U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Gen. Robert E. Lee attended West Point Military Academy from 1825-1829, but in 1861 during the Civil War, he left the U.S. Army to fight with the Confederacy. In 1952, a painting of Lee was added to the West Point library — much to the chagrin of those who considered him a symbol of both racism and insurrection.

The paint was later removed. But now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is restoring it.

The Daily Beast's Janna Brancolini, in an article published on August 29, notes that the painting was added to the West Point library in 1952 "as part of an effort to rehabilitate the disgraced general’s image" and depicts him "wearing his gray Confederate uniform and accompanied by a slave guiding his horse."

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Brancolini explains, "Its return is part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to reintroduce Confederate symbols, restore monuments that whitewash the evils of slavery, and remove references to slavery from national museums and parks…. When Congress passed a law in 2020 creating a commission to remove Confederate names and symbols from military institutions — including bases and academies — his likeness was all over West Point, and at least five roads and buildings were named in his honor. The commission decided that portraits of Lee in his blue Army uniform could stay up, but ordered the removal of the portrait that shows him in Confederate gray and accompanied by his slave."

The Daily Beast reporter continues, "The commission also recommended renaming the areas bearing his name. It's not clear how Hegseth could bring the Confederate portrait back out of storage without breaking the law, the (New York) Times reported."

Hegseth's actions are generating a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.

The Atlantic's Tom Nichols, a Never Trump conservative and frequent guest on MSNBC, tweeted, "Dark days for the military here."

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Author/columnist Larry Ferlazzo posted, "Of course they are — Pentagon Is Reinstalling Portrait of Confederate General at West Point Library."

MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire wrote, "Pentagon Is Reinstalling Portrait of Confederate General at West Point Library. DOD is putting back up a portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee as the Trump administration seeks to restore honors for American figures who fought to preserve slavery."

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Read the Daily Beast's full article at this link (subscription required).