The statue was erected to honor John Breckinridge Castleman at a cost of $15,000 by popular subscription from city, state, and other commonwealths.

The other side reads, "John B. Castleman-Citizen – After the Civil War, Castleman studied law and graduated from University of Louisville in 1868.

The final report was delivered on June 30, 2018,[17] with Mayor Fischer announcing on August 8 that "...the city will be moving the Castleman & [ George D. Prentice ] statues.

My decision is based on the findings of our Public Art & Monuments Advisory Committee — Louisville must not maintain statues that serve as validating symbols for racist or bigoted ideology.

"[18] In order to remove the statue, the mayor's office is required to first obtain a certificate of appropriateness from the Cherokee Triangle Architectural Review Committee.

[20] As of June 2019, the movement of the statue has been delayed following suit by several residents, historians, a civil rights activist and the non for profit Friends of Louisville Public Art.

Filed by Lawyer Stephen Porter who represents the group in district court, the appeal makes note of various conflicts of interest in the mayor's review board panel as well as procedural errors that allowed for "the erroneous decision of the Landmarks Commission to allow the removal of the statue of Castleman, once a U.S. Army General, and his American Saddlebred horse Carolina" [21] The decision was overruled in April 2023 by the Kentucky Supreme Court due to a conflict of interest.

[22] As of June 2020, the statue has been removed pending cleaning and relocation to Castleman's burial site in Cave Hill Cemetery.