Washington & Lee University Cancels Robert E. Lee’s Horse
“The last home of Traveller. Through war and peace the faithful, devoted and beloved horse of General Robert Lee.”
How determined to erase history do you have to be to go after the man’s horse?
The College Fix reports:
Canceled: Washington & Lee University removes plaque honoring Robert E. Lee’s horse
Traveller, the horse which served Confederate General Robert E. Lee, has long been a fixture of campus culture at Washington and Lee University, as the famous steed, known for his courage and stamina, is buried on campus.
But Traveller’s Confederate connections recently led university officials to remove two markers erected in his honor, his gravestone as well as a plaque honoring the beloved companion.
The decision prompted anger and concern from some alumni and students. Traveller served Lee both during the Civil War and afterwards, when the ex-general became president of the then-Washington College. Lee was president from 1865 until his death in 1871. Traveller died a few months later.
The university replaced one marker – Traveller’s gravestone – with a version omitting the original references to Lee and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
In a July 16 response to community concerns, university officials said they would also replace the plaque they stripped from a campus building, which had noted Traveller’s last home and was a visible part of the campus environment.
As of Aug. 7, the plaque has yet to be replaced.
The original marker stated: “The last home of Traveller. Through war and peace the faithful, devoted and beloved horse of General Robert Lee. Placed by the Virginia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy.”
The modifications follow a June 2021 decision by the small, private liberal arts college to retain its name while further distancing itself from the Confederacy.
“We have reviewed campus symbols, names and practices, and we are making changes to remove doubt about our separation from the Confederacy and the Lost Cause,” the university’s board of trustees stated.
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Comments
I will shamelessly take this opportunity to recommend Richard Adams’s novel Traveller, which tells the story of Lee’s war as seen by Traveller, who doesn’t quite understand his own experiences.
America’s own Year Zero implemented by our beloved progressives.
Besides, shouldn’t Traveller be ready for Democrat ghouls to eat by now?
I’ve had it. I have stopped donating to any of my colleges. They are being run by people I don’t trust.
The future is always the same, it’s the past that keeps changing.
—Russian proverb