DoD Says Renaming Fort Bragg, Other Army Posts Now a Possibility
The Department of Defense has indicated it is now open to potentially renaming military installations – including Fort Bragg – named after Confederate generals, according to multiple reports.
The Army posts in question include Fort Bragg, as well as Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Rucker in Alabama, Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Polk in Louisiana, Camp Beauregard in Louisiana, Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, and Fort Lee in Virginia.
According to the U.S. Army history page, Fort Bragg’s name traces back to 1918:
“In 1918, the Chief of Field Artillery, General William J. Snow, seeking an area having suitable terrain, adequate water, rail facilities and a climate for year-round training, decided that the area now known as Fort Bragg met all of the desired criteria. Consequently, Camp Bragg came into existence on Sept. 4, 1918. Camp Bragg was named for a native North Carolinian Gen. Braxton Bragg for his actions during the Mexican-American war. Prior to its establishment as a military reservation, the area was a desolate region. Huge forests of Longleaf and Loblolly pines covered the sandy area. About 1729 Highland Scots began cultivating the land in the Longstreet Presbyterian Church area in what was to become part of Fort Bragg.”
In 1922, the name was changed from Camp Bragg to Fort Bragg as it became a permanent Army post.
