US military academy begins removal of Confederate memorials from campus

The elite US military academy at West Point is removing Confederate monuments from its Hudson Valley campus in New York state, in accordance with a congressional review and orders set in motion by the Pentagon.

Robert E Lee was a graduate and superintendent of West Point who was appointed commander of the Confederate army toward the end of the US civil war. The academy also has a stone bust of the general, bronze plaques dedicated to him, a gate, road, and academic facilities bearing his name.

Across the US over the past few years, statues and other public monuments linked to the Confederacy have been taken down as part of a wider societal reckoning with slavery and its enduring legacy. Many roads, military bases, university buildings and other structures have also been renamed.