The statue depicted an enslaved Black man dutifully following his enslaver into a Civil War battle, imagery that is often described as the “faithful slave” trope, which historians say has been used to falsely convey that enslaved people were content with their lives before the war. The statue also featured an enslaved Black woman, depicted as a “Mammy,” caring for a white child — a racist caricature that has long been used to whitewash the brutality and exploitation of slavery.