Plaque honoring Robert E. Lee’s horse taken down at Washington & Lee University.
Washington & Lee University Removes Plaque Honoring Robert E. Lee’s Horse
Washington & Lee University, initially named Augusta Academy, then Liberty Hall Academy before being renamed for America’s first president George Washington and Confederate General Robert E. Lee, has made a significant change to its campus. The university has decided to remove the plaque honoring Lee’s famed steed, Traveller.
The plaque, which was mounted over Traveller’s gravesite outside Lee Chapel, read, “The last home of Traveller. Through war and peace the faithful, devoted and beloved horse of General Robert Lee. Placed by the Virginia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy.” Last month, the university also removed plaques from the room where Lee took his oath of office and his office during his presidency at the school.
“and the horse you rode in on.” It appears that Washington and Lee University is not only cancelling Lee but even his horse. https://t.co/CyWXu5uhzy Traveler was originally put down for untreatable tetanus but will now be put down again by equally untreatable cancel culture.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) August 8, 2023
“Traveller was a beloved part of the campus story,” says Kamron Spivey, president of Students for Historical Preservation. “People like to hear tales about animals because they do no wrong. That is how Traveller has been immortalized in campus history. He was a faithful horse whose beauty and loyalty Robert E. Lee said would inspire poets. Until this month, very few people seemed bothered by the horse.”
Spivey continues, “Due to a misappreciation of Lee’s contributions and positive legacy as an educator, university officials think any reference to the man is detracting from student enrollment. Rather than confront the issue directly, they are trying to secretly hide their history from the world. The university should keep the original markers. If the goal is to contextualize a historic site, there is no better place than the original location they were erected.”
The History of Washington & Lee University
Augusta Academy, founded in 1749, underwent several name changes before becoming Liberty Hall Academy in 1776 as a tribute to the American revolutionaries. In 1796, the school faced financial trouble, and U.S. President George Washington came to its aid by donating 100 shares of James River Canal Company stock. This generous donation contributed significantly to the university’s operating budget.
The grateful trustees renamed the institution Washington Academy, to which Washington responded, “To promote Literature in this rising Empire, and to encourage the Arts, have ever been among the warmest wishes of my heart.” In 1813, Washington Academy became Washington College.
Four months after Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, the Washington College board of trustees invited Lee to become the college’s president. During his tenure, Lee made numerous contributions, including incorporating the local law school, introducing undergraduate courses in business and journalism, expanding offerings in the natural sciences, and endorsing a lasting tradition of student self-governance.
After Lee’s death in 1870, the faculty requested that the college be renamed in his honor, thus creating Washington and Lee University.
The University’s Board of Trustees wrote in 2021, “Our community holds passionate and divergent opinions about our name. The association with our namesakes can be painful to those who continue to experience racism, especially to African Americans, and is seen by some as an impediment to our efforts to attract and support a diverse community. For others, our name is an appropriate recognition of the specific and significant contributions each man made directly to our institution.”
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