Shortly after hearing discussion about possibly renaming 10 U.S. military bases, I decided I needed to educate myself about the history behind the naming of these bases. My plan is to use this space to share what I learn.
Before I begin,
I will share an article I read concerning the subject. One of the most-often used arguments I hear used AGAINST the changing of names of forts or removal of confederate statues is something along the lines of
we should never erase our history. The point the author of this opinion piece makes is that in most cases, bases named after confederate soldiers, confederate statues, etc. were themselves successful attempts to alter/erase history in that certain communities decided to glorifying the cause of the confederacy and erase the fact that there efforts at leaving the union were ultimately unsuccessful.
Having said that, here is what I found out about Fort Hood.
First of all, Fort Hood was opened in 1942. However, to me, the story begins 120 miles to the northwest of Fort Hood's location, where a county was named after John Bell Hood. Hood County was founded in 1866, immediately after the Civil War's end.
John Bell Hood was born in 1831 in Kentucky. He attended and graduated from West Point. He graduated in 1853 and served in the U.S military until 1861. His highest rank was First Lieutenant.
In 1861, resigned from the U.S. Army. According to the Texas State Hstorical Association, he was dissatisfied with Kentucky's neutrality, declared himself a Texan and joined the confederate Army. This occurred within weeks of Texas voting to secede and join the confederate cause.
He served in this confederate army until the end of the conflict in 1865. For some portion of the war, he commanded
Hood's Texas Brigade. There is a historical monument in remembrance of the brigade on the South Drive of the Texas state capitol. This monument was raised by the Hood's Brigade Association in 1910.
As best I can tell, his highest rank was Lieutenant General, although he did receive a temporary full Generalship. This ranking was never confirmed by the Confederate Congress.
After war, he lived and did business in New Orleans. He died in 1879.
Concerning the story behind the naming of Fort Hood itself, I have not been able to uncover anything at this point. I plan to update this post if/when new evidence becomes available.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional historian. I am doing this research of the stories behind the naming of U.S. Military bases because I think the knowledge I find will be of benefit to the discourse in the United States. If you have information about any of my posts that you are willing to share I am glad to hear it. You can contact me at farmstros@yahoo.com
