Following the Civil War and until his death in 1904, John Brown Gordon believed that Black people in America should be enslaved and that slavery was “morally, socially, and politically right.”1 Greg Bluestein and Christian Boone, “Inside the Standoff Over a Rebel Statue at Georgia’s Capitol,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 8, 2020. Despite the Confederacy’s loss and the emancipation of four million formerly enslaved Black people, Gordon remained a vocal, staunch opponent of racial equality and was deeply committed to white supremacy.
Gordon’s racist views gained him political support with white Southerners, and he used racial animus toward Black people to build a political identity that won him elections.
He publicly praised the enslavement of Black people, declaring that white Southern enslavers were “selected by Providence, for the civilization and religious training of four millions of the African race.”2 John Brown Gordon, The Old South: Addresses Delivered Before the Confederate Survivors’ Association in Augusta, Georgia, on the Occasion of its Ninth Annual Reunion (Augusta, 1887), 8. Gordon emphasized that “the native African was vastly benefited by his transfer to America and his southern service” of slavery.3 Gordon, The Old South, 8.
In a 1868 political speech in Charleston, South Carolina, Gordon addressed a group of Black voters, who would soon be disenfranchised after the collapse of Reconstruction. He told the Black audience that he was opposed to their freedom because white enslavers in the South “bought you and paid our money for you.”4 “Sound Advice to Negro Voters,” Daily Phoenix, Sept. 23, 1868. Gordon threatened the Black audience that they would be “exterminated” should they dare to start a “war of races.”5 “Sound Advice,” Daily Phoenix.
“If you turn a deaf ear to the Southern men,” he continued, “these green leaves that now clothe the forest will not grow red with another autumn before they will be drenched with your blood and mine.”6 “Sound Advice,” Daily Phoenix. He further opined that “[t]he Saxon race was never created by Almighty God to be ruled by the African.”7 “Sound Advice,” Daily Phoenix.
The Enslavement of Black People in America
Nearly half of all enslaved Black people were sold away from their children, siblings, spouses, and parents in the 19th century.8 “The Domestic Slave Trade in America,” in Equal Justice Initiative, Slavery in America (2018, updated 2024). Black women were routinely raped and subjected to sexual violence during slavery.9 “Sexual Exploitation of Enslaved People,” in Equal Justice Initiative, Slavery in America, (2018, updated 2024).
Enslaved people were commonly whipped, branded with hot irons, and mutilated as a form of punishment if they asserted their humanity.10 “Exploitative Local Slave Trading Practices,” in Equal Justice Initiative, Slavery in America, (2018, updated 2024). For examples of punishments sanctioned by law during the era of enslavement, see “An Act for the better ordering and governing of Negroes and Slaves,” in The Statutes at Large of South Carolina (Columbia, 1840), 355; “An Act to prevent Tumultuous Meetings and other irregularities of Negroes and other slaves” in The General Public Statutory Law and Public Local Law of the State of Maryland, 1692-1839 (Baltimore, 1840), 64; Alabama Slave Code of 1852, Ch. IV. Slaves and Free Negroes, Art. I. Slaves, § 1019. Black people—both enslaved and free—were prohibited from learning to read or write and could be severely punished if they were found in possession of books or reading materials.11 “Four People Charged for Teaching Black People to Read in Wheeling, West Virginia,” Equal Justice Initiative, accessed Aug. 23, 2025; Stephen Wesson, “Education in Enslaved Communities,” Library of Congress, Aug. 16, 2022; Charles Terry, “A Rebellious Education: Enslaved African Americans and the Fight for Literacy,” PhD diss., (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2022).
Despite these harsh realities, John Brown Gordon insisted that slavery was “kindly,” “Christian,” and “beneficial” to Black people.12 Gordon, The Old South, 7-8.
Gordon’s commitment to white supremacy and his close ties to the Ku Klux Klan—which he referred to as “a brotherhood [of] peaceable, law-abiding citizens”13 Bluestein and Boone, “Inside the Standoff.”—is what prompted the United Sons of Confederate Veterans to publicly thank the War Department when his name was honored with a U.S. military base.14 Ty Seidule, “Named for the Enemy: The US Army’s Confederate Problem,” Perspectives on History, Aug. 4, 2020.
Celebrating Treason Against the United States
Brown served as “commander-in-chief” of the United Confederate Veterans from 1890 to 1904 and remained deeply committed to the “Lost Cause” mythology until his death.15 “John Brown Gordon,” The Latin Library, accessed June 23, 2025; Michael Ruth, “Lost Cause of the Confederacy,” EBSCO, 2023.
Although Gordon had no military training and never served in the U.S. Army, he volunteered for military service with the Confederacy and fought against the United States until the war’s end.16 Nancy Clanton, “Fort Gordon Army Base: Who was John Brown Gordon?” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 10, 2020. In the 1940s, when racial segregation was being questioned and criticized, white Southern leaders responded by proposing Gordon’s name and identity for a potential federal training camp.17 During World War I, from 1917 to 1919, the U.S. Army operated a temporary training camp called Camp Gordon near Atlanta in DeKalb County, Georgia, which was also named after John Brown Gordon. Command Sergeant Major James H. Clifford, “Camp Gordon, Georgia,” Army Historical Foundation, accessed August 22, 2025.
Despite Gordon’s legacy as an unrepentant believer in white supremacy, the enslavement of Black people, and racial hierarchy, Camp Gordon was authorized in 1941 as a U.S. Army training camp in Augusta, Georgia.18 Kim Vickers, “Hometown History: Fort Gordon,” WJBF-TV, Nov. 11, 2021. It became Fort Gordon in 1956.19 Vickers, “Hometown History.”
Honoring American Service Members
Over the last 50 years, the U.S. military has increasingly relied on the service of African Americans. Today, nonwhite servicemembers make up 59.5% of the U.S. Army.20 “Facts and Figures: Fiscal Year 2024 Overview,” U.S. Army Recruiting Command, accessed August 18, 2025.
Against this backdrop, widespread objections to the practice of naming active military bases in honor of people who fought against the U.S. finally yielded change. In 2021, an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the U.S. Congress finally ended the painful legacy of naming U.S. military bases in honor of people whose dishonorable and divisive histories have alienated so many.21 Catie Edmondson, “Senate Overrides Trump’s Veto of Defense Bill, Dealing a Legislative Blow,” The New York Times, Jan. 1, 2021.
The National Defense Authorization Act was enacted after a decorated commission of military leaders acknowledged that military bases named after people who, like John Brown Gordon, “wrongly fought to protect the institution of slavery and would have denied Black Americans from serving in the military,” could no longer be tolerated or reconciled with a commitment to equality and respect for all people.22 Alex Ward, “The Racist History Behind the 10 US Army Facilities Named after Confederate Leaders,” Vox, June 9, 2020.
In October 2023, Fort Gordon was officially redesignated as Fort Eisenhower in honor of Army General and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.23 Laura Levering, “Fort Gordon to Fort Eisenhower: ‘Where the Past and Future Can Now Comfortably Reside,’” U.S. Army, Oct. 27, 2023.
The renaming of Fort Gordon ended a long, painful history of insult and injury to Black service members and people in this country who revile the racial bigotry and suffering created by slavery and its legacy of racial exclusion, segregation, and humiliation. It was celebrated by military leaders who were more hopeful about the recruitment and retention of service members and respect for all who serve in the military, whatever their race or background.
This moment of relief from the burden of racial bigotry was short-lived.
Dishonoring Black Americans in 2025
This summer, at the urging of the White House and President Donald Trump, the Secretary of Defense ordered that Gordon’s name be restored to the military base in Augusta, Georgia.
Because the new federal law prohibits the naming of a base after someone who fought against the U.S., the Defense Department, in a transparent attempt to evade the law, found someone else whose last name is “Gordon” to serve as the official namesake for the base.24 “Defense Department Renames Army Bases to Honor Southern Insurrectionists Who Sought to Preserve Slavery,” Equal Justice Initiative, June 17, 2025.
However, the Trump administration has been clear that its goal is to restore the names of those Confederate proponents of white supremacy and racial hierarchy and their divisive legacy to U.S. military bases.
President Trump has praised the supporters of slavery who fought against the U.S., like Confederate general Robert E. Lee, whom he called “the greatest strategist of them all,” claiming that Lee “should be remembered as perhaps the greatest unifying force after the [Civil W]ar was over.”25 Myah Ward, “Trump Praises Robert E. Lee While Denouncing Statue’s Removal in Virginia,” Politico, Sept. 8, 2021.
On the campaign trail last year, President Trump promised, “We’re going to change the name back to Fort Bragg,” speaking of the military base previously named after Confederate leader Braxton Bragg.26 Julia Mueller, “Trump Vows to Restore Confederate General’s Name to NC Military Base,” The Hill, Oct. 4, 2024. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “We’re restoring the names of bases as we’ve done across the country because we’re proud of our history.”27 Pete Hegseth, “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: Courageous Americans Want to Do Tough, Gritty Things to Defend Freedom,” interview by Will Cain, The Will Cain Show, Fox News Channel, Aug. 7, 2025.