Bronze statues of two confederate figures now reside in the Lexington Cemetery. The likenesses of John Hunt Morgan and John Breckinridge had been in storage for nine months before being positioned in the historic resting place Tuesday.
The statues of Morgan and Breckinridge were lifted off their pedestals on the historic courthouse lawn last October. The decision to remove the statues and subsequent placement in a warehouse attracted much attention.
Civil war re-enactor Steve Menefee made a noontime stop in the cemetery Wednesday. “They shouldn’t ever moved in the first place, but I think, it looks good here, close to the road. I think both of them should have been up higher like they were when they were down on the courthouse square.”
Frankfort native Joey Wright, a self-proclaimed history buff, called the placement a fair compromise.
“There’s people that look at a statue like this, they’re hurt. Then there’s people who look at a statue like this that have southern roots, they look at it as pride, you know. I just wish people would come together and try to understand both sides of this,” noted Wright.
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray first announced plans to move the two confederate statues almost a year ago, following a statue related protest in Charlottesville, Virginia in which one person died.
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