List of Confederate Artworks in the United States Capitol

There are 19 works of art in the United States Capitol honoring former leaders of the Confederate States of America and generals in the Confederate States Army, including 9 statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection, busts and portraits.[1]

There are nine Confederate figures in the National Statuary Hall Collection, in the United States Capitol.

These include the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, the Vice President, Alexander H. Stephens, Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, and former U.S. President John Tyler, who sided with the Confederate cause and negotiated the terms for Virginia's entry into the Confederate States of America.[1]

National Statuary Hall Collection

In the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol, each state has provided statues of two citizens that the state wants to honor. The following Confederate figures are among them, many in Confederate Army uniforms.[2] Dates reflect when the statue was given to the collection:[3][4]

Other Art Representing Confederates in the Capitol
  • Howell Cobb (painting purchased by Congress, 1912) Cobb was a five-term member of the House of Representatives and Speaker of the House from 1849 to 1851. He was one of the founders of the Confederacy, was elected President of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, and later served as a major general in the CSA. He suggested the creation of Andersonville prison. [1]
  • Charles Frederick Crisp (portrait purchased 1893) During the Civil War, Crisp served in the 10th Virginia Infantry as a lieutenant. Later he was elected to Congress and served as both leader of the Democratic Party and Speaker of the House.[1]
  • John Tyler (bust purchased by Congress, 1898) Former U.S. President Tyler headed the committee that negotiated the terms for Virginia's entry into the Confederate States, signed Virginia's Ordinance of Secession on June 14, 1861.[1] Tyler was seated in the Confederate Congress on August 1, 1861, and he served until just before his death in 1862.[14]

Recent Removals of Artworks

The Statue of Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry (Alabama, 1908) was replaced by a statue of Helen Keller in 2009[15]

On June 18, 2020, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ordered four paintings of former Confederates removed from the Speaker's Gallery in the Capitol in the wake of the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd while in police custody.[16] "We didn't know about this until we were taking inventory of the statues and the curator told us that there were four paintings of Speakers in the Capitol of the United States, four Speakers who had served in the Confederacy," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.[16]

References
  1. Grosvenor, Edwin (June 2020). "Confederates in Congress: Heritage or Hate?". American Heritage Magazine. 65:3 (June 2020).
  2. Ford, Matt (August 17, 2017). "Will Congress Remove Confederate Statues From the Capitol?". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  3. DeBonis, Mike (June 23, 2015). "A field guide to the racists commemorated inside the U.S. Capitol". Washington Post. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  4. Brockell, Gillian; Brockell, Gillian (August 16, 2017). "How statues of Robert E. Lee and other Confederates got into the U.S. Capitol". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  5. "Jefferson Davis". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  6. "James Zachariah George". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  7. "Wade Hampton". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  8. "Robert E. Lee". Architect of the Capitol. April 29, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  9. "Uriah Milton Rose". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  10. Florida Senate (March 19, 2018). "SB 472: National Statuary Hall". Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  11. "Alexander Hamilton Stephens". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  12. "Zebulon Vance". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  13. "Joseph Wheeler". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  14. Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861–1865 Volume 1. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1904. pp. 303, 658.
  15. "Helen Keller". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  16. Marcos, Christina. "Pelosi orders removal of Confederate portraits in Capitol". TheHill.com.
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