Named for Confederate general, a California city will further weigh changing name

A proposal to rename Fort Bragg, California, — named for a Confederate general — will be referred to an ad-hoc committee for consideration, the Los Angeles TImes reports.

The Fort Bragg City Council debated the question of changing the town’s name, taken from Gen. Braxton Bragg, and heard from residents Monday before Mayor Will Lee appointed two council members to report back on the proposal, according to the Associated Press.

“We cannot ignore the hundreds of communications that have come to us in the past few weeks,” Lee said, reported The Mendocino Voice. “The young people …are teaching us old folks so much right now across the country.”

The council also could have placed a name change on the ballot for voters to decide or rename the city for another historical figure named Bragg, such as a Union general by that name, says a memo by city officials.

The memo also said renaming Fort Bragg could cost up to $271,000 to change mailing addresses, promotional materials and other paperwork.

Some speakers at the council meeting supported disassociating Fort Bragg from Braxton Bragg, while others argued the town already had no connection to him outside its name, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“I don’t go home and worship a statue of Braxton Bragg. This is home to me,” said Ryan Bushnell, 34, reported the Associated Press. “It means more than a name to me, and I know it does to a lot of people.”

“My fear is that not supporting a name change will label us racist,” said Councilmember Tess Albin-Smith, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“But I hope we can rise above that, and I would not want to be divided and judged for my comments tonight,” she said, the publication reported. “We should engage in careful dialogue to decide the best action. Let us not be shanghaied into a rash move for being labeled.”

Known for its beaches

Fort Bragg, which has a population of 7,300 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, began before the Civil War as a U.S. Army fort named for the founder’s former commander, Gen. Braxton Bragg, according to a history on Mendocino Fun.

City officials noted Monday that Bragg, who owned 100 slaves, never himself set foot in Fort Bragg, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The fort was eventually evacuated and Bragg later left the Army to fight for the Confederacy in the Civil War, according to the site. The area became a logging town in the 1880s.

Fort Bragg, about 165 miles north of San Francisco, is now known for its beaches, including Glass Beach, littered with sea glass, along with art galleries, Noyo Harbor, a botanical garden and other tourist attractions, Visit Fort Bragg reports.

Bragg went on to serve as the commander of the Army of Tennessee in the war, but was sacked after losing a battle at Chattanooga to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, a History.com biography reports. He died in 1876 after working as a civil engineer in Alabama and Texas.

Sparked by George Floyd’s death

National protests over deaths of Blacks in police custody and racism in America rekindled debate over the city’s name, which has faced previous renaming efforts.

Protests erupted after video emerged of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck as he begged for air during his May 25 arrest on suspicion of fraud.

Floyd, a Black man, later died. Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, and three other officers have been fired and charged in his death.

Protests have spread from Minneapolis across the United States. The vast majority of the protesters have been “peaceful demonstrators calling for change,” law enforcement officials told ABC News.

Symbols of the Confederacy have become a particular target of activists.

Protesters have toppled several Confederate statues, while others have been removed for safekeeping by local officials. NASCAR has banned the Confederate flag and other paraphernalia from events, as have some branches of the military.

The U.S. military is considering changing the names of 10 bases named for Confederate generals, including Fort Bragg in North Carolina, also named for Braxton Bragg, The New York Times reported.

President Donald Trump has opposed the idea, but a U.S. Senate panel has endorsed changing the names.

This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Named for Confederate general, a California city will further weigh changing name."