Alexandria will seek to move Confederate statue and rename Jefferson Davis Highway

In a town that once took considerable pride in its Confederate past, the Alexandria City Council voted unanimously Saturday to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway and seek permission from the Virginia General Assembly to move a renowned statue of a Confederate soldier in historic Old Town.

The council’s actions went beyond the recommendations of a task force that studied what to do about the city’s controversial Confederate symbols, but not as far as some residents wanted.

After a lengthy public hearing, the council agreed to try to relocate the “Appomattox” statue from the busy intersection of Prince and Washington streets, where thousands of motorists pass it each day. The pensive and unarmed south-facing Confederate soldier would be moved to a local history museum on the same corner.