'Long Dead' General Hooker's State House Honor Offends State Rep.

What's in a name? All the wrong words, according to one state representative who is setting off a firestorm of controversy after suggesting the State House rename or amend an entrance named after a "long dead general."

State Rep. Michelle DuBois, a Democrat representing Brockton, East Bridgewater, and West Bridgewater, tweeted a photo Wednesday of students who stormed the State House to protest guns rallying in front of the General Hooker Entrance. She wasn't thrilled:

General Joseph Hooker was a Hadley native best remembered for his 1863 loss to the Confederate Army at the Battle of Chancellorsville - "the worst union loss of the whole war," Larry Campbell, a historian at the GAR Civil War Museum in Lynn, told Patch.

Of course, Twitter didn't react kindly to DuBois' suggestion. Of the 83 replies it received as of 11 a.m. Thursday, not many were supportive. But DuBois dug in deep.

When someone suggested DuBious do her homework on Hooker, she responded:

Perhaps DuBois has a point. Urban legends aren't too kind to Hooker - he is thought to have been drunk during the Chancellorsville battle (the company line was a cannonball hit the home he was in and debris fell on his head, dazing him) - and he certainly had a reputation with women. In fact it's been said the term "hooker" comes from the prostitutes who followed his troops around, though there are some written instances of the term being used before he was in charge.

DuBois eventually softened her stance a bit, suggesting that Hooker's first name could be added.

>>>Watch: Students Storm State House To Make Voice Heard

In addition to the entranceway, there is a recognizable statue of Hooker on a horse at the State House.

The other statue is of Robert Gould Shaw, the head of the first all-black regiment of the Massachusetts 54th. The statue of him, on horseback with black troops walking, has also drawn some criticism, Campbell said. It is also regarded as possibly the most famous Union statue in the whole country.

For those wondering: Chancellorsville was Hooker's last battle in charge, as he oversaw the defeat that proved to be Stonewall Jackson's greatest victory of the war - though Jackson would end up being shot by his own men later that night. The victory gave Robert E. Lee the confidence that led him heading toward Gettysburg - a Union victory which turned out to be a turning point in the war.

Main photo is a screengrab from Jenna Fisher's Facebook Live covering Wednesday's walkout.