| Dedication of Equestrian Statue of Major General J. E. B. Stuart, CSA |
| |
By Thomas Bishop, January, 2017
Information Source: Major General J. E. B. Stuart by Theodore S.
Garnett, his Aide-De-Camp. Published in 1907 by Neale Publishing
Company
I have been wanting to put this story together for some time and it is
now January 2017, and a weekend snow is predicted and I have some free
time.
Here is a small portion of the story presented by Mr. Garnett at the unveiling:
 On May 30, 1907, the equestrian statue of Major-General J. E. B. Stuart
was unveiled in the city of Richmond, Virginia on Monument Avenue. This
statue is at the intersection of Franklin and Lombardy Streets.
This project was spear headed by the Veteran Cavalry Association of the
Army of Northern Virginia. This organization was founded in the year
1891 with the specific purpose of erecting the statue of General Stuart,
to honor a most magnificent soldier.
The artist and sculptor, was Fred Moynihan. On hand for the dedication was:
Mrs. General J. E. B. Stuart (Flora) and Mrs. General Stonewall Jackson (Anna).
Granddaughter of General Stuart, little Miss Virginia Stuart Waller, unveiled the statue.
Major Andrew R. Venable presided, Rev. Walter Q. Hullihen offered the
prayer and Judge Theodore S. Garnett delivered the address. All of
these officers were members of General Stuart's staff in 1864.
The speaker, Garnett, was with General Stuart at the battle of Yellow
Tavern, May 11, 1864, and assisted in bringing him, mortally wounded,
from the battlefield to Richmond, where on the following day, the
General died.
Stuart is described as follows by Garnett:
James Ewell Brown Stuart was born in Patrick County, Virginia, on the 6th day of February, 1833.
He was the youngest son of Archibald Stuart and Elizabeth his wife; and
whether or not our democratic simplicity attaches any significance to
his alleged decent from the royal line of Scotland's kings, we who know
this true son of Virginia make bold to declare that no prince of the
blood ever did more honor to an illustrious ancestry. Strong in mind
and body, educated in three cardinal virtues of Virginia youth, he grew
up to manhood a splendid specimen of the hardy young mountaineer, and
fresh from the meadows and pinnacles of the Dan, he took his place among
the boys at West Point, and there learned the science that teacheth the
hands to war and the fingers to fight.
Restoring the statue in 2016
The Stuart-Mosby Historic Society (www.stuart-mosby.com) completed the
campaign to restore this statue in 2016. The estimated cost of
restoration was in the neighborhood of $35,000. Most of this money came
from anonymous contributions from Civil War enthusiasts and historic
minded citizens.
The Stuart statue is one of a series of monuments on Monument Avenue
that annually attracts thousands of visitors to Virginia's Capital City.
|
| |
| -- Click Here for More News |
|
|
|
|
|
