The American Civil War Center announced today that it would accept a life-size bronze statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

The decision, however, comes with no guarantees on where or whether the statue will be displayed. It would become part of the center's collection and available to display and use as it sees fit, said center officials.

The center controls the Tredegar property for its owner, NewMarket Corp., which also must agree to accept the statue.

The statue is being prepared by Lexington sculptor Gary Casteel and it depicts Davis standing with his son Joe and with Jim Limber, a mixed-race orphan who was taken in by the Davis family.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans has offered the statue to help mark this year as the bicentennial of Davis' birth. Members also were upset by a decision to place the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Tredegar site in 2003.

--Will Jones