Army officials are considering changing the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, according to an NBC News report.
NBC News said this is according to two people familiar with the matter.
Other WRAL Top Stories
President Donald Trump said he would change the name back, while campaigning in Fayetteville in fall of 2024. The location was renamed in June 2023 after having been named Fort Bragg since 1922.
"I walked in, the first question that I asked - 'should we change the name from Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg," Trump said on Oct. 4.
“So here's what we do: We get elected, I’m doing it,” he told the crowd at Crown Arena.
Fort Bragg was a reference to confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg from Warrenton. The name change came as part of an initiative by the Department of Defense to rename nine military installations bearing the names of confederate soldiers.
The Army referred questions to the office of the secretary of defense. A spokesperson for the office did not respond to a request for comment.
According to a commission report, the changes in 2023 cost about $6.37 million.
Gen. Braxton Bragg: "The most hated man of the Confederacy"
In 1918 when Camp Bragg was established, it was named for Gen. Bragg in honor of his actions during the Mexican-American war. Although he served in the Confederate army, many historians agree that his poor tactics contributed to many losses during the Civil War.
Gen. Bragg is credited by historians with having won one of the most significant Confederate victories at the Battle of Chickamauga--but despite his advantage, he"declined to capitalize on his victory and instead allowed the Union Army to retreat to Chattanooga," according to a historical summary of his military service.
Earl Hess, the author of Braxton Bragg: Most Hated Man of the Confederacy, explores the history of Gen. Bragg as "having a reputation for incompetence, for wantonly shooting his own soldiers and for losing battles."
"Between the Mexican War and the Civil War, Braxton Bragg lived the life of a genteel planter on a sugar cane plantation in Louisiana where slaves put in back-breaking labor in unspeakable conditions to bring molasses to market and earn Bragg a profit. He met any Northern criticism of slavery with harsh criticism," wrote Michael Newcity in an article on Duke Today.
Given Gen. Bragg's historic reputation, it may seem strange they would honor him by naming a military base after him. However, it's worth noting that Gen. Bragg was a born-and-raised North Carolinian, and many of these bases preferred to honor local soldiers who served their state.
Another point of interest: Before serving in the Confederate army, he served the United States army, winning decisive victories for the US during the Mexican-American war. His contributions to the United States during wartime are the reason Fort Bragg chose him as their namesake.