1887 time capsule found at base of Lee statue to be opened

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is scheduled to witness the opening of a time capsule that had been buried under a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The opening of the box from 1887 is scheduled for noon Wednesday in Richmond. The massive bronze equestrian statue of Lee was long seen as a symbol of racial injustice in the former capital of the Confederacy. It was taken down in September. The time capsule was found Friday by crews working to remove the statue’s pedestal. The square box was embedded in a 2,000-pound granite block. An 1887 newspaper article suggests the capsule contains Civil War memorabilia and a “picture of Lincoln lying in his coffin.”