CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. β A Virginia military installation's name has been changed to Fort A.P. Hill, honoring three Union soldiers who received the Medal of Honor during the Civil War.
The base now bears the names of Private Bruce Anderson, First Sergeant Robert A. Pinn and Lieutenant Colonel Edward Hill. Their families attended a ceremony where their ancestors' names were placed on the front gates.
The Secretary of the Army issued the order for the name change in June.
Descendants Private Anderson attended the ceremony including Army CWO2 Matthew Walker and his son, Air Force 1Lt. Amir Walker.
"It's an honor. I think the full magnitude of this ceremony really didn't hit me until we drove onto the base and I saw the sign out front," said Chief Warrant Officer Walker.
The installation was originally named after Confederate Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill. The name changed in 2023 as part of a Department of Defense initiative to remove Confederate names from military facilities.
It was renamed to honor Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a Union Civil War surgeon and the only woman ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor. But the base in Caroline County will now be known once again as Fort A.P. Hill.
"We stand on the shoulders of the people who came before us. And I have some pretty big shoulders to stand on with Pvt. Anderson as well as my father, my uncle, and a host of other family members who've served, so it's a really great feeling," said Lt. Walker.
The name changes over the past three years have been controversial and expensive. Overall efforts to remove Confederate names from U.S. military installations cost taxpayers an estimated $62 million, with states paying millions more to update road signs.
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