US Army WILL rename nine forts named after Confederate generals at a cost of $63 million

By William On Oct 7, 2022

The U.S. Department of Defense has announced it will rename the nine U.S. military bases named after Confederate officers.

The effort will cost US taxpayers $62.5 million and is likely to start early next year.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin gave the official nod of approval to put into practice the renaming committee’s final recommendations, including recommendations to change more than 1,000 installations and facilities, including the nine major military bases, originally named after leaders of the Confederation.

Forts named after Confederate Generals

Fort Benning, Georgia – Founded in 1909, the fort is named after Confederate Brigadier General Henry Lewis Benning, who was born on a plantation owned by his parents and played an active role in pushing for Georgia’s secession from the union

Fort Gordon, Georgia – Established in 1941, the fort was named after Confederate Major General John Brown Gordon, who became a U.S. Senator and Governor of Georgia after the fall of the Confederacy

Fort Bragg, North Carolina – Established in 1918, the fort is named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg, whose many losses are cited as being very consequential to the ultimate defeat of the Confederacy

Fort Hood, Texas – Founded in 1942, the fort was named after Confederate General John Bell Hood. It was originally built to test and train soldiers in the use of World War II tank destroyers

Fort Rucker, Alabama – Founded in 1942, the fort is named after Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The fort is mainly used for flight training for US Army Aviators

Fort Polk, Louisiana – Established in 1941, the fort was named after Confederate General Leonidas Polk, who was also the first Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana and then the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America

Fort AP Hill, Virginia – Established in 1941, the fort is named after Confederate General Ambrose Powell Hill, a native Virginian who fought in the Mexican-American War and the Seminole Wars before joining the Confederacy

Fort Pickett, Virginia – Founded in 1941, it was named for Confederate General George Pickett, best known for leading the futile battle offensive on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg

Fort Lee, Virginia – Founded as Camp Lee in 1917, the fort is named after famed Confederate General Robert E. Lee and is located on the historic site where Captain John Smith founded some of the first plantations along the James River in the 17th century

The nine army bases that will soon be renamed are Fort Benning and Fort Gordon in Georgia; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and Fort AP Hill, Fort Pickett and Fort Lee in Virginia.

The Naming Commission released a list of possible new names for the bases in May, including “Fort Eisenhower” for Fort Gordon and “Fort Liberty” for Fort Bragg.

The renaming is likely to begin in December or the new year, after a 90-day waiting period imposed by Congress.

Former President Donald Trump previously took a strong stance against the idea of renaming the southern bases, even threatening to veto the defense spending bill to prevent the move.

In 2020, he urged Congressional Republicans not to vote for an amendment tabled by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to strip the base of their Confederate nicknames.

Republicans in Congress, as well as some who worked for Trump in the White House, disagreed with his stance and spoke out in favor of renaming the bases and other U.S. installations named after Confederate leaders.

“The installations and facilities that our department operates are more than essential national security assets. They are also powerful public symbols of our military and, of course, the places where our military personnel and their families work and live,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

“The names of these installations and facilities should inspire all who call them home, fully reflect the history and values of the United States, and commemorate the best of the republic that we are all sworn to protect,” he added.

The plan to rename the forts and other remnants of Confederate military fighters will “proud new names rooted in their local communities and honoring American heroes whose bravery, bravery and patriotism exemplify the best of the United States military.” . He wrote.

A large handful of army bases were named in honor of Confederate generals as U.S. troops trained to participate in both World Wars, particularly because of a policy that allowed regional commanders to oversee the naming process of the forts.

According to the final of three reports of the renaming committee, the process will cost DoD $62.5 million and will consist of renaming more than 1,000 installations and facilities bearing the name of rebel officers.

The commission initially made a number of recommendations for naming the bases as replacements.

Among them were World War II hero Audie Murphy, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and ex-President Dwight Eisenhower.

Murphy, a former US Army soldier, became the most decorated soldier of World War II. Powell was the first black person to serve as Secretary of State between 2001 and 2005, and died last year.

Eisenhower was a hero during World War II who later served as president between 1953 and 1961. He is credited with a series of public works programs — including the Interstate system — that helped transform America into the world’s only hyper-economy.

Texas’ Fort Hood – named after General John Bell Hood – gets a new name

Fort Polk, the only military base in Louisiana named after a Confederate official, is one of nine installations to be renamed.

In the commission’s first report, published in early August, the agency appeared to have narrowed down the candidates for each fort to one name.

They propose to rename Fort Benning in Georgia after Lieutenant Generals Hal Moore and Julia Moore – heroes of the Korean War who are buried in the fort.

Fort Bragg in North Carolina, they propose to name “to commemorate the American value of Liberty.”

Fort Gordon in Georgia, they propose to change the name of General of the Army and 34th President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower.

They propose to rename Fort AP Hill in Virginia after Dr. Mary Edwards Walker – an abolitionist, prisoner of war and surgeon.

They propose naming Fort Hood in Texas after General Richard Cavazos – the first Spanish four-star general of the United States Army, who served in the Vietnam War.

Fort Lee, in Virginia, they propose to rename the name in memory of Lieutenant General Arthur J. Gregg and Lieutenant Commander Charity Adams – respectively one of the foremost logistics leaders of the Army with a military history spanning nearly four decades, and the first African-American woman to be an officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps.

Fort Pickett, in Virginia, recommended that the commission name Officer Van Thomas Barfoot – a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in World War II.

They propose renaming Fort Polk, in Louisiana, in memory of Sergeant William Henry Johnson – a United States Army soldier who became part of the first African-American unit in the Army to take part in combat during World War I.

And the committee has proposed renaming Fort Rucker after Michael J. Novosel Jr., a badge of honor who flew the B-29 Superfortress bomber in World War II.