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Sec. Hegseth renames old Fort Bragg to a new Bragg
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed a memo that renames Fort Liberty in North Carolina (formerly Fort Bragg) to Fort Bragg, but not the Confederate Braxton Bragg, but instead the US soldier Roland L. Bragg.
The North Carolina Army installation, one of the largest military installations in the world, is officially named Fort Bragg again.
It had been known as Fort Liberty since the summer of 2023.
Here’s what was behind the multiple name changes:
Fort Bragg renamed
FILE - A sign after a ceremony renaming Fort Bragg as Fort Liberty, near Fayetteville, North Carolina, on June 2, 2023. (Photo by Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)
Timeline:
The back-and-forth of the North Carolina military site dates back a few years.
1918: The base takes its Fort Bragg name for Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.
June 2023: Fort Bragg shed its namesake and became known as Fort Liberty amid a drive to remove symbols of the Confederacy from public spaces.
Feb. 2025: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed an order to revert the name change, honoring a new namesake: Army Pfc. Roland L. Bragg.
What they're saying:
Hegseth says the rededication honors an American hero and restores a name that soldiers knew and revered for over a century.
By the numbers:
The Army said in 2023 that changing the name to Fort Liberty would cost $8 million. North Carolina's Department of Transportation said last month that it anticipated replacing dozens of road signs at a cost of over $200,000.
Who was Fort Bragg originally named after?
The backstory:
The North Carolina base was originally named in 1918 for Gen. Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general from Warrenton, North Carolina, who was known for owning slaves and losing key Civil War battles that contributed to the Confederacy’s downfall.
Big picture view:
Several military bases were named after Confederate soldiers during World War I and World War II as part of a "demonstration of reconciliation" with white southerners amid a broader effort to rally the nation to fight as one, Nina Silber, a historian at Boston University, previously explained to The Associated Press.
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Who is Roland L. Bragg?
Dig deeper:
Bragg was a World War II paratrooper and Silver Star recipient from Maine. Before his deployment, he trained at the North Carolina post, his family said during Friday’s renaming ceremony.
Bragg, who served with the 17th Airborne Division, received the Silver Star and a Purple Heart for exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured by Germans and commandeered an ambulance back to safety with a few wounded paratroopers, one of which survived, Lt. Gen. Greg Anderson said during the ceremony.
RELATED: Fort Liberty reverts to Fort Bragg—but with a new namesake
What they're saying:
The Liberty-to-Bragg reversion was made without first consulting with Roland Bragg’s family, but his daughter was delighted by it.
His granddaughter described him as a "strong, hardworking and proud" man who didn't discuss his military service in World War II very openly.
Other military sites renamed
What's next:
Hegseth announced this week that Georgia's Fort Moore would revert back to Fort Benning.
Originally named for Confederate Brig. Gen. Henry L. Benning, it will now honor Cpl. Fred G. Benning, a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross who served in France during World War I.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from remarks during the renaming ceremony on March, 7, 2025, as covered by The Associated Press. Background information was taken from an order signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in February, and previous FOX Television Station and Associated Press reportings. This story was reported from Detroit.