Confederate Memorial (Removed)

Located to one side of the city's main intersection, this Confederate monument was a prominent reminder of Portsmouth's involvement in the Civil War. Sponsored by the Ladies Memorial Aid Association, it took nearly two decades to raise funds for the memorial, which was dedicated in June 1893.  Designed by a Baltimore architect originally from Portsmouth, the monument consisted of a 35-foot granite obelisk on a 20-foot pedimented base, guarded by bronze statues of four men representing (clockwise from the south elevation) the Confederate infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy. The sailor's headband was inscribed Merrimac, a reference to the Confederate ironclad, fashioned in nearby Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The monument stood in Olde Towne Portsmouth until the summer of 2020 when it was removed as a result of anti-racism protesting. In June, protestors covered the monument in paint and graffiti, beheading some of the statues and toppling others. After a man was injured when one of the statues was being pulled down, the Portsmouth City Council voted unanimously to remove the monument in its entirety. This was accomplished by the end of August 2020.