Confederate Names For Naval Academy Sites Should Be Replaced: Report

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A commission recommended Monday that the U.S. Naval Academy change the names of two buildings and one road with Confederate ties.

The current designations honor former midshipmen who later served or aided the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

The locations that could see their names changed are Buchanan House, Buchanan Road and Maury Hall.

"Early classes of midshipmen trained at Annapolis to protect and defend the United States by sea," the commission said in its report. "During the Civil War, the majority of those Sailors performed their duties with distinction ... Yet not all midshipmen maintained their allegiance to the nation that trained them for the sea and entrusted them with its defense."

Buchanan House, Buchanan Road

Buchanan House, built in 1906, is the home of the Naval Academy's superintendent. Buchanan Road is the 510-foot-long street that leads to the residence.

Buchanan Road got its name in 1915. The superintendent's home was officially dubbed Buchanan House in 1976 to match the street approaching it.

Both sites got their name from Franklin Buchanan, the first superintendent of the Naval Academy. Over his 45-year career, Buchanan also served as an officer in the Mexican-American War and a steamboat commander in Commodore Perry’s expedition to Japan.

"Shortly after the start of the Civil War, Buchanan joined the Confederacy, quickly rose to the rank of admiral and commanded the CSS Virginia," the commission said. "Under his command in several naval battles, his efforts killed hundreds of U.S. Navy sailors."

The Navy estimated that it would cost $12,000 to rename Buchanan House and $3,000 to rename Buchanan Road.

Maury Hall

Maury Hall opened in 1907. It was named in 1915 after Matthew Fontaine Maury.

Maury was an early oceanographer and a director of the Naval Observatory. He served in the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years before the Civil War.

"Despite these contributions, he viewed African Americans as unworthy of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness," the report said of Maury. "Maury envisioned a series of vast American territories in Central and South America, where enslaved humans would produce commodity crops like cotton, rubber, and sugar."

Maury was a political lobbyist in Europe during the Civil War. He urged foreign nations to recognize the Confederacy, and he bought ships for the Confederate Navy.

Maury Hall is currently home to the Naval Academy’s Systems and Weapons Engineering Department.

The Navy estimated that it would cost $12,000 to rename the building.

Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall has a column with a list of Naval Academy graduates who died during naval
operations. The roll call only states United States or Confederate service after each name.

The commission said there are limited facts to back up each listing, so the group thinks the roll call can remain as is.

West Point

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point had more recommended changes than Annapolis. The U.S. Military Academy had 11 locations or items that the commission suggested renaming, relocating, modifying or removing.

Robert E. Lee was the focus of many of those recommendations. Lee served in the U.S. Army for more than three decades before becoming a Confederate general.

"The consequences of his decisions were wide-ranging and destructive," the commission said. "Lee’s armies were responsible for the deaths of more United States Soldiers than practically any other enemy in our nation's history."

The commission also found a mounted marker at West Point that said "Ku Klux Klan." That is not a direct reference to the Confederacy itself, so the commission did not have the power to suggest any actions.

Related: Remove Or Rename Confederate Memorials At West Point, Commission Recommends

Renaming Process

Congress established the naming commission in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. This law established the U.S. Department of Defense's budget for that fiscal year.

As part of the budget, Congress ordered officials to establish a commission to examine all the assets of the Department of Defense that commemorate the Confederacy. The team held its first meeting in March 2021.

The commission is now submitting its work in three parts. The first section, finished on Aug. 8, examined nine Army bases. The next portion, completed Monday, evaluated the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy. The final chunk will come by Oct. 1, and it will address all the remaining Department of Defense assets.

The group met with military and local leaders, visited the campuses and spoke with community stakeholders while researching Annapolis and West Point. The public comment period was open from Sept. 4, 2021 to Dec. 1, 2021, garnering more than 34,000 submissions.

The commission said all of its recommendations meet the renaming criteria set by the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.

The commission, therefore, recommended that the secretary of defense authorize the secretaries of the Navy and the Army to start the removal and renaming processes. The Naval Academy and the Military Academy both have long-standing procedures for memorialization, so the commission said the institutions should follow those existing policies.

The full report is posted here.

Patch requested a comment from the Naval Academy, but the administration has not yet responded. We will update this story if we hear back.