WASHINGTON — In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, there have been several new efforts to get rid of public monuments honoring the Confederate side of the Civil War. Some statues have been taken down, and both the Marine Corps and the Navy banned the Confederate flags on their installations.
Now, there's a new push in Congress to rename 10 Army bases named after Confederate generals.
It is undeniable that they were on the losing side. Some were slave-holders and at least one was linked to the Ku Klux Klan.
Of the 10 posts named after Confederate officers from the Civil War, three are here in Virginia, which was, of course, the Capitol of the Confederacy.
They are:
- Fort Pickett in Blackstone, named after General George Pickett
- Fort A.P. Hill in Bowling Green, named after Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell "A.P. " Hill, Jr.
- Fort Lee, in Prince George, named after the most famous Confederate General off all, Robert E. Lee.
But those names could be changing.
House Resolution 7164, "The Honoring Real Patriots Act, " would require any U.S. military base named after any individual who took up arms against the United States during the American Civil War to be changed by the Secretary of Defense within one year of enaction of the bill.
The measure is sponsored by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-New York) and Virginia Second District Rep. Elaine Luria has signed onto the bill.
In a statement, she said: "The U.S. military should have no role in uplifting the Confederacy or amplifying the tradition of bigotry represented by these names. We should be honoring the brave men and women who fought for the United States and our values, not against them."
President Donald J. Trump, though, has opposed any changes. He tweeted: "My administration will not even consider the renaming of these magnificent and fabled military installations."
Of course, whether he is still commander in chief beyond next January 20 and has a say-so in the naming of bases will be decided by voters in November.