Old Times There Are Best Forgotten

"Camp Bragg was established in 1918 as an artillery training ground."

Fort Bragg in NC, named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. Bragg was a slave owner in LA, and is recognized as one of the WORST generals in the Civil War. His failure at the Battle of Chattanooga at the hands of Ulysses S. Grant ultimately helped hand victory to the North. pic.twitter.com/KGwTD2nYeN

— VoteVets (@votevets) June 9, 2020

In mid-August the camp was occupied and the official opening took place on 18 September 1942. Camp Hood was named for the Confederate General John Bell Hood, who commanded Hood's Texas Brigade during the American Civil War.

Fort Hood in Killeen, TX, named after Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood. Hood commanded the Texas Brigade and was known for his recklessness. His career was marred by his failure to lead larger commands and his defeats in the Atlanta and the Franklin–Nashville Campaigns. pic.twitter.com/bhs89i4vfk

— VoteVets (@votevets) June 9, 2020

Camp Benning was established October 19, 1918, initially providing basic training for World War I units, post-war.

...Benning went on to lead “Benning’s Brigade” to fight in the Battle of Antietam, 2nd Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of Chickamauga, Battle of Wachatchie, and the Battle of the Wilderness. He has the blood of over 150k wounded and dead troops on his hands.

— VoteVets (@votevets) June 9, 2020

All of the camps in question  are located in the South.  All, as these three examples show, were named in the World War I era (Wilson, a notorious racist, was President).  Perhaps that is unkind, but Petraeus notes that was the peak of the "Lost Cause" movement championed by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.  That basic idea of history was still being taught to me in the 1970's in Texas.  Nor did we learn much about the Jim Crow era of World War II (except that it took Truman to integrate the forces).

It probably is time to reconsider the names of these military bases.  As Gen. Petraeus put it:

I never thought much about these men—about the nature of their service during the Civil War … the reasons they were honored, or the timing of the various forts’ dedications. Nor did I think about the message those names sent to the many African Americans serving on these installations—messages that should have been noted by all of us.

He also noted something equally true of my education in Texas:

When I was a cadet at West Point in the early 1970s, enthusiasm for Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson was widespread. We were not encouraged to think deeply about the cause for which they had fought, at least not in our military-history classes.

Maybe it's high time we did think about that.  Their cause was dissolution of the union (treason), and the preservation of slavery.  That it was a "lost cause" is a good thing.