Renaming Army bases that honor Confederates would cost $21M

NORFOLK, Va. — Renaming nine U.S. Army posts that honor Confederate officers would cost a total of $21 million if the installations rebrand everything from welcome marquees and street signs to water towers and hospital doors, according to an independent commission. The commission wrote that Fort Benning in Georgia was named after a “lawyer, ardent secessionist, bitter opponent of abolition and senior officer in the Confederate Army.” The report stated that Henry L. Benning “is on record as saying that he would rather be stricken with illness and starvation than see slaves liberated and given equality as citizens.” The commission recommends renaming the base after a married couple: Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, who served in Vietnam and received the Distinguished Service Cross, and his wife Julia, who prompted the creation of teams that do in-person notifications of military casualties. Fort Bragg, which is home to the 82nd Airborne Division, was named after a “slave-owning plantation owner and senior Confederate Army officer,” the report said. Renaming the base to Fort Liberty would cost about $6.3 million, the report said.