North Coast's Fort Bragg, Named After Confederate General, Mulls Name Change
FORT BRAGG (CBS SF) -- Leaders in the Mendocino County coastal town of Fort Bragg, which is named after a Confederate general, announced plans to consider a name change.
According to a post on the town's Facebook page, Mayor Will Lee said the council would discuss at its June 22 meeting placing a measure before voters in response to "many requests (some local and many not) that the City of Fort Bragg, California change its name to avoid any connotation associated with Confederate Army General Braxton Bragg."
Responding to many requests (some local and many not) that the City of Fort Bragg, California change its name to avoid...
Posted by City of Fort Bragg California on Friday, June 12, 2020
If approved, the measure would be on the upcoming November ballot.
Bragg, whose name is also attached to one of the nation's largest military installations in North Carolina, fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and was a slaveholder.
The North Coast community was founded by Lt. Horatio Gates Gibson, who decided to name it after Bragg, his commanding officer in the Mexican-American war, KPIX 5 reported in 2017. Bragg never set foot in the town.
The plan to change the town's name comes amid renewed calls to rename military bases and remove statues honoring those who fought for the Confederacy as the nation wrestles with questions about race following the death of George Floyd and ongoing, nationwide protests against police brutality.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has said his administration would "not even consider" renaming any of the 10 Army bases named after Confederate officers.
Calls to change the Fort Bragg's name are not new. In 2015, members of the California Legislative Black Caucus sent a letter urging the town to change its name but town officials declined.
"We are hopeful that you will engage your community in a serious reexamination of the historical implications of your city's name and come to the conclusion that now is the time to end your ties to such a disgraced and treasonous figure in our nation's history," the letter said.