I didn't know there were US Naval ships named after the CSA leaders and soldiers. I realized we had bases that were. And I always thought the USS Lexington was named for the world's best BBQ (just a joke...in case you don't get it, it's a North Carolina intra-state BBQ rivalry reference).
They needed to sell lots of war bonds, so its modern equivalent would be USS Georgia presented by Delta Airlines. Put enough money in the coffers and you have some say in nomenclature. Or the Navy picks names they know you will like.
I didn't know there were US Naval ships named after the CSA leaders and soldiers. I realized we had bases that were. And I always thought the USS Lexington was named for the world's best BBQ (just a joke...in case you don't get it, it's a North Carolina intra-state BBQ rivalry reference).
What is the name of the BBQ joint in Lexington? I might be heading up to the Triangle in a few weeks, assuming that I can.
Where are you located? Do you come to the Triangle often? I might could play a game some time.
Anyway, in Lexington, throw a rock and you'll hit a BBQ restaurant. I like Speedy's personally. My parents like Lexington BBQ (my dad made slaw there in the late 40s when he was a teen). My brother prefers Cook's BBQ.
If you venture to Greensboro, my daughter prefers Stamey's. My favorite joint in the state is Short Sugars in the town of Reidville about 30 minutes north of Greensboro up Hwy 29. They have a website shortsugars.com.
I didn't know there were US Naval ships named after the CSA leaders and soldiers. I realized we had bases that were. And I always thought the USS Lexington was named for the world's best BBQ (just a joke...in case you don't get it, it's a North Carolina intra-state BBQ rivalry reference).
Not trying to get political here. But I saw this and it had a great many ships, forts, and equipment named after CSA leaders and soldiers. Selling War bonds during WWII was important to fund the war effort. What better way to instill pride in those southern states by naming stuff after the lost cause.
Should the United States of America Emulate the Soviets?
I am upset and disappointed that the U.S. Military (U.S. Government) is not planning to rename ships that recall Confederate victories – the cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62), USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49), or USS Fort Fisher (LSD-40) immediately comes to mind.
But slavery – which the Confederacy fought to preserve – was such an abhorrent practice that the U.S. Military also should rename ships that honor slave owners: the ballistic missile submarine USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657). The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) and the attack submarine USS Jefferson City (SSN-759), that locale having been named for another slave owner; the 3rd President of the United States Thomas Jefferson and do not forget the USS Jacksonville (SSN-699), that locale named after the 7th President of the United States who supported slavery and signed the Indian Removal Act; which relocated most members of the Native American tribes in the South to Indian Territory which resulted in their widespread death and sickness.
• Also during WWII the Navy named the following Liberty ships after Confederate generals; SS E. Kirby Smith after General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA; SS John B Gordon after Major General John B Gordon, CSA; SS A. P. Hill after Lt General A. P. Hill, CSA; SS D. H. Hill after Lt General D. H. Hill, CSA; SS Edward P. Alexander after Major General Edward Porter Alexander, CSA; SS Fitzhugh Lee after Major General Fitzhugh Lee, CSA nephew of Robert E. Lee; SS Nathan Bedford Forrest after Lt General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA; SS J. Johnson Pettigrew after Major General J. Johnson Pettigrew, CSA; SS James Longstreet after Lt General James Longstreet, CSA; and SS Joseph Wheeler after Lt General Joseph Wheeler, CSA. Let’s not forget the SS Jefferson Davis after the President of the Confederacy; SS Robert M. T. Hunter who was the Confederate Secretary of State; SS George Davis who was the Confederate Attorney General; and of course the USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601). I am sure there are more examples of the U.S. government honoring Confederate generals and government officials. For example Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham was an officer in the USN who later served in the Confederate States Navy; four ships of the USN have borne the name USS Ingraham, named in honor of Captain Duncan Ingraham; a Wickes Class, a Gleaves Class, an Allen M Sumner Class destroyer those three were during WWII and the last an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate, launched in 1988 and decommissioned in 2014.
Also, we must determine if any U.S. military bases or installations carry the names of Confederate heroes. Fort Lee, Fort Pickett, Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Benning, and Camp Beauregard come to mind all named after Confederate generals. Then of course there is the tradition of the military to name equipment after Confederate heroes; i.e. M3 Lee medium tank named after Robert E. Lee and the M3 Stuart light tank named after J.E.B Stuart. I am sure there are more.
If there is any doubt about how to purge these names, places, and practices from our history, one need only look to the methods that the Soviet dictators employed to rewrite that nation’s history. They had text books and encyclopedias rewritten, deleted disgraced heroes from photographs, renamed towns and cities, teardown statues and memorials, etc. Dissidents were executed, jailed or exiled to Siberia.
Should we let this to happen? I say no. How do you learn from history if you erase the past?
Their ship their coffin The cruel dark sea their grave.
I was reading a good book called "Neptune's Inferno" the other day and they said if the governor of the namesake state was unable to provide a set of silverware for the new battleship that was a bad omen. This was apparently the case with the USS South Dakota which had quite a bit of bad luck initially.