MONUMENT AVENUE

You stare at the towering statue before you. It is a man in uniform riding a horse, his gaze towards the South. Where are you -- in an art museum looking at some statue of some guy you don't know? NO WAY!! You're on Monument Avenue, where statues tell stories about people who accomplished much for themselves and the city of Richmond. The statue which you just read about was that of General Robert E. Lee, one of the great Confederate generals of the Civil War.(You may know it as the War between the States, the Boy's War, or other various names).

Monument Avenue has a total of six statues, five of Confederate heroes, and one of Arthur Ashe. The statue of Robert E. Lee shown on his horse"Traveller," sculpted by French sculptor Jean Antoine Mercie, was unveiled on May 31, 1890, making it the first statue on what was to become Monument Avenue.

The statue of Jefferson Davis was designed by Richmond architect William C. Noland, and sculpted by Richmond sculptor Edward Valentine. It was unveiled in 1907.

Unveiled the same week as the Davis monument, the statue of Jeb(James Ewell Brown) Stuart on Lombardy Street was unveiled on May 30, 1907. Sculpted by Fred Moyihan, it shows the general,with a plumed hat, atop a horse.

The statue of General "Stonewall" Jackson was done by Richmond sculptor Frederick William Sievers. It was unveiled on October 11, 1919.

The last of the statues of Confederate heroes on Monument Avenue is that of Confederate Commodore Maury. Sculpted by rederick William Sievers, it was unveiled in 1929.

The last of the statues on Monument Avenue is that in honor of the famed tennis great, Arthur Ashe.