Richmond removes its second Confederate statue in as many days

Stonewall Jackson was removed Wednesday, Navy officer Matthew Fontaine Maury on Thursday

Workers remove the statue of Confederate Naval officer Matthew Fontaine Maury on Monument Avenue, Thursday July 2, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Maury was better known for his work in oceanography and other sciences before the Civil War. His statue is the second removed since a new state law was enacted on July first. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

RICHMOND, Va. – Work crews removed a second Confederate statue in Richmond on Thursday, a monument to Navy officer Matthew Fontaine Maury.

A crowd cheered as a crane pulled a statue of Maury from its base, a day after crews removed a statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson on an order from Mayor Levar Stoney to remove all Confederate statues on city land.

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The Maury statue, unveiled in 1929, depicts Maury seated in a chair with a large globe above him. It was the last of five Confederate monuments erected on Richmond's famed Monument Avenue

Maury headed the coast, harbor and river defenses for the Confederate Navy. He was a leader in the fields of naval meteorology and navigation.

Stoney called for the removal of the statues last month amid raucous protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. On Wednesday, Stoney ordered the immediate removal of the statues, citing the continuing demonstrations and concerns that protesters could get hurt if they tried to bring down the enormous statues themselves.

Last month, Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the removal of Richmond's most prominent Confederate statue - a monument to Gen. Robert E. Lee on state property - but the removal has been at least temporarily blocked by a lawsuit.

Richmond - the formal capital of the Confederacy - has about a dozen Confederate statues.

Protesters tore down a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis last month. Another large monument slated for removal is a statue of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart.