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New Orleans Removes Third Confederate-Era Monument

As opponents holding Confederate flags looked on.

New Orleans has taken down a third Confederate-era monument slated for removal as part of the city’s push to rid itself of four racially charged statues. About 200 people looked on early Wednesday as workers began dismantling the 14-foot statue of Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, a Confederate general during the Civil War and commander at the Battles of Shiloh and the first Bull Run. Both supporters and opponents of the city’s initiative to remove the monuments gathered in the area, though the crowd was described as mostly peaceful, with the exception of some shouting between the two sides. Opponents have argued that the removal of the monuments is an affront to the South’s heritage, while supporters say the statues from the pro-slavery Confederate era have no place in today’s society. The city’s initiative to take down the monuments began in 2015, though opponents put up a legal fight and kept the plans in limbo until recently. A monument to a Confederate-era white paramilitary organization was taken down on April 24, followed by a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on May 11. Authorities plan to dismantle a memorial to General Robert E. Lee next, though they have not yet released a date for the removal.