10 Military Forts named after Confederate Generals/Robert E. Lee

FORT LEE, VIRGINIA

Named for: Gen. Robert E. Lee

Fort Lee, an Army base 25 miles south of Richmond, Virginia, was built during the mobilization for World War I. The Army designated it as Camp Lee on July 15, 1917, naming it in honor of Robert E. Lee, the most famous Confederate general.A Virginia-born West Point graduate, Lee was appointed the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia in 1862, and he led Confederate troops in several battles before surrendering to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in 1865. 

CAMP BEAUREGARD, LOUISIANA

Named for: Brig. Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard

Camp Beauregard serves as the primary annual training site for the Louisiana National Guard. Its first superintendent was William Tecumseh Sherman, who went on to become a famous commander of the Union Army, while most of his students fought for the Confederacy, according to the Louisiana National Guard Museums.

FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA

Named for: Gen. Braxton Bragg

Fort Bragg, known as the home of Airborne and Special Operations forces, is the largest U.S. Army base, with approximately 57,000 military personnel, 11,000 civilian employees and 23,000 family members.It was established Sept. 4, 1918, and named Camp Bragg, in honor of Gen. Braxton Bragg, a native of North Carolina and a West Point graduate who fought in the Mexican-American War and later for the Confederacy, commanding the Army of Tennessee during the Civil War.

FORT POLK, LOUISIANA

Named for: Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk

Fort Polk, an Army base in west-central Louisiana, was established in 1941 during the Louisiana Maneuvers, a series of Army exercises in the run-up to World War II. It was named for Leonidas Polk, a West Point graduate, planter, slave owner and Episcopal bishop who began the Civil War as a major general in the Confederate Army, according to the National Park Service

.

FORT A.P. HILL, VIRGINIA

Named for: Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill

Fort A.P. Hill, spread over nearly 76,000 acres, is an all-purpose, year-round military training site with a 27,000-acre live-fire complex. It was established as an Army training facility June 11, 1941.

Originally, three men were considered for the installation's name: Maj. Gen. James McAndrew, a World War I veteran; Capt. John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate commander; and Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill, a Confederate officer who was chosen in part because he was from Virginia, according to a military brochure on the fort’s history.

FORT PICKETT, VIRGINIA

Named for: Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett

Fort Pickett, spread across approximately 41,000 acres, is operated by the Virginia National Guard. It was formally dedicated as Camp Pickett at 3 p.m. on July 3, 1942, exactly 79 years to the day and hour after Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett, a Virginia-born Confederate officer, helped lead the bloody and ill-fated assault known as Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.

FORT HOOD, TEXAS

Named for: Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood

Sprawling over nearly 215,000 acres, Fort Hood is the only post in the U.S. capable of stationing and training two armored divisions. It was established in 1942, at the beginning of the U.S. involvement in World War II. The base was named for John Bell Hood, a Kentucky-born West Point graduate who resigned his commission in the U.S. military and became a Confederate cavalry captain after the Civil War began in 1861, according to the National Park Service. Hood was promoted to major general in 1862, and he led Confederate troops in numerous battles, including the Battle of Gettysburg. He died Aug. 30, 1879.

FORT RUCKER, ALABAMA

Named for: Col. Edmund W. Rucker

Fort Rucker, which covers about 63,000 acres in southeastern Alabama, serves as the headquarters for U.S. Army Aviation. Established during the early months of World War II, the original name of the post was Ozark Triangular Division Camp. But before the post officially opened on May 1, 1942, the War Department named it Camp Rucker. In October 1955, it was renamed Fort Rucker. The post was named for Col. Edmund W. Rucker, a Confederate officer who became a wealthy industrialist in Birmingham, Alabama, after the war.

FORT GORDON, GEORGIA

Named for: Lt. Gen. John Brown Gordon

Fort Gordon, formerly known as Camp Gordon, is the home of the Army Cyber Center of Excellence, the Army Signal Corps and the Army Cyber Command. It was established in October 1941 and named for Lt. Gen. John Brown Gordon, a Confederate officer who was wounded in several battles during the Civil War and later served as a U.S. senator and governor of Georgia. He was also a businessman and was believed to be head of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia, according to the National Governors Association.

FORT BENNING, GEORGIA

Named for: Gen. Henry Lewis Benning

Fort Benning is home to the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, which includes the U.S. Army Infantry and Armor Schools. It was established as Camp Benning on Oct. 7, 1918, during World War I and was named for Gen. Henry Lewis Benning, a local Confederate officer who had served on the Georgia Supreme Court before the Civil War.Benning fought in several battles, including the Battle of Gettysburg.