EDENTON — A Chowan County Superior Court judge on Monday (Aug. 25, 2025) lifted a restraining order that had protected the Confederate Memorial Monument in downtown Edenton, clearing the way for its relocation, pending appeal.
The ruling came after a hearing in which the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), Edenton Bell Battery, sought to delay proceedings. According to SCV Edenton Bell Batter chapter president Michael Dean, the judge denied the group’s request for a continuance and allowed a recently approved Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Town of Edenton and Chowan County to move forward.
The MOU, endorsed earlier this year by both local boards, transfers control of the monument from the town to the county and calls for its relocation to Veterans Park, behind the Chowan County Courthouse. Monday’s decision affirms that agreement and removes the last legal barrier at the trial court level.
A separate lawsuit – filed by several area residents against the town and county – is still pending. That case attempts to prevent the monument from being moved from South Broad Street to behind the courthouse, arguing it would be a violation of residents’ rights to due-process.
The SCV has 30 days to file an appeal. Dean said the group intends to pursue that option and will ask the appellate court to impose a new injunction to prevent the monument’s removal while the case is under review.
The ruling marks a significant turn in a legal battle that has stretched for more than three years. In 2022, the Edenton Town Council voted to relocate the monument, which stands on the courthouse green, but the move was blocked after the SCV filed suit. The case has centered largely on the question of “standing” — whether groups like the SCV have the legal right to challenge local government actions under North Carolina’s Monument Protection Act.
Earlier this summer, SCV attorney Steven Rader told members the outcome of a similar case in Pitt County, now before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, could influence Edenton’s. Both cases are being closely watched as potential tests of how far state law shields Confederate memorials from removal or relocation.
The Edenton Bell Battery itself has been divided over the MOU. Some members argued the agreement ensures the monument’s preservation under county stewardship, while others insisted it should remain permanently at its current site on South Broad Street in accordance with a 1961 dedication.
With Monday’s ruling, the local governments are positioned to carry out the transfer of ownership and move once appeals are resolved. For the SCV, the focus shifts to higher courts.
If the Court of Appeals grants a new restraining order, the monument’s relocation could be delayed for months or longer as the case proceeds. Without such an order, county officials would have authority to proceed with moving the granite and bronze structure to Veterans Park.
4 responses to “Judge Lifts Order Blocking Relocation of Edenton Confederate Monument; Appeal Expected”
Hertford contextualized the statue, making it better and a learning mini-lesson.
Hertford serves as a great example of how to handle all this.
Respectfully, I must disagree with Mr. Lico and Mr. Layton on this matter.
Hertford really didn’t get a say on the Monument, it is on PQ County property, but I understand what you meant.
The REASON I disagree is I don’t believe a Monument to War Dead (a memorial) can be made better, nor do they need contextualization. In fact, I would argue that the one of the markers that attempts to “Contextualize” the Monument actually shifts the focus from the War Dead that the Monument self describes as being attributed to; shifting the focus to the War and the ultimate outcome.
In fact, at the public hearing on deciding whether or not to install the placards, NOT ONE SOUL spoke in favor of installing them. Citizenry both pro and anti Monument spoke, yet NONE spoke in favor of these placards.
To be fair, the placards themselves are informative and placing them on the courthouse green in itself is of no real offense, though we DO ACTUALLY have a County Museum and that would have been more appropriate. No, the offense comes into play when placed at the base of a Memorial to lives lost, shifting the focus to the overall war as some attempt to teach generalities concerning the County instead of allowing people to take a moment and reflect on the actual soldier/loved one/ancestor lost during that war as it was intended to do.
This Monument is NOT memorializing an event (the war, nor its causes nor results) it is memorializing MEN and anything that detracts from that is a distraction.
Sorry fellas, the placards ARE NOT an improvement.
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