Congressional committee urges recall of Confederate names at West Point – ARTnews.com

A massive portrait of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is among the memorials and markers that can be removed from the display at the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York, on the recommendation of a congressional committee tasked with evaluating the display of Union assets at U.S. military bases.

The Naming Committee was set up last year to issue recommendations for items or names across the Department of Defense to “commemorate the Confederate States of America or anyone who voluntarily served with the Confederate States of America,” including bases, statues, and streets. Last month, the eight-committee presented 103 page report in which he proposed renaming nine Army bases in honor of Confederate Army officers.

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In her last report, Released on August 29, the commission addressed assets ranging from paintings to plaques and engravings at the USMA and the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland. It is recommended that many items be renamed, while others should be changed or removed. The name call to alumni is the only asset the committee has advised to leave unchanged.

The report states, “Commissioners make these recommendations with no intention of ‘erasing history.’” The facts of the past remain and the Commissioners are confident that Civil War history will continue to be taught in all service academies with all the quality and intricate detail that our national past deserves. Instead, they make these recommendations to confirm West Point’s long tradition of educating future generations of American military leaders to best represent our patriotic ideals.”

At the USNA, the committee proposed renaming Buchanan House, Buchanan Road, and Maury Hall. The two former sites commemorate Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan, whose “efforts killed hundreds of US Navy sailors,” according to the report. Morey Hall honors Matthew Fontaine Morey, a prominent oceanographer and climate scientist who “viewed African Americans as unworthy of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness,” the report says. Morey envisioned a chain of vast American lands in Central and South America, where enslaved humans would produce commodity crops such as cotton, rubber, and sugar.

Robert E. Lee, who graduated from West Point and later served as its supervisor, is widely immortalized at the academy. The commission called for the removal of references to and citations to Union Square, and the renaming of West Point sites including Lee Barracks, Lee Road and Lee Gate. They also advised renaming Beauregard Place, which honors General BGT Beauregard, who is described in the report as “a fervent supporter of enslavement, separatism and rebellion.”

The committee also notes that memorialization of Confederate figures and events in institutions began in the early 20th century and continued over the following decades as historical reviewers attempted to downplay the role of slavery in the American Civil War. Federation figures began to appear with greater frequency in public places in the forms of statues and street signs, among other signs. The team notes that schools have begun accepting such images “due to external pressures”.

Work at the Academy mentioned in the report is a towering 1965 bronze memorial to graduates who served in World War II or the Korean War. Created by sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser for the exterior of the Bartlett Hall Science Center, the trio features about 150 historical figures including plaques honoring several Confederate officers including Lee, Stuart, and Stonewall Jackson, which the commission recommended modifying or removing. The trio also features a hooded small member of the Ku Klux Klan.

West Point published a guide to Fraser’s artwork, describing the Ku Klux Klan as “an organization of white people who hide their criminal activity behind a mask and sheet.”

In a statement to The Washington Post, Military Academy officials described the Ku Klux Klan member as a “small section” of a larger panel titled “One Nation, Under God, Indivisible.” Fraser, who died in 1966, wanted “to create art that depicts ‘historical events or people’ that symbolize the major events of the time, thus documenting both tragedy and triumph in our nation’s history.”

“Among many other symbols, the triptych also includes individuals who played an instrumental role in shaping key events at the time, and symbols such as the ‘Tree of Life’ depicting how our nation prospered despite its tragedies,” the statement added.

The report’s authors note that they do not have the authority to recommend Klansman’s removal from the triptych because it is not technically a Confederate monument, but asserts that “there are clear links in the KKK to the Confederacy.” Instead, committee members “encouraged” the defense minister to address “military assets that highlight the KKK.”

The Commission plans to release a third report by October 1 covering the remaining MOD assets. The three reports will be sent to Congress and the Secretary of Defense, who is expected to implement a plan to address their recommendations by January 1, 2024.

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