Ft A.P. Hill VA
Ft Benning GA
Ft Bragg NC
Ft Gordon, GA
Ft Hood TX
Ft Lee VA
Ft Polk LA
Ft Rucker AL (Colonel)
Ft Pickett VA
9 CSA Generals except Rucker have Army bases named for them.

Cities named after Army officers who did bad things to the Seminoles.

Want to change a Latino place name? You're eradicating Latino heritage.

But many of those names are of people who did pretty bad things as colonialists and imperialists. A fair amount of "Latino heritage" or at least its superficial trappings in the Southland is one of brutality, assimilation, colonialization and oppression.

Then there are people like Robert E. Lee, who, I recently learned, freed many of his family's slaves and believed slavery was evil, but fought out of a sense of honor (since that was his rank, and demands of honor were such that insults, even if true, be defended, and attacks, even if merited, be resisted). Russian proverb: The devil isn't as black as they paint him. (Speaking of icons.)

You look for perfection, good luck. JFK's name is besmirched; few flying into JFK airport stop and think it's to honor the man who authorized wiretapping MLK's phones, was an adulterer and friends with Joe McCarthy, showed weakness to Khrushchev and thereby led him to believe that in spite of his words when challenged on West Berlin he'd back down, or had possible mob ties. And the LBJ Federal Building? Whoa.

I dispute the whole "we honor somebody by naming X after him." It's a convenient name; the honor is conferred by those doing the naming, but a generation later it's struggle to get people to remember who the thing was named after.

In this case, first we educate people as to how horrible Bragg was, and make them aware of the relevance of that history, in a museum, to their lives. Then we convince them that they're honoring him by having the fort named after him, something that's far from clear to most people. Then they convince them to change the name. All over somebody who most people, to be honest, have forgotten. It's a lot of work to make somebody famous so we can forget they ever existed just because we're offended by a name. I mean, we're really already there as far as forgetting goes.

Most Spanish place-names in the West and Florida are either religious or descriptive. There aren't many places called "De Soto" or "Pizarro" or "Cortez". (There are a few exceptions, but almost invariably it was Anglo settlers in the post-Spanish/Mexican period who named places after conquistadors...like Cortez, Colorado.)

If he resigned in 1856, how was he "then a captain in the U.S. Army" in 1857 when the Fort was established? Picking nits, but that's what history is about some times.

From Wikipedia:

On December 31, 1855, Bragg submitted his resignation from the Army, which became effective on January 3, 1856. He and his wife purchased a sugar plantation of 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Thibodaux. Never one to oppose slavery in concept—both his father and his wife were slaveowners—he used 105 slaves on his property. There is no evidence that he was a cruel slaveowner, but he continued to uphold his reputation as being a stern disciplinarian and an advocate of military efficiency. His methods resulted in almost immediate profitability, despite a large mortgage on the property. He became active in local politics and was elected to the Board of Public Works in 1860. Throughout the 1850s, Bragg had been disturbed by the accelerating sectional crisis. He opposed the concept of secession, believing that in a republic no majority could set aside a written constitution, but this belief would soon be tested.[14]

He resigned his commission; the fort was named after him the following year.

Doesn't matter if it's a small town paper or a big city one, fact checking is history.

that are named for someone we have now decided to despise.

We CAN'T CLEAN UP HISTORY.

We just can't. And we should not even try.

History is just that. Learn from it. Move on.

It's on the coast just north of Mendocino and has several state reserve beach parks in it or near it. Tourist see the name and expect a big military presence or history when it's really just a sleepy little town. Rename it to "Noyo River" for example or "Glass Beach" and it suddenly has more cachet for visitors.

Call me cynical but I'm guessing that's really what's behind Glazer's request. This (D-Orinda) pol is really GOP-light.

Last edited Sat Jul 11, 2015, 03:28 PM - Edit history (1)

How about Columbus, OH? A good case could be made for changing that name, as well. There are so many places named for people in this country that many, many are named for someone we no longer celebrate. Other places are named using other languages than English, and most people have no idea what the names mean. We have tons of placed named in Spanish, Native American languages, along with German, Italian and more.

In fact, if you asked most people how the town they lived in got its name, they would have no idea whatsoever. That's why these name-changing things don't get much traction in the places that have the offending name.

Once we begin, the map would start to look really different in most areas.

Here's a list of Confederate Generals. It's a long one. How many places are named for them? What do you think?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Civil_War_generals_(Confederate)

places with ethnic slurs or other derisive names aimed at nationality or race for have been changed as public sentiment shifted.

A few, to be sure, and good riddance to those place names.

Confederate leaders. It's people who drove the Native Americans from their homes, explorers who enslaved and exploited indigenous peoples, and more. Not all are well known and the history of so many places is tied to those same names. Names like Custer, who has a state park named for him. There are so many names.

My point is that once we start, where do we end? When we start looking back at history and changing place names to match our current thinking about history, we are trying to change history. We can't really change history by changing place names, though.

How many Lee Counties are there, do you suppose?

generals and leaders of the Confederacy because they were intent on dissolving the country.

refight the civil war name by name, statue by statue we are never going to let it die a natural death. We are only going to keep the egotists fighting harder. I do not like that these places are named for confederate soldiers but my guess is that very few people even know this history and most do not care. The names have lost their sting.

It is not for me to say but I saw peace happening in SC - I would like to see it continue and grow.

If we change the name of any town, holiday or county named "Columbus".