Crews search for Confederate statue’s 1887 time capsule
RICHMOND, Va. — Robert E. Lee lost his lofty perch — but he’s trying to hold onto his secrets.
Workers were a bit stumped Thursday morning in their quest to find a time capsule supposedly planted at the base of the Lee statue on this city’s Monument Avenue.
The bronze equestrian figure of Lee, the Confederacy’s most revered general, came down
Wednesday and was hauled away in pieces on a truck.
The 40-foot stone plinth remains in place, covered with colorful graffiti from last summer’s racial and social justice protests. And somewhere under that edifice — according to historical records — lies a time capsule.
Though the monument itself was unveiled in 1890, the time capsule was planted in 1887 along with the first parts of the giant plinth.
According to reports from the period and research by local author Dale Brumfield, the capsule was crammed with 60 items. Most of it was Confederate memorabilia, Lee family history and the like. But Brumfield discovered one intriguing item on the list: a picture said to show President Abraham Lincoln in his coffin.
Brumfield, on hand to watch the work, said he wasn’t completely surprised at the setback. “Historical records are sometimes not accurate,” he said. “I’m confident there’s something in there. It’s just a matter of finding it.”
And the photo of Lincoln — why would that be in a grand Confederate monument?
“I think they were giving a big middle finger to Lincoln and the North,” he said.
Workers will begin carving a block out of one of the layers of stone to insert a new time capsule containing a diverse slate of artifacts representing today’s Virginia.