With all the attention currently being paid the the US Army bases named after Confederate soldiers, I was curious about US bases named after Union soldiers. First, I discovered that in this instance, Google is not your friend. You can easily get the list of ten Confederate bases that have been in the news lately, but not much luck with Union Army named bases.
First, here are the Confederate bases:
Camp Beauregard near Pineville, Louisiana, named for Louisiana native and Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard,
Fort Benning, near Columbus, Georgia, named after Henry L. Benning, a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army,
Fort Bragg in North Carolina, named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg,
Fort Gordon near Grovetown, Georgia, named in honor of John Brown Gordon, who was a major general in the Confederate army,
Fort A.P. Hill near Bowling Green, Virginia, named for Confederate Lieutenant General A. P. Hill,
Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, who commanded the Texas Brigade,
Fort Lee in Prince George County, Virginia, named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee,
Fort Pickett near Blackstone, Virginia, named for Confederate General George Pickett,
Fort Polk near Leesville, Louisiana, named for the Right Reverend Leonidas Polk, an Episcopal Bishop and Confederate General, and
Fort Rucker in Dale County, Alabama, named for Edmund Rucker, a colonel appointed acting brigadier general in November 1864, but whose promotion went unconfirmed by the Confederate Congress (disbanded March 18, 1865).
I was able to come up with some bases named after Union Officers, but I am not guaranteeing that it is all-encompassing:
Fort Shafter in Hawaii, named after 1st lieutenant William Shafter who fought for the Union Army and was given the Medal of Honor for bravery,
Fort Logan National Cemetary, named after General John A Logan,
Camp Dodge,(in Iowa) named after General Grenville Dodge,
Fort Devins, (in Masssachusetts) named after Charles Devins, and
Fort Meade (in South Dakota) named after General George Meade (fought Lee at Gettysburg).
The obvious question is: why were so many bases were named for Confederate Soldiers? As the US Army grew in response to larger wars in the late 19th and 20th centuries, land was needed for bases to house troops and training facilities. Land was cheap in the south. So to appease the southern white population, the Army named the bases after Confederates that were popular in those states. Fort Bragg in North Carolina (founded in 1918) was named after Braxton Bragg, a terrible general and slave owner, who lost the 1863 battle of Chattanooga, and was forced to resign for his incompetence. Fort Bragg is the largest military installation in the world.
Currently, about 18% of the Army identifies as African-American. Many pass thru or are stationed at these bases that are named for individuals who fought to keep them enslaved.
So how do we change these names? Actually, Trump doesn't really have a say in this, although he could probably bring a lot of heat politically. Army regulations specify that the Army itself can name installations:
The current AR 1-33 became effective on 30 June 2006, and redefined and expanded the categories of individuals to be memorialized, and listed appropriate memorialization programs for each category. The naming of installations is now the responsibility of the Assistant Secretary of Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs). His name is Todd A. Weiler.
Maybe he would like to hear the opinion of the American people about this.