Bragg was a remarkably intelligent and well-informed man, professionally and otherwise. He was also thoroughly upright. But he was possessed of an irascible temper, and was naturally disputatious. A man of the highest moral character and the most correct habits, yet in the old army he was in frequent trouble. As a subordinate he was always on the lookout to catch his commanding officer infringing his prerogatives; as a post commander he was equally vigilant to detect the slightest neglect, even of the most trivial order.
I have heard in the old army an anecdote very characteristic of Bragg. On one occasion, when stationed at a post of several companies commanded by a field officer, he was himself commanding one of the companies and at the same time acting as post quartermaster and commissary. He was first lieutenant at the time, but his captain was detached on other duty. As commander of the company he made a requisition upon the quartermaster—himself—for something he wanted. As quartermaster he declined to fill the requisition, and endorsed on the back of it his reasons for so doing. As company commander he responded to this, urging that his requisition called for nothing but what he was entitled to, and that it was the duty of the quartermaster to fill it. As quartermaster he still persisted that he was right. In this condition of affairs Bragg referred the whole matter to the commanding officer of the post. The latter, when he saw the nature of the matter referred, exclaimed: “My God, Mr. Bragg, you have quarrelled with every officer in the army, and now you are quarrelling with yourself!”
Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs
When Fort Bragg got its name in 1918, Civil War veterans had attained elderly status, as a 20 year old buck private in 1865 would have been 73 in 1918. Naming a fort after the unsuccessful and unpopular Braxton Bragg would likely not have happened when Civil War vets were in their prime. However it did happen, and for over a century millions of American troops trained and prepared for war there. Changing its name due to the George Floyd hysteria was an insult to the men who served there and to History. Current law prevents naming a Fort after a person who served in the Confederate military and hence the necessary subterfuge. Roland Bragg was a paratrooper who earned a Silver Star during the Battle of the Bulge by stealing a German ambulance to save another GI’s life. Rough justice done.
I’m sorry, but no, rough justice most truthfully was not done.
I get it about Bragg being a poor general and being unpopular. Perhaps Civil War vets would not have approved, Northern vets in particular. Yet forts weren’t and aren’t named for vet approval, then or now. They were named for political purposes. Likewise, these forts were renamed a few years ago for.. political purposes.
Those who renamed forts cared mostly about demonstrating to all, white men in particular, about minorities and women being “in power” now.
I MIGHT have understood had they simply torn down a few statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest, most known for the Klan after the war. Yet they didn’t. Though Lee opposed both slavery and secession; his statue still came down. He committed the crime of fighting for his homeland, an evil empire as the iconoclasts saw it. Thus his memory needed to be destroyed.
Thus the University of Notre Dame also covered some images of Christopher Columbus too. He was “evil”, don’t you know.
They declared themselves to be “curing” hatred, ..and inflicted their own.
If we wished to see justice served, we would rename these forts to their Confederate general names. We don’t solve any problem by erasing history.
[…] Analysis, Punditry, and News:Fort Bragg Once Again – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American CatholicShould Church Officials Be Teaching […]
We cannot go back to a Bragg, even if it is a WW II hero. Though, I like his story.
Why not enshrine Gen James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin, youngest General in WW II when made brigadier and given command of the 82nd. Perfect for the home of the 82nd and a Ranger BN.
The purpose of the naming originally was to promote reunification of North and South though it took over a century to complete in the minds of many. In Europe, Italy, Spain and France in particular, location names and monuments of some pretty disreputable people remain in recognition of their historical importance. The Arch of Titus and Hadrian’s wall come to mind. It is delusional for those who go around changing names in the manner that Eqyptians chiseled names of unpopular Pharaohs from temple walls of thinking they are changing history.
Bragg got named because Braxton Bragg was from North Carolina, by someone who obviously knew nothing about what an unpopular figure he was among most Confederates. Ironically Bragg spent little time in North Carolina as an adult, except when he was getting his tail whipped at the end of the War, being heavily criticized for his poor performance after the fall of Fort Fisher, losing the final major port in Confederate control.
Fort Trump has a nice ring to it 🙂
“Why not enshrine Gen James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin, …”
I’m sure we can find numerous examples of virtuous people whose personal examples exemplify outstanding values. After all, who could argue with Fort Hal and Julia Moore, of Vietnam era fame? We all know them from We Were Soldiers. Trouble is, these changes mostly happened to redefine the Civil War as anti-slave North vs pro-slave South. Reality wasn’t that simple.
Besides, if we rename forts for these causes now, why not Air Force bases or Marine Corps camps? Most of those were named for “evil’ white men too. Why not re-brand Edwards AFB for an African-American from Desert Storm or Camp Lejeune for a Hispanic from Operation Iraqi Freedom?
Doing so would also degrade the value of giving a particular name to any place. We could as easily label every installation as Fort A, Base 1, Station Z, or Camp 100. *snorts* Well, …I guess Area 51 IS famous now….
We should not be so fussed about “sanitizing” our past to fit “modern” sensibilities that we obliterate both the good and the bad of our history.