*Patrick Larsen reported this story.
After taking the statue of Stonewall Jackson off its pedestal on Wednesday, the city of Richmond moved forward with removing three more Confederate monuments today.
A small crowd cheered as the statue of Confederate Naval Officer Matthew Fontaine Maury was lowered onto a truck and driven away.
It is one of a total of 11 monuments that Mayor Levar Stoney says are coming down across Richmond over the next week.
Comparison of Maury now - and when it was installed. Historical photo provided by The Valentine.
The statue, the last of the “Lost Cause” monuments to be installed on Monument Avenue, was unveiled in 1929. Maury was lauded at the time for his contributions to oceanography - but many historians now say that intentionally overshadows his wartime efforts.
At the start of the Civil War, Maury left the United States Navy and joined the Confederate Navy as an officer. In the war, he spent much of his time overseas, raising support and acquiring weapons for the Confederacy. Inscriptions on the monument make no mention of that work.
Maury was buried at Hollywood Cemetery, which is also the final resting place of dozens of Confederate leaders.
Construction crews also removed two cannons near the monument to Jefferson Davis. The former president of the Confederacy’s statue was toppled by protesters in June.
Mayor Levar Stoney told reporters today that the city is planning to remove 11 Confederate symbols around Richmond, not just ones on Monument Ave.
