Confederate monument to be moved from Maryland courthouse lawn to Virginia battlefield

Local officials in Talbot County, Md., voted Tuesday night to move a Confederate monument from a courthouse lawn to a Virginia battlefield, The Associated Press reported.

In a 3-2 vote, members of the Talbot County Council approved a measure to remove the “Talbot Boys” statue.

The statue, dedicated in 1916, commemorates more than 80 soldiers who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. It will be moved to the Cross Keys Battlefield in Harrisonburg, Va., with private funding covering the relocation costs.

Civil rights advocates sued the county in May seeking a court-ordered removal of the monument, calling it “a racist symbol of oppression” and claiming it was “unconstitutional and illegal.”

The statue is thought to be the only Confederate monument left standing on state-owned property in Maryland, according to the AP.

Council member Corey Pack, who initially opposed relocating the statute, told the AP that the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last year changed his mind.