Louisiana city removes statue of Confederate general donated in 1922

Nearly 100 years after it was donated to the city of Lafayette, Louisiana, a statue of Confederate Gen. Alfred Mouton was taken down on Saturday, removed from its perch above the corner of Jefferson Street and Lee Avenue.

The Lafayette chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy gave the statue of Mouton to the city in April 1922. Mouton was the son of Alexandre Mouton, a senator and the 11th governor of Louisiana. A slave owner, civil engineer, and sugar cane grower, Alfred Mouton was killed in the Battle of Mansfield in 1864.

An organization called Move the Mindset pushed to have the statue removed, and the city of Lafayette joined in their legal battle last year. Before a trial was set to start on July 26, the United Daughters of the Confederacy signed a settlement to move the statue, with the city agreeing to pay $20,000 for a new base. It hasn't been announced yet where the statue will go.

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Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday to watch as the statue was taken down. "This is an historic day for Lafayette," Mayor-President Josh Guillory said. "This is a day that starts the process of healing for our community. We didn't have mobs of people that took a chain or a rope to tear down the statue. It's not who we are. It's not Lafayette."

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