Confederate statue in Hemming Park removed in downtown Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Work crews in Hemming Park in downtown Jacksonville removed a statue and plaque honoring fallen Confederate soldiers early Tuesday morning. It has stood at the park since 1898, according to the Florida Archaeology Network.

RELATED | Jacksonville mayor: All confederate monuments citywide will be removed

The monument was donated to the state of Florida by Charles C. and Lucy Key Hemming. Standing at 62 feet, the Confederate statue was one of the few landmarks of Jacksonville that survived the 1901 fire.

The battle over the monument and others like it throughout the city has been reignited several times in recent years.

Many have called for the removal -- while others said it is a part of history and their heritage.

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On Friday, the Jacksonville Jaguars marched from TIAA Bank Field to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, where wide receiver Chris Conley brought up discussion for the removal of the monument in the wake of Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests.

“Our revisionist history would tell us that it’s there to honor men fighting for state’s rights, but true history would tell us that in the cornerstone addressed, Alexander Stevens said that our states are built on the fact that the negro is inferior and slavery and subordination is his normal and natural state. That’s true history,” Conley said.

Action News Jax is working to learn what will be done with the monument.

SEE BELOW FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF “CIVIL WAR RELATED MONUMENTS AND MARKERS ON CITY PROPERTY:"

Jags' Conley scorns Confederate monuments in Jax Jaguars wide receiver Chris Conley voiced his disapproval for Confederate monuments in Jacksonville, saying they praise the south's dark past.

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