Traveller’s headstone removed, not yet replaced

W&L Community members react in various ways

[Photo Credit (left) Mark Ozboyd, (right) anonymous]

[UPDATE: As of Saturday, June 16, university officials have replaced Traveller’s headstone with another mable plaque absent of any reference to Robert E. Lee or the United Daughters of the Confederacy.]

The headstone, placed over fifty years ago during the interment of Robert E. Lee’s favorite horse was removed this morning, on June 14, 2023.

The removal came just days after university officials removed three other plaques across campus, including one on the Lee House stables honoring Traveller’s last home.

University officials have not yet provided a reasoning for the removals, though they informed The Spectator on June 12 that a Columns post on chapel exhibits would be forthcoming.

Unlike the previous three plaques, Traveller’s headstone is expected to be replaced on site. It is not yet clear what the new marker will say, and as of the close of business hours Friday, nothing had been added to the site.

Following The Spectator’s announcement of the plaque removal on Wednesday, a few students and alumni collaborated to place dozens of apples on Traveller’s grave, continuing a decades-long tradition in which tourists leave a penny or apple to the memory of the famed steed.

A photograph of the apples, taken on July 13 and posted by The Spectator, went viral, receiving hundreds of shares and thousands of views within hours.

The Generals Redoubt (TGR), a non-profit alumni group, also shared the photograph in an email statement to their over 12,000 followers.

“President Dudley is hell-bent on eliminating all references to Robert E. Lee from the campus of W&L,” TGR began. “And now that Lee has been almost completely erased, Dudley is going after Traveller.”

After citing a list of 11 actions that TGR claims “Dudley has orchestrated in his effort to purge W&L of any association with Lee[,]” The Redoubt concludes, “he should at least have the decency to be honest about it. Instead, he has conducted a mostly covert offensive, rarely inviting the input of alumni or other stakeholders.”

And while many members of the W&L Community were appalled by the decision, not everyone cared to hear about it.

Arguments broke out yesterday and today after The Spectator shared its article in a multi-grade student GroupMe chat.

“[M]e personally,” said one student, “I couldn’t care less about the dead horse of a man who’s probably annoyed in his grave that students like me are attending his institution[.]”

Another student messaged, “NO ONE CARES GO TALK ABOUT IT WHERE PEOPLE CARE[.]”

As for the apples, workers removed them from the gravesite this morning to an undisclosed location.