Pro-slavery figure that sparked riots
THE white-nationalist march was sparked by the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee who commanded the proslavery Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the US Civil War.
But the 26ft statue of him in Charlottesville’s Lee Park was seen by some as a symbol of white supremacy.
Lee, who was born in Virginia in 180 , took control of the main field army in 1862 following the state’s secession from the United States Union. He emerged as a shrewd tactician, winning most of his battles against superior Union armies, but his outnumbered forces were gradually reduced and forced into defensive positions.
When he surrendered at Appomattox Court House in 1865, it meant the war was effectively over.
Lee, who died in 18 0, became a symbol of Southern resistance.
The Charlottesville statue was commissioned in 191 and erected in 1924. The decision to remove it – and rename the park Emancipation Park – follows debate across the South over Confederate symbols and memorials.