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Army Restores Confederate Names to Seven Bases, Citing Past Victories
In a controversial move, the US Army announced Tuesday it will reinstate the names of seven military bases that formerly honored Confederate leaders. This reverses changes made during the Biden administration.
Speaking at Fort Bragg (which was briefly renamed Fort Liberty before reverting back earlier this year), President Trump declared, “We are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill, and Fort Robert E.
Lee. We won a lot of battles out of those forts.
It’s no time to change.”
The Army stated the bases will be newly dedicated to “heroic Soldiers who served in conflicts ranging from the Civil War to the Battle of Mogadishu.” However, this move requires congressional approval to officially replace the current honorees with the original Confederate namesakes.
This decision follows other recent reversals of military name changes by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and former Fox News host, recently reinstated the original names of Fort Bragg and Fort Benning. He also ordered the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk, an oiler ship honoring the slain gay rights activist and Navy veteran.
Renaming military bases bearing Confederate names became a heated political debate during the latter part of Trump’s first term. While Trump initially vetoed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which established a commission to recommend new names for these bases, Congress overrode his veto with strong bipartisan support. The Department of Defense began implementing the commission’s recommendations in 2023.
The Army provided details on the individuals whose names will now grace the seven bases:
- Fort Pickett (Virginia): Honoring 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett, recognized for his heroism with the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II.
- Fort Hood (Texas): Honoring Distinguished Service Cross recipient Col. Robert B. Hood, who served in World War I.
- Fort Gordon (Georgia): Honoring Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon, for his bravery during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
- Fort Lee (Virginia): Honoring Pvt. Fitz Lee, a Medal of Honor recipient for his service in the Spanish-American War.
- Fort Polk (Louisiana): Honoring Gen. James H. Polk, a Silver Star recipient for his leadership during World War II.
- Fort Rucker (Alabama): Honoring Capt. Edward W. Rucker, a Distinguished Service Cross recipient and aviator in World War I.
- Fort A.P. Hill (Virginia): Honoring Lt.
Col. Edward Hill, 1st Sgt.
Robert A. Pinn, and Pvt.
Bruce Anderson, who fought for the Union during the Civil War.