A congressionally mandated commission formed to identify and recommend changes to bases, ships and more named for Confederates dropped the second piece of its three-part report on Monday.
In it, the Naming Commission calls for renaming, relocation or removal of a handful of buildings, monuments and roads at the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy.
“The Commissioners do not make these recommendations with any intention of ‘erasing history,’ " the report reads. “The facts of the past remain and the Commissioners are confident the history of the Civil War will continue to be taught at all Service academies with all the quality and complex detail our national past deserves.”
At West Point, the commission recommends that the installation:
- Rename Beauregard Place, Lee Barracks, Lee Housing Area, Lee Area Child Development Center, Lee Road, Lee Gate and Hardee Place.
- Relocate or remove a portrait of Robert E. Lee in Confederate uniform hanging in Jefferson Hall and Reconciliation Plaza, a memorial honoring Confederate troops.
- Modify a triptych painting in Bartlett Hall honoring Confederate troops.
- Remove a Robert E. Lee quote on “Honor Plaza,” a monument engraved with the West Point honor code.
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The commission estimates these changes would cost $424,000.
“Cadets of the present who devote their lives to national service should do so in an environment and setting that honors the greatest examples, traditions, and leaders of our past,” according to the report.
At the Naval Academy, the commission recommends renaming: Buchanan House, the superintendent’s residence; Buchanan Road; and Maury Hall, the engineering building, at a cost of $27,000.
The commission’s first report went to Congress earlier this month. It suggested renaming nine Army posts with Confederate namesakes.
A third part of the report is due to Congress by the end of September. It’s expected to include recommendations for two Navy ships, the cruiser Chancellorsville ― named for a Confederate battle victory ― and the oceanographic survey ship Maury.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
