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List of U.S. Army installations named for Confederate soldiers facts for kids

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Numerous military installations in the United States are or were named after general officers in the Confederate States Army (CSA). These are all U.S. Army or Army National Guard posts, typically named following World War I and during the 1940s. In 2021, the United States Congress created The Naming Commission, a United States government commission, in order to rename federally-owned military assets that have names associated with the CSA. On 5 January 2023 William A. LaPlante, US USD (A&S) directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide.

Although the individual states are not required to rename their state-owned National Guard facilities, Louisiana has chosen to do so. There are currently no plans to rename state-owned facilities outside of Louisiana, with governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia electing to leave the names of Confederate figures in place.

History

Main article: The Naming Commission

During the world wars, the United States established numerous military bases in former states of the Confederacy that were named after Confederate military figures. Calls to rename the bases occurred sporadically during the 2010s.

In 2015, the Pentagon declared it would not rename any military installations named after Confederate generals, saying "the naming occurred in the spirit of reconciliation, not division", and declined to make further comment when the issue was raised in 2017. Following the June 2020 nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, the federal government began rethinking its traditional connection to Confederate Army symbols, including base names. President Donald Trump strongly opposed renaming the bases. Partially due to provisions allowing Confederate-named bases to be renamed, Trump vetoed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), however, the veto was overridden by a bipartisan vote of Congress.

In 2021, per a provision in the NDAA, Congress created The Naming Commission in order to rename military assets with names associated with the Confederacy. The United States Secretary of Defense was required to implement a plan developed by the commission and to "remove all names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America from all assets of the Department of Defense" within three years of the commission's creation.

Active installations

There are nine major U.S. military bases that were formerly named in honor of Confederate military leaders, all in former Confederate States. All were renamed in 2023:

Former federal installations that were given to the states

The following installations were transferred over to their respective state's National Guard units and are not considered to be assets of the Federal government nor part of The Naming Commission's mandate:

  • Camp Beauregard, near Pineville, Louisiana, a Louisiana National Guard installation named for Louisiana native and Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. In September 2022, the State of Louisiana started the process of renaming this facility. The installation was redesignated Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville on 18 October 2023.
  • Camp Maxey, near Paris, Texas, a Texas National Guard installation named after Confederate Brigadier General Samuel B. Maxey. As of 2023, the State of Texas has no plans to rename this facility.
  • Camp Pendleton, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a Virginia National Guard installation named after Confederate Brigadier General William N. Pendleton. In January 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam "directed his administration to review and recommend a replacement name for Camp Pendleton". Northam left office in January 2022 before any change could be implemented. By March 2023, the Virginia National Guard added this statement to the installation's official website: "The Virginia National Guard no longer uses the Camp Pendleton designation and now refers to it only by the original name of the State Military Reservation".

Deactivated installations

Other deactivated mid-20th century installations named for Confederate Generals were:

  • Camp Breckinridge, in Kentucky, named for John C. Breckinridge. The former camp has been occupied by the Clements Job Corps Center since 1980.
  • Camp Forrest, a large WWII-era training base near Tullahoma, Tennessee named for Nathan Bedford Forrest, now the site of Arnold Air Force Base
  • Camp Van Dorn, another massive WWII-era training facility near Centreville, Mississippi named for CSA Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn. Except for areas still possessing environmental hazards caused by hazardous munitions, most of the area has been transferred to private ownership.
  • Camp Wheeler, in Georgia, named for Joseph Wheeler. The former camp is now occupied by a municipal airport and an industrial park.

See also

  • Fort Belvoir, in Fairfax County, Virginia, which was renamed from honoring a Union general to one honoring a slave plantation in 1935 and has also attracted support for potential renaming
  • List of name changes due to the George Floyd protests
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