The statue stood for over 100 years. It was sculpted by an artist from Philadelphia and stood as a memorial to UNC students who left school to fight in the Civil War.
I always kind of liked that statue, the folklore behind it, and its presence at McCorkle Place on the UNC campus. The artist who created it was a pacifist by the way, and he completed a similar memorial in Philadelphia for Union soldiers.
However, the statue has caused a lot of hurt feelings over the years, especially since the 1960's. Black students resented it and were insulted by it, and felt it to be a symbol of repression and racism.
Things came to a head in 2018 when Maya Little, a PhD candidate at the University, poured half gallon containers of paint over the statue, its base, and on the ground. She mixed her own blood with the paint for even greater dramatic affect.
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