Navy advised to rename USS Chancellorsville to avoid ties to the Confederacy

A federal commission on Tuesday recommended renaming the USS Chancellorsville, a guided-missile cruiser that was named after Gen. Robert E. Lee’s most famous military victory during the Civil War.

The Naming Commission was created in 2020 to examine the names of military assets and recommend changes when those names are deemed to be an honorary nod to the Confederacy. The commission has released the first two parts of its report, which called for changing the names of nine U.S. Army bases, among other assets.

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On Tuesday, the commission said the final part of its report would call for a new name for the USS Chancellor as well as the USNS Maury, an oceanographic ship.

Both recommendations are likely to renew arguments that the military has gone “woke,” a complaint many Republicans have lodged at the Biden administration.

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Lee’s victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville came after his troops successfully fought off a force led by Gen. Joseph Hooker, who had nearly twice as many men at his command.

The USNS Maury was named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, whom the Navy has cited as the “father of world meteorology.” Maury was the first superintendent of the Naval Observatory, and while he opposed slavery, he sided with his home state of Virginia during the Civil War.

The commission said it estimates it will cost $62 million to implement all of its recommendations, which include changing the names of ships, military bases, buildings and street names, as well as the military’s digital assets.