Today in Wheeling History: July 2--A bronze statue of George Washington, seized from the Virginia Military Institute by Union forces, arrived in Wheeling and was immediately displayed at the Sanitary Fair on Wheeling Island (1864).
During the Civil War, in June 1864, Union troops under General David Hunter burned the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia. As part of this raid, Hunter's forces removed a bronze statue of George Washington that had stood at VMI since 1856. The statue, created by Virginia artist William James Hubard, was a replica of Jean-Antoine Houdon's original marble sculpture.
General Hunter's chief-of-staff, Colonel David Hunter Strother, justified taking the statue, observing that it was "a fine work of art standing naked and unprotected under the ruined walls of the Institute, liable to be crushed by their fall." He felt "indignant that this effigy should be left to adorn a country whose inhabitants were striving to destroy a government which he founded."
Originally, the army was supposed to send the statue to the West Point Military Institute in New York. However, Colonel Strother convinced General Hunter to send it to Wheeling, West Virginia, instead. The statue arrived in Wheeling on July 2, 1864, where it was first displayed at the Sanitary Fair on Wheeling Island until July 9. After the fair, it was relocated to the grounds of West Virginia's temporary Capitol building at Linsly Institute, where it remained on public display until April 1865.
Not everyone in Wheeling approved of the statue's arrival. Wheeling Intelligencer editor Archibald W. Campbell criticized the act on July 4, 1864, calling it "an act of vandalism that must be objectionable to all right thinking people, irrespective of their hatred for the rebels."
After the Civil War ended, Virginia requested the statue's return to VMI. On October 14, 1865, Colonel Strother, now serving as adjutant general of the Virginia Militia, wrote to West Virginia Governor Arthur I. Boreman recommending the statue's return. The West Virginia Legislature agreed to return the statue, but stipulated that Virginia had to pay for its transportation. On January 27, 1866, the Wheeling Daily Register published a satirical "Second Farewell Address" from the perspective of the statue, humorously describing its desire to return to VMI. The statue was finally rededicated at VMI on September 10, 1866, with former Virginia Governor John Letcher speaking at the ceremony.
Nearly 150 years after the statue's return, in 2015, Margaret "Peg" Brennan, a Wheeling historian, visited VMI with other Civil War enthusiasts. Their tour guide became visibly upset when describing the statue's removal, speaking "as if it had happened yesterday," demonstrating the lasting impact of this historical event. The guide's emotional reaction, so long after the incident, illustrates how deeply the memory of the statue's removal and return had been ingrained in VMI's institutional history.
To learn more: (https://tinyurl.com/4antkvnk) (https://tinyurl.com/36253cuc) (https://tinyurl.com/5e3mec57) (https://tinyurl.com/ybmtjkaa) (https://tinyurl.com/3n5j9hwh) (https://tinyurl.com/ezjkarkn) (https://tinyurl.com/2pwwzpcs)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV; Virginia Military Institute Archives, Library of Congress, U.S. National Archives, Wheeling Hall of Fame
During the Civil War, in June 1864, Union troops under General David Hunter burned the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia. As part of this raid, Hunter's forces removed a bronze statue of George Washington that had stood at VMI since 1856. The statue, created by Virginia artist William James Hubard, was a replica of Jean-Antoine Houdon's original marble sculpture.
General Hunter's chief-of-staff, Colonel David Hunter Strother, justified taking the statue, observing that it was "a fine work of art standing naked and unprotected under the ruined walls of the Institute, liable to be crushed by their fall." He felt "indignant that this effigy should be left to adorn a country whose inhabitants were striving to destroy a government which he founded."
Originally, the army was supposed to send the statue to the West Point Military Institute in New York. However, Colonel Strother convinced General Hunter to send it to Wheeling, West Virginia, instead. The statue arrived in Wheeling on July 2, 1864, where it was first displayed at the Sanitary Fair on Wheeling Island until July 9. After the fair, it was relocated to the grounds of West Virginia's temporary Capitol building at Linsly Institute, where it remained on public display until April 1865.
Not everyone in Wheeling approved of the statue's arrival. Wheeling Intelligencer editor Archibald W. Campbell criticized the act on July 4, 1864, calling it "an act of vandalism that must be objectionable to all right thinking people, irrespective of their hatred for the rebels."
After the Civil War ended, Virginia requested the statue's return to VMI. On October 14, 1865, Colonel Strother, now serving as adjutant general of the Virginia Militia, wrote to West Virginia Governor Arthur I. Boreman recommending the statue's return. The West Virginia Legislature agreed to return the statue, but stipulated that Virginia had to pay for its transportation. On January 27, 1866, the Wheeling Daily Register published a satirical "Second Farewell Address" from the perspective of the statue, humorously describing its desire to return to VMI. The statue was finally rededicated at VMI on September 10, 1866, with former Virginia Governor John Letcher speaking at the ceremony.
Nearly 150 years after the statue's return, in 2015, Margaret "Peg" Brennan, a Wheeling historian, visited VMI with other Civil War enthusiasts. Their tour guide became visibly upset when describing the statue's removal, speaking "as if it had happened yesterday," demonstrating the lasting impact of this historical event. The guide's emotional reaction, so long after the incident, illustrates how deeply the memory of the statue's removal and return had been ingrained in VMI's institutional history.
To learn more: (https://tinyurl.com/4antkvnk) (https://tinyurl.com/36253cuc) (https://tinyurl.com/5e3mec57) (https://tinyurl.com/ybmtjkaa) (https://tinyurl.com/3n5j9hwh) (https://tinyurl.com/ezjkarkn) (https://tinyurl.com/2pwwzpcs)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV; Virginia Military Institute Archives, Library of Congress, U.S. National Archives, Wheeling Hall of Fame
RSS Feed
