DAVID MARCUS: Woke Virginia tears down statue of Geneva Convention pioneer

Richmond removes Confederate statues of Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire and General Stonewall Jackson

Richmond, VA – On Friday, the Virginia state Capitol grounds were cleared of two bronze figures that had long stood on the site. A statue of Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire, a Confederate surgeon credited with pioneering principles that later shaped the Geneva Convention, was taken down along with a monument to General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

The decision to remove the monuments was made by a commission that included state‑elected officials. Democratic state Senator Mike Jones, who chaired the commission, explained that the removal was prompted in part by his personal discomfort with images that reminded him of the racially segregated past: “I remembered seeing white‑only, colored‑only pictures in my mother’s scrapbook, and so to have that as a visual and then for these things to remain to remind this area of what took place, I think it’s wrong.” The statues were subsequently dismantled and placed in storage pending relocation.

McGuire served as a Confederate surgeon during most of the Civil War and is remembered for his efforts to protect medical personnel on the battlefield. In 1862, after the First Battle of Winchester, McGuire persuaded General Jackson to release six Union army doctors who had been captured. The agreement—known as the Winchester Accord—allowed both sides to treat medical staff as non‑combatants and was later incorporated into the Geneva Convention. McGuire himself was released by Union forces in 1864 and was present at the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865.

The statue of General Jackson, who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia and died in 1863 under McGuire’s care, was removed at the same time. Both monuments had been prominent features of the capitol grounds for more than a century, and their removal reflects a broader movement to reassess Confederate memorials across the United States.

According to a spokesperson for the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, the statues will be relocated to battlefield sites where they can be interpreted in their historical context: “Preservation is more about the future than the past … At the core of all we do is the belief that our shared history can unite the people of our nation; that there is strength and inspiration for our own times to be found in the struggles of the past.”

The Virginia legislature has passed a resolution directing the foundation to oversee the statues’ transfer and to ensure they are displayed in a manner that emphasizes education and historical accuracy rather than commemoration. The foundation has stated that the relocation aims to provide visitors with a more nuanced understanding of the Civil War and its lasting impact.

The removal of the McGuire and Jackson statues adds to a growing list of Confederate monuments that have been taken down or relocated in recent years. The debate continues as communities consider how best to honor the past while acknowledging the legacy of slavery and racial discrimination that accompanied it.