Lieutenant General Steven Gilland, the current superintendent of West Point, announced yesterday afternoon that the historic military academy would begin removing Confederate monuments and artwork across its properties over the upcoming holiday break.
During this time “we will begin a multi-phased process, in accordance with Department of Defense (DoD) directives, to remove, rename or modify assets and real property at the United States Military Academy (USMA) and West Point installation that commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy or those who voluntarily served with the Confederacy,” Gilland wrote in a letter addressed to West Point community members obtained by National Review.
Robert E. Lee, the Confederacy’s leading general and a graduate of West Point, features prominently in Gilland’s letter. The reconstruction efforts West Point will begin undertaking over the holiday break include replacing Lee’s uniform from the USMA Library, a bust of Lee at Reconciliation Plaza, and a quote of Lee’s at Honor Plaza.
The school will also be renaming several Confederate-related buildings and streets in the surrounding area including Lee Barracks, Lee Housing Area, Beauregard Place, and Hardee Place.
A Naming Commission appointed by Congress to address the question of renaming the Confederate monuments on campus recommended removing such tributes in August 2022, arguing that the school resisted honoring Confederates for decades after the Civil War until finally relenting to political pressure in the 1930’s.
“Commemorating the Confederacy alongside those graduates honors men who fought against the United States of America, and whose cause sought to destroy the nation as well know it,” the report asserted.
The announcement comes as President Joe Biden is poised to undertake a similar process of removing a Confederate bust of Roger Taney from the Capitol building. Taney was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who defended slavery throughout his career and the American Civil War.
No replacement names have been selected or approved as of now, though Gilland stated West Point intends to begin the process by Spring 2023.