Editorial: Turning the page on Confederate namesakes

The renaming of Fort Lee, Fort Pickett and Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, and six other Army bases named for Confederate military leaders, makes a powerful statement that the military recognizes the contributions and valor of a wide range of people who serve.

There had been talk for some time of changing the names of bases, buildings, ships and other assets celebrating Confederate history. Why should our military honor traitors who took up arms against the United States and whose victory would have preserved the right to own fellow humans as slaves?

Virginians have long held some Confederate leaders in high esteem, especially Gen. Robert E. Lee, a colonel in the U.S. Army who became chief general of the Confederacy. The Army base, near Petersburg, was named for him in 1917, a time when Blacks were rigidly discriminated against and white supremacists were idealizing the Confederacy and its leaders.

More recently, Americans have been realizing more of the truths of our history and its legacy. The move to rename the bases came to a head after the police murder of George Floyd in 2020 brought entrenched racism and its far-reaching effects to the center of public discourse.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, made a strong statement to Congress, saying the names caused “divisiveness.” Milley said there is no place in our military for “manifestations or symbols of racism, bias or discrimination.”

The commission established by Congress last year to rename the bases has produced a list that honors true heroes. Among those names are the first honoring women and people of color, reflecting increasing diversity in today’s military.

Fort Lee will be Fort Gregg-Adams, named for Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, Black soldiers and pioneering sustainment professionals — those who provide support functions that keep the Army going. Adams, a teacher, joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps after Pearl Harbor. At age 25, in 1944, she took command of the first unit of African American women to serve overseas. Gender discrimination kept her from being promoted beyond lieutenant colonel.

Arthur Gregg enlisted in 1945 at 17. He excelled in supply logistics in occupied Germany. In 1948, after President Harry Truman ordered desegregation of the military, Gregg graduated from OCSand served as logistics director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and deputy chief of staff for logistics for the Army. He is the namesake and the first recipient of the Army’s award for logistics innovation and excellence.

Fort Pickett, in Blackstone, named for Confederate Gen. George Pickett, will become Fort Barfoot, honoring Tech. Sgt. Van Barfoot, who earned the Medal of Honor for heroic fighting in Northern Italy. Barfoot stayed in the Army 34 years, serving in Korea and Vietnam, and as senior Army advisor to the Virginia National Guard, retiring in Virginia as a colonel.

Fort A.P. Hill, near Bowling Green, named for another Confederate general, will be Fort Walker, honoring Dr. Mary Walker, a Medal of Honor recipient. A 28-year-old surgeon at the start of the Civil War, Walker treated patients as a volunteer after the Army would hire her only as a nurse. She followed the battle action, working in field hospitals. Eventually, she was hired as the Army’s first female surgeon.

The names of five Army landing craft vessels will be changed, including the Chickahominy and Aldie at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton Roads, named for Confederate battle victories. Two Navy ships, the USS Chancellorsville and the USNS Maury, an oceanographic survey ship named for Matthew Fontaine Maury, will be renamed.

Across the military, some 1,100 assets will be renamed, removed or modified. The cost for all that’s involved is expected to reach $65 million.

In the context of the federal budget, that’s small change. The money will be a worthwhile investment in honoring true heroes rather than traitors, and in reflecting the values of the modern military of diverse men and women who have volunteered to serve our country.