These photographs were shot by Oxford, Mississippi photographer Newt Rayburn in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 2, 2016.
This sculpture of Jefferson Davis was designed and built by Richmond, Virginia artist Edward Virginius Valentine in the early 1900’s.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned the statue and requested that Davis appear “as a statesman, standing and addressing the people.”
The bronze statue stood just over eight feet tall and was mounted on a thirteen square foot granite pedestal.
Separate from the monument was a site dedication stone that was dated June 3, 1908.
The monument was officially dedicated on February 22, 1911 and stood at the intersection of Canal Boulevard and Jefferson Davis Parkway for 106 years.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, May 11, 2017, under the cover of darkness, a clandestine SWAT squad and over 300 armed police mobilized by the City of New Orleans hastily removed the monument and took it to an unknown location.
_____
Copyright © 2016 Newt Rayburn – newtrayburn@gmail.com. See Newt’s photographs of The Battle of Liberty Place Monument here.