United Confederate Veterans Memorial

The United Confederate Veterans Memorial is a granite Confederate monument in Seattle's privately-owned Lake View Cemetery, in the U.S. state of Washington. The memorial was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1926. It is constructed of granite from Stone Mountain.[1][2]

United Confederate Veterans Memorial
Year1926 (1926)
MediumGranite sculpture
Dimensions4.3 m (14 ft)
LocationSeattle, Washington, U.S.
OwnerLake View Cemetery

Vandalism

The monument has been vandalized repeatedly. In 2005, "the flag insignia, bayonets, and a plaque with Robert E. Lee on it were stolen, but then restored".[3] Following the Charleston church shooting of 2015, "Fuck White Supremacy" was painted on it. On July 5, 2018, "several parts of the 10-ton piece of granite [were] smashed, including a portion of the monument's inscription, insignia, and relief of Robert E. Lee."[4]

Pressures for removal

In 2015, a petition was started to have it removed.[5] In 2017, in response to the Charlottesville, Virginia Unite the Right rally, and the increased pace of the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials in other parts of the country, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said, "Seattle needs to join with cities and towns across the country who are sending a strong message by taking these archaic symbols down," acknowledging that Lake View is private property outside the city's control.[6] Murray also called for the removal of the Statue of Lenin in Fremont, also on private property, prompting the Seattle City Council to consider debating a symbolic resolution asking for the removal of the two monuments.[7]

It is No. 6 on the Make It Right Project's 2018 list of the 10 Confederate monuments it most wants removed; they noted that "It is located near 14 Confederate graves but there are no bodies below it, which means it is not a grave marker, but a propagandistic piece of the Lost Cause effort."[8] In October, 2018, the Project put up a billboard in Seattle, saying: "Hey Seattle, there's a Confederate Memorial in your backyard".[9]

Its removal was demanded in 2020 during the George Floyd protests in Seattle.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Believe It Or Not, There's A Confederate Monument In Seattle (And Now There's A Petition To Get It Removed)". The Stranger. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  2. "Seattle's own monument to the Confederacy was erected on Capitol Hill in 1926 — and it's still there". The Seattle Times. 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  3. Cortes, Amber (Aug 16, 2017). "Believe It Or Not, There's A Confederate Monument In Seattle (And Now There's A Petition To Get It Removed)". The Stranger. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  4. Millman, Zosha (July 29, 2018). "Report: Capitol Hill's Confederate memorial vandalized again". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  5. LeFevre, Charlette (July 10, 2015). "Why Seattle's Confederate Monument with Confederate Flag symbol should come Down[,] Or What makes this Monument the one of the most Racist Monuments in the NorthWest". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  6. Cornwell, Paige (August 16, 2017), "Mayor Murray expresses concern about Confederate monument in Seattle cemetery", The Seattle Times
  7. deGrandpre August 19, Andrew, "In Seattle, people are protesting monuments to the Confederacy — and communism", The Washington Post
  8. Holloway, Kali (June 3, 2018). "Announcing the Launch of the Make It Right Project". Independent Media Institute. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  9. Millman, Zosha (November 8, 2018). "Campaign to take down Seattle's confederate memorial gets a billboard". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  10. "Seattle's 'Autonomous Zone' releases list of demands", Daily Dot, June 10, 2020

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