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According to officials, an environmental assessment was completed over the weekend in advance of the removal of the monument, and now they are ready to move ahead as the country continues to remove Confederate symbolism from military facilities.
Moving forward, all bronze elements of the memorial will be relocated, though the granite base and foundation will remain in place to avoid possibly disturbing surrounding graves.
The removal of the monument comes after months of meetings, where the public spoke in favor of removing it, while others worried about preserving history.
"As required by Congress and implemented by the Secretary of Defense, Arlington National Cemetery is required to remove the Confederate Memorial located in Section 16," officials said.
"A process to prepare for the memorial's careful removal and relocation has been completed."
The memorial includes a woman who represents the Deep South standing atop a 32-foot pedestal, according to the cemetery. There are life-size Confederate soldiers alongside gods and slaves featured in the base.
Removal is expected to be complete possibly as soon as Friday, Dec. 22.
The history of the Confederate Memorial "embodies the complex and contested legacy of the Civil War at Arlington National Cemetery, and in American culture generally," the cemetery's website states.
Confederates were not allowed to be buried at the cemetery until 1900, decades after the Civil War, and they were given a designated area of the grounds, which is now Section 16, and has been represented by the statue since 1914.
"The Confederate Memorial offers an opportunity for visitors to reflect on the history and meanings of the Civil War, slavery, and the relationship between military service, citizenship and race in America."
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