Two recommendations were made by the congressional panel looking into Pentagon property that pays homage to the Confederacy.
These recommendations involve renaming buildings and removing statues commemorating Robert E. Lee and other Confederate leaders from West Point, as well as the U.S. Naval Academy.
They Are Coming After the Names
The Naming Commission recommended alternative words in May for Army locations extending from Houston to Virginia that commemorate Confederate commanders. In its first letter to Congress, the Naming Committee concentrated on the two military schools.
The U.S. Military College in West Point, Next York, will see the most significant change in the new round, as several buildings and other structures will bear Lee’s namesake. Lee was the academy’s commander before taking command of the Confederate Army during the conflict.
This contains Lee Barracks, wherein students are housed, a daycare facility, a road, a gate, and a picture of Lee donning a Confederate costume that sits in Jefferson Hall.
According to a June story from Politico, the renowned image would be picked out by the bipartisan group for removal.
A congressional commission is recommending renaming facilities and removing depictions dedicated to Robert E. Lee and other Confederacy leaders at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy.https://t.co/Wv1vtvLy3M
— POLITICO (@politico) August 29, 2022
The latest report, which was made public on Monday, adds, “The directors do not offer these suggestions with the purpose of erasing history.”
“The commissioners are optimistic that the subject of the Civil War will remain to be studied at all military schools with the depth and complicated detail our country’s past deserves, since the realities of the past still stand.”
The statement continues, “Instead, they offer these suggestions to affirm West Point’s historical heritage of teaching future generations of American military commanders to embody the finest of our national principles.”
P.G.T. Beauregard, who oversaw the assault on Fort Sumter that officially declared the start of the Civil War, and William Hardee, a further previous chancellor who fought for the Confederacy, are two more Confederate generals whose names will no longer be recognized on campus.
The List of Changes
The commission recommends changing the name ‘Buchanan House,’ the administrator’s quarters at the Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, in homage to Adm. Frank Buchanan. Buchanan was the commander of the Confederate Fleet.
The commission is also on board with changing the name of a technology building for Cmdr. Matthew Maury, an astrophysicist and Confederate military officer.
Erasing history doesn’t make us battle ready, we also learn nothing of the incredible progress we’ve made as a nation. I lived in Robert E. Lee Barracks and the experience taught me that I’m not defined by a name on a building. Wokeness has NO place in our military. pic.twitter.com/Cnx6wl9HnP
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) August 30, 2022
However, the panel said since the goal of these galleries is to collect, conserve, show, and explain historically significant objects related to that base, purpose, or another emphasis, they do not come under its purview.
Additionally, it does not demand any monuments honoring the Confederate dead be taken down.
The report states no burial monuments at the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, or any other base within the Commission’s purview will be taken down.
Regarding the company’s assets at other DoD facilities that were not included in the previous two reports, a full report to Congress is needed by October 1. The modifications must be approved by lawmakers and the head of the Pentagon before they take effect.
