And it could have been, that some of those Generals were great military strategists in their own right. Besides that, they were Americans.
Some were, which is very true. Some weren’t, however. I’d have to look it up, but IIRC, Braxton Bragg was not especially a great general.
then again, when it opened, Ft. Bragg was little more than a crappy post in some of the crappiest land in North Carolina. When it opened, no one expected it would be as massive as it is today.
But I am sure you are right in that many were named after people for who showed
Military genius as well. And also IIRC, there are some named after revolutionary and Mexican War generals... whose sons were Confederate Officers with the same name. Is (the long gone) Fort Lee named after Robert E. Lee, or his father “Lighthorse” Harry Lee, one of Washington’s best generals.
Like I said, there is a thesis or a book in there. The etymology of Fort names.
BTW, if Benedict Arnold had not been driven to turn traitor, West Point would be Fort Arnold.
Sirhr
PS. The comparison with the Nazis is an interesting one... and If you do some research there are things named after germans who fought for the Nazis. No, not Himmler. But remember that in the 1950’snand ‘60’s when we needed Germany to stand in NATO against the Soviet’s, there was a big whitewash of a lot of the past to encourage Americans, not long out of a war, to allow Germany to re-create a powerful standing army. Speer became acceptable as the Nazi who apologized. Rommel became a good guy because he was Implicated in Valkyrie when he had NOTHING to do with it except not reporting his suspicions. And if you look around our own NASA, the place is littered with buildings and facilities with German names... people who rained V1 and V2 rockets on London and Antwerp. And put us on the moon. So a blanket statement that it would be like naming things after Nazis is a bridge too far and while relevant is a bit of an over-reach.
Further, in America We have stuff named after people who committed genocide against Native Americans. Were Adulterers and scoundrels. University of Vermont has a building named after a guy who helped start the Eugenics movement and was a leading beacon of thought for mass extermination. How many robber barons bought their way into having universities after them? How many urban streets have been named after Puerto Rican Nationalists who were serial Bombers?
It’s called history and the act of erasing it for political correctness is precisely what George Orwell warned us about. One should learn from history, not bury it, or like the NYT useful idiot, twist it to score publicity points for the failed NYT on Memorial Day. It’s obvious that this hit piece was nothing more than a cry for attention from a failing old institution screaming to say relevant. Sort of like an aging and irrelevant Sean Penn screaming “look at me” during every crisis in order to feed his own ego.
Of course there is the other side... which is that it is right out of the Marxist and racist playbook to tear down all institutions and replace them with the state or the father figure... and the Army remains a beloved institution. The left is hell bent on destroying the Boy Scouts, the Police, most civic organizations, history and civics classes, sports (how is baseball season this year?) and half the time they point the finger at it and say “it’s NAZIs” when the reality is that the tactics of National Socialism and Communism are identical... except in nomenclature.
Sorry for spelling and grammar errors, I have not had coffee yet and hate typing on stupid phones.
PPS. I checked and Braxton Bragg has been considered by historians to be one of the worst generals of the Civil War but was a hero in the Seminole wars and the Mexican War. So his status may have had nothing to do with a inauspicious career in Tennessee during the Civil War, but for great valor earlier in his career. And, yes, he was a slave owner. As were many of the Southern officer class/ gentry. Came with the territory.