In a victory for the adherents of the Lost Cause, a twenty foot high portrait of Confederate General Robert E. Lee be rehung at West Point. The seven decade old painting will be hung in the academy’s library. The painting was removed after Congress passed a law creating a commission to review government holdings that honored Confederates. That commission had the painting taken down. While the Pentagon restoring it is apparently illegal, it is likely to go ahead. This follows the restoration of Confederate names to army bases that had been stripped three years ago.
The Pentagon spokesperson said that “At West Point, the United States Military Academy is prepared to restore historical names, artifacts, and assets to their original form and place,,,Under this administration, we honor our history and learn from it — we don’t erase it.” This follows Pete Hegseth’s announcement last month that the Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery would be re-erected over the coming months. That monument shows scenes of Southern life from the Civil War, including two African Americans acting as slaves.
West Point already has one painting of Lee on display. It was painted of him in a United States Army uniform, showing at the time he was commandant of the academy, The painting that was taken down, however shows Lee in full Confederate regalia being attended by a Black man said to be his slave. This painting was installed in 1952, when white Southerners were resisting integration.
According to the New York Times:
“In recent years, Mr. Trump has argued that the decision to rename the bases stemmed from a broader effort to erase the country’s traditions and heritage. He also has praised General Lee “as the greatest strategist of them all,” and suggested that “except for Gettysburg” he would have won the Civil War.”
Note: I wanted to show you the painting but my host has stopped allowing new photos.
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