The General Beauregard Equestrian Statue, honoring P. G. T. Beauregard, was located in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, United States. The statue, by

Alexander Doyle Alexander Doyle (1857–1922) was an American sculptor. Doyle was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and spent his youth in Louisville (Kentucky) and St. Louis (Missouri) before going to Italy to study sculpture in Bergamo, Rome, and Florence, studying ...

, one of the premier American sculptors, was officially unveiled in 1915. It was at the intersection of

Carrollton Avenue Carrollton Avenue is a major thoroughfare stretching across the Uptown/ Carrollton and Mid-City districts of New Orleans. South Carrollton Avenue runs from St. Charles Avenue in the Riverbend in a northeast ''lake-bound'' direction through Car ...

and

Esplanade Avenue Esplanade Avenue is a historic street in New Orleans, Louisiana. It runs northwest from the Mississippi River to Beauregard Circle at the entrance to City Park. History Esplanade Avenue was an important 18th-century portage route of trade b ...

at the main entrance to

City Park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

, on Beauregard Circle. The statue was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on February 18, 1999.

Removal

On June 24, 2015, New Orleans Mayor

Mitch Landrieu Mitchell Joseph Landrieu ( ; born August 16, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 2004 ...

acknowledged the impact of the June 2015

Charleston church shooting On June 17, 2015, a mass shooting occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Among those people who were killed was the senior past ...

, and after talking with New Orleans jazz ambassador

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

, Landrieu called for the removal of several city memorials to Confederates. As part of a sixty-day period for public comment, two city commissions accepted the Mayor's call for the removal of four monuments associated with the Confederacy, including statues of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nor ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as ...

and Beauregard, and an obelisk commemorating the Battle of Liberty Place. Governor

Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives ...

opposed the removals. On December 17, 2015, the New Orleans City Council voted 6-to-1 to remove the Gen. Beauregard Statue, along with three other historical monuments built 100 to 135 years ago. Mayor Landrieu announced that the removal of the monuments would happen within days. The statue's removal began on May 16, 2017, and was completed on May 17. After the statue was removed, its

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

remained in place. On July 25, 2018 after the base of the statue was removed, a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...

was discovered to exist. The capsule was opened on August 3, 2018 and found to contain Confederate

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a ...

, including photos of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, along with flags, currency, medals, ribbons and other paper items related to the city. Officials stated that the copper box was placed in the statue's pedestal on November 14, 1913, a year before the statue was erected.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places 1915 establishments in Louisiana 1915 sculptures P. G. T. Beauregard Bronze sculptures in Louisiana Buildings and structures in New Orleans Confederate States of America monuments and memorials in Louisiana Equestrian statues in Louisiana Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in New Orleans Outdoor sculptures in Louisiana Sculptures of men in Louisiana Relocated buildings and structures in Louisiana Removed Confederate States of America monuments and memorials Time capsules

Removal

See also

References

External links