Sculpted by Gary Casteel
 
1863 Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Monument Replicas
 
Pictured on the front of the Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the Roman goddess of virtue, the word “Virginia,” and the Commonwealth’s motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis, or “thus always to tyrants.”   (On the reverse side, not reproduced on this piece, are three more goddesses and the word Perseverando --“by persevering”).  The seal was called for at the Convention of 1776 and was designed by George Wythe, a member of the Second Continental Congress during the American Revolution.  The seal has remained largely unchanged since 1779; however, at the start of the American Civil War (1861–1865), Unionists in western Virginia established the Restored government of Virginia, adding the words “Liberty and Union” to both sides of the seal.  In 1873, the General Assembly removed the words, and in 1903, another ordinance described the seal in essentially the same language as in 1776.
 
On January 21, 2023, the remains of Confederate General Ambrose Powell (“A.P.”) Hill were reinterred on January 21, 2023, at Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper, Virginia, where the general was born on November 9, 1825.  The reburial followed the removal in December 2022 of a monument of Hill located in Richmond, Virginia, which contained his bones in the base.  The unveiling and dedication ceremony for the Obelisk marking the grave of Lt. General A.P. Hill in Fairview Cemetery was held on his 199th birthday.  The bronze Virginia State Seal, along with a bas relief portrait of the General, (both pieces sculpted by Historical Artist Gary Casteel) were attached to the new grave headstone. 
 
The monument was dedicated on November 9, 2024 and is located at Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper, Virginia