Returning to Virginia, the brigade fought against Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant in the 1864 Overland Campaign, where Benning was severely wounded in the left shoulder during the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5. 410-11. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Fort Moore is the center of the Army's training for. Take the names of traitor generals off Army posts and replace them with these 10 honorable soldiers. Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington state Democrat who is now chair of the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Pentagon, appears to be quietly pushing for changes in the process by which bases are named. Now, some of the Armys most revered retired generals and former top civilian leaders have come out in support of the Pentagons seemingly more open stance. But today, 100 years after some of those bases were built, they retain their Confederate names. He was a bad strategist, an inept tactician whose usual order was to charge straight aheadHe did absolutely nothing to establish a claim to a place in national or even Southern memory "I just find it mystifying," he says, "that two iconic American army installations should have been named in honor of a racist and a screw-up." Harold Holzer calls him "a pretty formidable military commander. Fort Rucker was opened in 1942 and serves as the primary training base for Army aviation. Fort A.P. Historians generally rate Bragg as one of the worst tacticians on either side during the war, and his losses were major contributors to the Confederate States of America's (CSA) defeat. In 2005, his vehicle was destroyed by an improvised explosive device and consumed in flames. In the early days after the war, Beauregard displayed the same antipathy toward freed slaves that most of his fellow Confederate leaders embraced for their entire lives, but he'd had a change of heart by 1873. It is not a supposable case. McHugh, however, told me this issue never came up during his time in charge of the service though it was certainly discussed numerous times in public discourse during his tenure. At the Battle of Antietam, Benning's brigade was a crucial part in the defense of the Confederate right flank, guarding "Burnside's Bridge" across Antietam Creek all morning against repeated Union assaults. He served in the U.S. Army but switched sides at the start of the Civil War. All rights reserved. PDF A Brief History of Fort Benning - Army He died of his injuries weeks later. All of the men honored were long dead and, while a few Civil War veterans might still have been around 50 years after, virtually all of the men who served under them were gone. Gen. John Bell Hood was a Kentucky native and a West Point graduate who switched sides from the U.S. Army at the beginning of the war. Over-the-counter birth control is here. Brig. (Mike Haskey/Ledger-Enquirer via AP). In 1875, Benning had a stroke, termed apoplexy at the time, on his way to court and died in Columbus. Which military bases are named after Confederate Generals? News. Heres why theyre named after traitors. It's named after Brigader General Henry L. Benning who served under Robert E. Lee and fought with the Confederates between 1863 and 1865. And we cant do that if we have a paywall. Heres how to spend less. Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. Fort Pickett in Virginia became Fort Barfoot in March. The ceremony to rededicate the base to Lt. Gen. Harold "Hal" G. Moore Jr. and Julia "Julie" Moore was held at the Doughboy Stadium near Columbus, Georgia. Maj. Gen. George Pickett was a Virginia native who graduated last in his class at West Point. Most of Bennings battles were fought in Virginia, and he was there with his troops in April 1865 when the Confederacy surrendered in Appomattox. Im glad shes been paroled, Opinion: What can make a difference between life and death during a heat wave, Editorial: Ohio lawmakers want to subvert democracy to stop voters from protecting abortion access. In, This page was last edited on 14 May 2023, at 14:06. After returning to Georgia, Benning was elected to the state Supreme Court, where he served for six years. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, who commanded Fort Benning in Georgia, tweeted on Tuesday in support of renaming that base as Fort Omar Bradley. Many werent even particularly effective military leaders. Fort Moore was originally named after Henry Benning, a Confederate general who was a key player in the South's bid to break away from the Union, waging war against the U.S. largely to preserve the . Why are there U.S. military bases named for Confederate officers who took up arms against the United States? We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead. Longstreet's reply humiliated Benning but instilled enough determination in him to return to find his brigade and prevail in the battle.[6]. Bragg, Polk and Hood, for example, were widely deemed failures both during and after the war, says Gary W. Gallagher, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Virginia. Frost tried to obscure the obvious by saying that the installations had been named for individuals, not causes or ideologies. Furthermore, he said, The naming occurred in the spirit of reconciliation, not division.. Gen. Henry Benning, who led troops at Antietam and Gettysburg. The Pentagons official history of racial integration in the armed forces concluded that, with varying degrees of success, such changes actually spread federally sponsored segregation into areas where it had never before existed with the force of law.. As a widower, Henry Benning suffered a stroke and died on July 10, 1875. Legal Statement. He stated that he would rather be stricken with illness and starvation than see African Americans liberated from slavery and be given equality as citizens: What was the reason that induced Georgia to take the step of secession? To reprint or license this article or any content from Military.com, please submit your request, 10 Army Bases Named After Confederate Officers, Bluegrass Pioneer and 'Rocky Top' Singer Bobby Osborne Was Shot in the Head in Korean War, 6 of the Best Military Movies Featuring Alan Arkin, 5 Epic Battles Featured in the New 'Napoleon' Trailer, A World War II Veteran Compares a Lifetime of Dancing to Flying a B-17 Flying Fortress, Confederate Monuments Coming Down Around South amid Protests. So he staged his own murder, Rolling Hills Estates declares emergency, wants answers after devastating landslide, SAG-AFTRA and studios turn to federal mediator as strike threat looms, Guerrero: The Supreme Court is waging war on young people, Opinion: I worked with Leslie Van Houten when she was in prison. Will you support Voxs explanatory journalism? Henry Lewis Benning (April 2, 1814 July 10, 1875) was a general in the Confederate States Army. Some of the changes have already been completed. After acquiring the plantation, Bragg wrote to his wife that the slaves were a fair lot, the children very fine and of a pretty age and just getting to the field., After the outbreak of the Civil War, an Irish journalist wrote that Bragg told him that slaves were necessary for the actual cultivation of the soil in the South; Europeans and Yankees who settled there speedily became convinced of that; and if a Northern population were settled in Louisiana tomorrow, they would discover that they must till the land by the labor of the black race, and that the only mode of making the black race work was to hold them in a condition of involuntary servitude.. Marker Text: Opposite this marker stood the home of Henry Lewis Benning (1814-1875), the Confederate Brigadier General for whom Fort Benning was named. Symbols of oppression need to be removed, and the military would continue to set the great example as it has throughout history by renaming its bases, he continued. It seems that many of the posts were established around the time of World War I about 50 years after Robert E. Lees surrender at Appomattox. In recent days, veterans and others have lobbied for other historical figures, opening the door for women and minorities. But officials have always sought to dismiss such concerns by arguing that the bases are named to honor American soldiers, and that changing the names would upend tradition. We believe thats an important part of building a more equal society. He found that his house had been burned; all of his savings had disappeared; and he had to support, along with his own family, the widow, and children of his wife's brother, who had been killed in the war. Local veteran reacts to renaming of Ft. Benning - WTVM News Leader 9 Time for change.. One is Mary Edwards Walker, a surgeon and prisoner during the Civil War and the only woman who has received the Medal of Honor. Camp Gordon was opened in 1941 and was promoted to Fort Gordon in 1956. General Benning was Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, member of the Georgia convention adopting . Opinion: Let's Rethink The Names Behind Forts Benning And Bragg Please enter a valid email and try again. A movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries known as "The Lost Cause" sought to defend the motivations of the Confederacy, obscure the role of slavery and drape these men in romance and devotion to homeland. But what has long mystified me is how those bases got named in the first place. June 12, 2020, 12:11 PM 1:28 National headlines from ABC News Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. He is buried in Linwood Cemetery. Fort Bragg is named after Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general and West Point graduate who was born in Warrenton, North Carolina. The regiment became part of Robert Toombs's brigade in the right wing of the Army of Northern Virginia, under General Robert E. Gen. Malcolm B. 10 Army Bases Named After Confederate Officers | Military.com Built in 1918, the base is named for Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general. During all my time in the Pentagon, we were in two very bloody theaters of war that consumed most all of the bandwidth, he said. In times of crisis, the Army was going to work with the local people who had power and influence, and they would go along with them on what to name the bases, observed David Cecelski, a North Carolina historian who has written extensively about slavery and civil rights. The base was previously named after Confederate Brigadier Gen. Henry L . Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. A native of Knoxville and graduate of the University of Tennessee, she has worked at the AJC for 22 years. No date has been set. McCarthy believes he can unilaterally change the names but would need input from the White House, lawmakers and state and local officials, CNN reported. Brig. Fort Pickett is a Virginia Army National Guard installation that was first opened in 1941. But there are many different ideas about which names should appear on such a list. Fort Rucker, in Alabama, is named for Edmund Rucker, who served the Confederacy as an officer under Nathan Bedford Forrest. Why the Descendants of Confederate Generals Are Happy to See - POLITICO Henry Benning was from Georgia. The Civil War Benning initially presided over Georgia's secession convention, even helping to draft the state's Ordinance of Secession. Yes, really. Founded in 1918 as Camp Benning, the Georgia base had long been named for Henry L. Benning, a justice on the Georgia Supreme Court who vocally supported secession after Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860. There is no reason to delay this decision another day, he said. Henry's firstborn son, Seaborn Jones Benning, died of consumption on December 12, 1874. Lt. Gen. A.P. He practiced law in Columbus, Georgia, after the war, and the Army honored him when it opened Camp Benning, now Fort Benning, in 1918. Fifteen years later, a young African-American Army officer named Colin Powell marveled at the contrast between the fairness and opportunity he experienced at Fort Benning, Ga., and the racist . We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Gen. Braxton Bragg was, in the words of Iraq War veteran Fred Wellman, a jackass and an asshole. Bragg, whose father owned enslaved people and who would later own enslaved people himself, had such a notoriously bad temper that Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in his memoirs recalled a story of one of Braggs superiors admonishing him: My God, Mr. Bragg, you have quarreled with every officer in the army, and now you are quarreling with yourself!. General Benning - Georgia Historical Society It is named after Henry Benning, a Confederate general, who was . On September 12, 1839, Benning married Mary Howard Jones of Columbus, Georgia. Roy Benavidez, a Latino soldier who rescued eight members of his patrol after their helicopter crashed in Vietnam and came under intense enemy fire. Gen. Henry Benning. The post commander, Maj. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, welcomed attendees for the first time to Fort Moore, named in honor of the late Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julia Moore. Two amendments to the law, one by Sen. Robert Wagner (D-NY) and another by US Rep. Hamilton Fish (R-NY), allowed black Americans and other minorities to volunteer for war or be drafted. In Paris, Metro stops are named for French generals and French military victories, not Russian or British ones. That September, Longstreet's Corps was sent west to assist General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee. Sign up for the The ship hauled cargo and troops throughout the Pacific theater. Good News About Those Military Bases Named After Confederate Officers Fort Benning and Fort Bragg were opened in 1918, as the U.S. army expanded to fight World War I. Harold Holzer, the civil war historian and author at Hunter College, told us that the army essentially gave what we'd now call "naming rights" to states, to help the federal government acquire the land. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, a black soldier and Georgia native whose actions in Iraq quickly became legend. Eager to expand rapidly during the periods around World War I and World War II, the Army placated white Southern community leaders by naming newly constructed bases after Confederates, usually generals with some local connection. Fort Moore - Wikipedia Hill in Virginia, Five features iPhone users can test now in the iOS 17 public beta, Elon Musk talks xAI, AI superintelligence, aliens and more on Twitter. After college, he moved to Columbus, Georgia, which would be his home for the rest of his life. By naming places, not people, the military can better exemplify its values of honor, sacrifice, and community, he wrote in the New York Times last month. The power to name posts falls to the assistant secretary of the army for manpower and reserve affairs. "And the renaming of this installation as Fort Moore is a fitting tribute to their lifelong dedication to the Army and its soldiers and their families. Fort Benning and Fort Gordon to be renamed - The Atlanta Journal By the time the North shall have attained the power, the black race will be in a large majority, and then we will have black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything. Federal bases named for Confederates helped maintain the romantic illusion of the Lost Cause and the notion, popularized by the film Birth of a Nation and the novel Gone with the Wind, that the South had fought to preserve a pastoral way of life rather than to maintain the brutality of slavery. Oops. Pickett led the infamous Picketts Charge at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg straight into opposing guns, helping the Union win that fight and turning the tide of the Civil War. After he was elected to the U.S. Senate, Gordon helped forge an infamous political deal in which white Southern politicians agreed to break a prolonged deadlock over the outcome of the 1876 presidential election by not blocking the Republican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes, from assuming office. William Sturkey, a history professor at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, says the military left much of the decision-making to the local and, of course, entirely white authorities. Market data provided by Factset. Fort Hood was opened in 1942. Its important that we have several ways we make money, just like its important for you to have a diversified retirement portfolio to weather the ups and downs of the stock market. Yet the base names were products of the same reassertion of Southern white supremacy that prompted the erection of many Confederate statues and monuments. Fort Benning, which sits just outside of Columbus, was named after Henry Benning, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia. The name change for the post formerly known as Fort Benning had been in the making for more than a year, since an independent commission recommended in May 2022 renaming nine of its bases commemorating Confederate officers. He passed the bar in 1835 andserved as solicitor-general of Columbus from 1837 to 1839. All rights reserved. There have been no significant protests targeting bases named for Confederates. Amid protests and unrest over the killing of George Floyd, debate has continued over monuments to Confederate officers, as well as buildings and other landmarks named after them. Polk had no previous military experience before the war and was killed in action during the Battle of Atlanta. Related: Confederate Monuments Coming Down Around South amid Protests. Look about you. As we consider the implications of recognizing historical figures by naming military bases after them, maybe it's time we really look at what these men said and did before, during and after the Civil War. On 21 May 1918, the Adjutant General (AG) of the Army appointed COL Henry E. Eames, Infantry, to head a board of ocers to meet at Fort Sill to select a new site for the Infantry School of Arms.. Benning helped recruit men to form the Seventeenth Georgia Infantry and was chosen as colonel in August 1861. Southern towns feverishly lobbied for them and for the economic benefits they would bring. After getting stabbed with a bayonet, he continued to fight and pull troops onto another evacuation helicopter until he could no longer move or speak. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Forts Lee, Pickett and A.P. Why did the U.S. name army bases after Civil War enemies? - Los Angeles Something went wrong. They were deliberately chosen to appease racist people, particularly in the South not to achieve some kind of national reconciliation.. Hill was a Virginia native and West Point graduate who joined the Confederate Army at the start of the war. He later said he had so many injuries and was so bloodied he was mistaken for a dead man and stuffed in a body bag until he spat in a doctors face. Brigadier General Henry L. Benning was acclaimed as "Old Rock" by his men. The Army courted their buy-in because it needed large swaths of land to build sprawling bases in the early 20th century up through World War II. The Army, like every other large institution in America, has been shaped by the Lost Cause mythology, Jason, the retired Army colonel, said. It was a conviction, a deep conviction on the part of Georgia, that a separation from the North was the only thing that could prevent the abolition of her slavery. Is it to be supposed that the white race will stand for that? Explainers Defense & Security Politics The racist history behind the 10 US Army facilities named after Confederate leaders "We are forcing our black soldiers to serve on a base named after. Fort Lee was, of course . The Ft. Bragg military courthouse in 2017. To her fell the work of superintending the weaving and spinning of enough cloth, not only to clothe her own children and servants, but also Confederate soldiers. If things are allowed to go on as they are, it is certain that slavery is to be abolished. For example, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. George Pickett, both Virginians, have bases named after them in the state. Which raises the question: Why has it taken so long for the Army to even consider changing these bases names? Defense officials declined to comment on plans for the installation names after Trumps remarks. Hill and Gordon, dotted across the American South. He missed the Confederate victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville because his brigade was stationed in southern Virginia along with the rest of Lieutenant General James Longstreet's First Corps. Riding an old artillery horse and whipping it with a piece of rope, Benning was "greatly excited and the very picture of despair," as was reported by Longstreet after the war. [4] In a February 1861 speech to the Virginia secession convention, Benning gave his reasoning for the urging of secession from the Union, appealing to ethnic prejudices and pro-slavery sentiments to present his case and saying that were the slave states to remain in the Union their slaves would ultimately end up being freed by the anti-slavery Republican Party. During the 1980s, professors taught him and his peers one of his classmates was current Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville about the Lost Cause: the collection of historical myths meant to whitewash the hard truths of slavery and the Civil War, as historian William R. Black has defined it. Is it to be supposed that the white race will stand for that?". The secretary could simply write a memo and the bases names would change. This reason may be summed up in one single proposition. Questions about the base names have occasionally been raised with the Army. Editorial: Climate change is roasting L.A. History During the world wars, the United States established numerous military bases in former states of the Confederacy that were named after Confederate military figures. Printer ink is a scam. Fort Benning Is Now Fort Moore - Yahoo News And throughout my Army career, I likewise encountered enthusiastic adherents of various Confederate commanders, and a special veneration for Lee.. Bases that continue to bear the names of Confederate soldiers and officers persons who wrongly fought to protect the institution of slavery and would have denied black Americans from serving in the military are a reminder of that systemic oppression we continue to confront and damages the culture of inclusivity needed to accomplish the mission, Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), a retired Army colonel and vice-chair of the House Armed Services Committee, told me. And in an era of protests against Confederate statues and monuments in cities and towns across the South, the U.S. Army has faced almost no resistance to its steadfast determination to keep those names in place. These monuments are deeply offensive to the hundreds of thousands of Brooklyn residents and members of the armed forces stationed at Fort Hamilton whose ancestors Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson fought to hold in slavery, Clarke said in a statement at the time.
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