Lexington-born confederate officer’s statue removed after years of debate, defacing
Crews in Louisville have removed John B. Castleman’s statue from Cherokee Triangle, according to the city.
Castleman was a Confederate officer and a Lexington native. He later became a U.S. Army brigadier general, and died in Louisville, where he is now buried.
Workers began removing the statue early Monday, the city said, after a Jefferson County circuit judge ruled Friday that it could be moved. It was erected in 1913. It has been vandalized several times.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer pushed for the move nearly two years ago, but the process was held up by citizen appeals. The court ruling came amid repeated protests in the city after Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police and George Floyd died in Minneapolis when an officer used his knee to hold Floyd down. The move sends an important message, Fischer said.
“But the events of the past weeks have shown clearly that it’s not enough just to face our history — we’ve got to address its impact on our present,” Fischer said in the city’s press release. “Too many people are suffering today because the promises of justice and equality enshrined in our Constitution are unfulfilled by a society that devalues African-American lives and denies African Americans justice, opportunity and equity. That’s got to change. People want and deserve action. We need a transformation.”
The statue will be moved to Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, which is where Castleman is buried, after it is temporarily relocated to a city storage facility for cleaning, the city announced.
Statues in Lexington have also been moved from their once-prominent locations. Statues of John Hunt Morgan and John C. Breckinridge, both Confederate figures, were removed from the old Fayette County Courthouse lawn in 2017 and located at the Lexington Cemetery.
The recent protests have sparked new discussions about some confederate statues around the state and country. Gov. Andy Beshear has publicly said he’s in favor of removing the Jefferson Davis statue from the Kentucky Capitol.
“I believe the Jefferson Davis statue is a symbol that divides us, and even if there are those that think it’s a part of history, there should be a better place to put it in historic context,” Beshear said Thursday.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 8:28 AM.