Digging up the dead is a recipe for disaster.
It’s a highly disrespectful act!
Yet, that didn’t stop Richmond, Virginia Democrat Mayor LeVar Stoney from ordering a grounds crew to dig up the decomposed body of Confederate General A.P. Hill.
The move comes after the removal of A.P. Hill’s statue.
Because Hill’s statue was used as a tombstone, his body was removed the next day.
Although distant relatives attempted to halt Hill’s remains from being dug up, a Richmond Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of the skeletal remains to be removed.
Over two years ago, Richmond was home to more confederate statues than any city in the United States. Collectively, we have closed that chapter.
We now continue the work of being a more inclusive and welcoming place where ALL belong. pic.twitter.com/3DHUSUg2Ea
— Mayor Levar M. Stoney (@LevarStoney) December 12, 2022
After several hours of hand shoveling, workers unearthed the remains of slain Confederate general Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. from his tomb Tuesday, as Richmond continues its work to remove the https://t.co/W5QGe0lSka
— Herald Courier (@heraldcourier) December 14, 2022
John Hill, a descendant of General A.P. Hill, was in attendance at the unburial to retrieve the remains.
Hill was heckled by several protestors.
“I’ll beat you like your daddy should’ve,” one person threatened.
WATCH:
John Hill, descendant of AP Hill, is retrieving the remains. Now he is engaging with onlookers who have been arguing behind the caution tape. People on both sides of the controversy yelling at one another. @NBC12 pic.twitter.com/cXAzbTy26u
— Riley Wyant (@rileywyantTV) December 13, 2022
The Bristol Herald Courier reported:
Removing the Hill monument proved especially challenging, since the general’s remains were buried underneath the dirt mound at the intersection of Hermitage Road and Laburnum Avenue.
After receiving the go-ahead from a Richmond Circuit Court judge, city officials moved swiftly to remove the Hill statue and relocate the gravesite underneath.Morticians from Bennett Funeral Home helped escort Hill’s remains as they were dug up. The container holding his remains was wrapped by a small quilt and the Virginia flag before being ushered away.
Tuesday marks the third time the general’s body has been moved since his death in 1865 at the hands of a Union soldier in Petersburg.
The general was initially buried in a cemetery in Chesterfield County and later moved to a plot in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. Hill’s remains were moved yet again in 1891 to Laburnum and Hermitage. When workers removed Hill’s body from Hollywood Cemetery, the wooden-oak coffin had fallen to pieces, according to an account in the Richmond Dispatch newspaper from the unveiling of his bronze statue in 1892.
Paul DiPasquale, a local sculptor, watched Tuesday as workers uncovered the skull, small bones and old cloth buried beneath molded stone under the monument.
“There was a statement that Hill was buried standing up, but as it turns out that wasn’t the case,” DiPasquale said.
While the statue will be moved to an undisclosed location with 11 other city-owned monuments, Hill’s remains were being moved to a gravesite in Culpeper, purchased by the City of Richmond for $1,000.
Eventually the monuments will be donated to the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia, according to city officials.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!