RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After 131 years in Richmond, the statue to Confederate General Robert E. Lee has been removed from Monument Avenue.

Crews worked to separate the enormous monument, a 21-foot (6-meter) bronze equestrian sculpture, from its base on Wednesday. After a process that took roughly an hour, the statue was hoisted off the pedestal and set in the traffic circle that housed it for more than a century.

In preparation for its transport, the statue has been cut along Lee’s waist by workers using a power saw. The pieces have been put on a flatbed trailer to be transported out of the city.

The Robert E. Lee statue was separated at the waist
The Robert E. Lee statue was separated at the waist and pulled into two pieces. (Photo Tyler Thrasher)
Lee’s torso, covered with a blue tarp, and the bottom half of the statue being loaded onto a flatbed trailer. (Photo: 8News/Delaney Hall)
Crews work to cut the Lee statue before it’s transported out of Richmond (Photos: 8News/Tyler Thrasher)

The removal process

Crews remove one of the country’s largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy, a towering statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Confederate Monument Richmnond
Crews remove one of the country’s largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy, a towering statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The monument of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is removed from its pedestal in Richmond. (Photos: Delaney Hall/WRIC)
The Robert E. Lee statue is on the ground after being removed from its pedestal. (Photo: Kerri O’Brien/WRIC)
A crane sits alongside the monument as work crews strap the statue for its removal. (Photo: 8News/Tyler Thrasher)
The Lee monument is removed from its pedestal. (Photos: VPM Livefeed)

Workers prepare to bring the Lee statue down as onlookers gather

Robert E. Lee Monument removal
The Robert E. Lee statue weighs 12-tons. Crews will be removing the statue and cutting it in half for moving purposes. (Photo: 8News Reporter Tyler Thrasher)
Robert E. Lee statue snip
Crews have starting working on the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue on Sept. 8, 2021. (Photo: VPM Livefeed)
Robert E. Lee statue removal
Crew workers wrapped rope around the entire base of the Robert E. Lee statue. A crane will be used to hoist the statue off its pedestal. (Photo: 8News Reporter Autumn Childress)
Robert E. Lee monument removal
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, First Lady of Virginia Pam Northam and Gov. Ralph Northam at the Lee Monument site on the day of the removal of the statue. (Photo: First Lady of Virginia Twitter)
  • Robert E. Lee monument removal
    Crews arrive at the Lee Monument to prepare for its removal on Sept. 8, 2021. (Photo: 8News Reporter Tyler Thrasher)
  • Robert E. lee monument removal
    Crew worker heads up on the monument to prepare for its removal. (Photo: 8News Reporter Tyler Thrasher)

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