A Confederate memorial removed from Arlington National Cemetery in 2023 is expected to return in 2027, with the Army advancing plans to restore the controversial sculpture and install new signs explaining its history.
The Office of Army Cemeteries presented final design plans Thursday, Oct. 15, to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The proposal calls for restoring the bronze sculpture, created by Confederate veteran Moses Jacob Ezekiel, and placing it on its existing granite base in the section of the cemetery where Confederate soldiers are buried.
What are the plans for the memorial's return?
The project focuses on restoring and reinstalling the memorial's bronze sculpture. Its granite base and foundation remained in place after the sculpture was removed in December 2023, so the Army does
not plan to rebuild the entire monument.
The sculpture will stand about 33 feet tall, including the 30-foot bronze sculpture and its 3-foot granite base.
Conservation work will include cleaning the bronze, repairing cracks and other structural damage and installing a new support structure.
New signs along the memorial will provide visitors with what the Army describes as "clear, accurate and factual information" about the sculpture.
Work is expected to be complete sometime in 2027.
The memorial was removed in December 2023 after a congressionally mandated review recommended eliminating Confederate symbols from military property.
The sculpture features a Black woman portrayed through the racist “Mammy” stereotype holding a white officer’s child, along with an enslaved man following his owner into the Civil War.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in 2025 that the sculpture would return, criticizing its removal as an attempt to erase American history.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Arlington Cemetery's Confederate memorial coming back? What to know
