To the editor:
The recent renaming of the U.S. military base in North Carolina to henceforth be formally known as Fort Liberty, which had been previously known as Fort Bragg in honor of the controversial Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, which was so named upon its opening during World War I, more than 100 years ago, was quite appropriate.
This was done as a result of an act of Congress to rename such facilities in order to more appropriately honor our great nation, as opposed to lionizing those who elected to depart from the Union in order to wage war against what actually had previously also been their nation in the American Civil War, which raged from 1861-1865, as 11 states had seceded from the Union in order to form their own nation, the Confederate States of America, during which 140,414 fought gallantly and perished in order to preserve our great country.
Regarding Bragg, not only did he lead others in waging war against the United States, but, by virtually all historical assessments, he was a failed general who was relieved of his command on Nov. 28, 1863, following his monumental defeat at the Battle of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, as a result of which U.S. commander Gen. Ulysses S. Grant stated: "An army was never whipped as badly as Bragg's was."
In addition, Bragg was well known as a brutal slave owner, but in spite of all of the aforementioned, former President Donald J. Trump, as well as 2023 Republican vice presidential candidates former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have vowed to reinstate the names of Confederate generals, including Bragg, to the aforementioned bases, as previously been the case.
It appears quite obvious that, unfortunately, many such Republicans feel somewhat of a kinship to the Confederates, as they continue to refuse to condemn the unlawful and violent actions of the insurrectionists at the U.S. Capital on Jan. 6, 2012, as, conversely, many of whom carried with them Confederate flags and used them as weapons against those who bravely fought to defend our nation's most hallowed grounds, and upheld the laws and sanctity of our great nation.
In the case regarding Bragg, however, it strongly appears that honoring him in such a way was an affront to our great nation, but also to the Confederate States of America, of which he elected to serve, as his record in his service to the Confederacy was certainly less than stellar as well.
Richard Hord
Martins Ferry