Trump to Restore Names of Military Bases Honoring Confederate Leaders
On Tuesday, President Trump revealed plans to revert the names of Fort Robert E. Lee and six other military installations that previously honored Confederate figures.
While speaking at Fort Bragg in North Carolina to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the US Army, he stated, “We’re also going to restore the names of Fort Pickett in Virginia, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Rucker in Alabama, Fort Polk in Louisiana, Fort AP Hill in Virginia, and Fort Robert E. Lee, also in Virginia.”
“We’ve won a lot of battles from those forts. It’s not a time to change. And I’m superstitious; you want to keep doing it, right? I’m very superstitious,” Trump continued, emphasizing the significance of these historical names.
Interestingly, Fort Bragg itself had also undergone a name change recently, returning to its original name to honor Roland Bragg, a recipient of the World War II Paratrooper and Silver Star.
In 2023, former President Joe Biden changed the name of the Fort to acknowledge the Confederate forces. Biden initiated this process back in 2021 by signing a bill that formed a committee focusing on how to honor the leaders of the slave state rebellion from 1861 to 1865.
However, it remains uncertain if Trump would need new legal authority to reinstate these names—particularly for Fort Associated Press and Fort Robert E. Lee.
Fort Robert E. Lee, located in Petersburg, Virginia, south of Richmond, serves as a base for the U.S. Army’s Weapons Cruise, Quartermaster Center and School.
Notably, the base naming discussion has broader implications. Trump has argued that deep emotional and community ties to these names suggest they should remain unchanged. He mentioned, “We won two world wars at those forts,” during a rally criticizing Biden’s name alteration efforts last July.
In a related development, Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, also had its name restored, replacing General Henry Benning with new honoree Fred Benning, reflecting the ongoing reassessment of military base names across the country.
