North Carolina’s Chatham County Removes 100-Year-Old Confederate Statue

Chatham County has removed a Confederate monument that stood for 100 years in front of the county’s courthouse in Pittsboro, North Carolina.

The century-old statue was recently deemed “controversial” and was torn down in the middle of the night on Tuesday, according to Fox 8.

Work crews began destroying the memorial after dark at 11 p.m. and finished dismantling it at around 5 a.m. Police were reportedly on hand to corral any protesters. The pieces of the memorial were put in storage until the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy can decide where to re-erect the statue.

“The last several months have been a painful time for Chatham County,” chair of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, Mike Dash, told the media. “We’ve experienced high emotions, division, and even violence which have impacted residents, businesses, and the overall feel of our community. What’s clear now is that the overwhelming majority of our residents are eager to move forward.”

Upon the destruction of the statue, the North Carolina Sons of Confederate Veterans (NCSCV) released a statement decrying the county’s actions.

“The North Carolina Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans is outraged at the latest disturbing action of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners,” the NCSCV said. “Like a thief in the night, under cover of darkness, the Chatham County Confederate Soldiers Memorial has been illegally removed.”

Supporters of both sides, for and against the statue, stood quietly watching as the government workers tore down the courthouse statue.

The removal of the Chatham statue was a far different scene than the violent protests surrounding the destruction of a Confederate statue standing on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

On a warm August Monday evening in 2018, a large group of protesters violently destroyed the Confederate “Silent Sam” statue, which stood on the UNC campus for 105 years.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.