Robert E. Lee Portrait Removed From Alexandria City Hall

ALEXANDRIA, VA—A painting of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has been removed from Alexandria City Hall to the Lyceum, the city's local history museum.

The Washington Post reports the portrait had been taken down last summer as the city hall roof and City Council chambers underwent renovations. A portrait of George Washington had been taken down as well. But while Washington's portrait returned to the wall, Lee's painting had been replaced with a 1798 map of Alexandria. Lee, known for his role as commander of the Confederate troops during the Civil War, grew up in a home in Old Town Alexandria.

Mayor Allison Silberberg told The Post the museum is a “a more appropriate place” for Lee Portrait. And City Manager Mark Jinks said he called the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who donated the Lee statue in 1963. “I don’t think any of us got a single email or call about it,” he told the newspaper.

Alexandria took action on Confederate monuments following the 2015 Charleston church shooting, when a picture surfaced of gunman Dylann Roof posing with a Confederate flag. The city had stopped a tradition of flying the Confederate flag at Washington and Prince streets on Lee’s birthday and Confederate Memorial Day.

Recently, the council has moved forward with removing the name of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from U.S. Route 1. And last year, the city council voted to remove the Appomattox statue, but the state legislature would not pass the required legislation, according to the Alexandria Times. Following the violent clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Alexandria's state senator Adam Ebbin has promised to introduce legislation on removing the Appomattox statue.

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Image via Visit Alexandria