV are not associated with neither do we condone anyone who would misuse our history and symbols to spread hatred or division.

     Because future generations deserve to know and honor the legacy of Robert E. Lee. We could not express this sentiment any better than Col. Archer Anderson did in his keynote address at the unveiling of the original monument:

“Let this monument, then, teach to generations yet unborn these lessons of his life! Let it stand, not as a record of civil strife, but as a perpetual protest against whatever is low and sordid in our public and private objects! Let it stand as a memorial of personal honor that never brooked a stain, of knightly valor without thought of self, of far-reaching military genius unsoiled by ambition, of heroic constancy from which no cloud of misfortune could ever hide the path of duty! Let it stand for reproof and censure, if our people ever sink below the standards of their fathers! Let it stand for patriotic hope and cheer, if a day of national gloom and disaster shall ever dawn upon our country! Let it stand as the embodiment of a brave and virtuous people’s ideal leader! Let it stand as a great public act of thanksgiving and praise, for that it pleased Almighty God to bestow upon these Southern States a man so formed to reflect His attributes of power, majesty and goodness!”

     The original Lee monument from Richmond is still—to the best of our knowledge—on the property of the Virginia women’s penitentiary in Goochland county. After a long court battle, former Governor Northam removed the monument and gave it to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. While we believe the awarding of the statue by dictate of governor Northam to have been illegal, the Virginia Supreme Court allowed it to move forward and the current governor’s administration will not address the issue. We have no recourse to recover the monument to its original location or to any organization that should rightfully be in possession of it.

     The Charlottesville Lee monument, which was cut into small pieces immediately upon its removal, is still the subject of an ongoing court case. The city of Charlottesville illegally determined that the monument would be given to the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center before going through an open bidding process as prescribed by law and despite knowledge that the Jefferson School planned to destroy the statue. If the Charlottesville case is won it would not necessarily award the statue to the plaintiffs. It would likely force the city to reconstruct the statue and put it back up for bid, in which case it is still very unlikely that anyone friendly to our cause would gain possession of it.

     We have chosen to partner with the great Stonewall Brigade Camp 1296 to erect the new monument at Lee Jackson Park in Fairfield, VA, a few miles north of Lexington. There the monument will have unparalleled visibility on land owned by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and only a short drive from General Lee’s final resting place. You can learn more about Lee Jackson Park and support that project at www.leejacksonpark.com

     We have been working with historical artist and sculptor Tom Gallo of North Carolina, who has created a superbly detailed small scale model that will be the basis for the final statue. You can see photos of the model on the gallery page.

     Our goal is to raise a replica statue of the same size as the original from Monument Avenue, which was 21’ tall from the bronze stand to the top of Lee’s head.

     This is a question we are still working to answer, but it likely will not be the full 40’ height of the original base for two reasons. First is a 40’ base would likely be more expensive than the bronze statue. Second, the site where it will sit is already elevated from the interstate, so 40’ may in fact be taller than ideal for viewing purposes.

The final cost is dependent on a number of undetermined factors as we have not yet contracted with a foundry to cast the statue.  However, the estimates we have received are approximately $800,000.  Our phase 1 goal of $200,000 will purchase the bronze ingots and the process of scaling up the model using 3D mapping.