In the spirit of reconciliation between north and south, the military used to have ships, bases, tanks, and other equipment or resources named after Confederates and Yankees. The Stuart tank, for example, was named after Confederate cavalry commander and dashing cavalier J.E.B. Stuart. Similarly, Fort Bragg is named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg.
The veterans of the War between the States were fine with such naming conventions that let Americans get along again. And, for example, the Yankees and Southerners fought side by side in the Spanish-American War thanks to the reconciliation promoted by the nation after the end of Reconstruction.
But for the modern, puritanical leftists in charge, nothing that doesn’t conform exactly to the present demands of wokeness can be allowed. And so a ship named after a man who, in his later years, was tied to the Confederacy has been renamed to appease the woke mob in charge of America.
That ship was named after oceanographic pioneer Matthew Fontaine Maury, known as the “pioneer of the seas.” He explored the world with the Navy before an arm injury forced him to settle down and chart the oceans for the Navy instead of sailing. He then sided with the Confederacy when war broke out because he was a native of Virginia and was more loyal to his state than to a union that wanted to eradicate his way of life.
And such views are now unacceptable to military that wants to purge everything Confederate from it, including the Confederate graves at Arlington, the home of Robert E. Lee, and so the USNS Maury will be renamed after a woman, Marie Tharp. Tharp was an oceanographer, cartographer, and geologist.
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said, “As the history of our great nation evolves, we must put forth the effort to recognize figures who positively influenced our society. This renaming honors just one of the many historic women who have made a significant impact on not only our Navy, but our nation.”
The Navy Times reports that this renaming comes alongside other attempts to purge Confederate names from its ships and buildings, saying:
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While the vessel was the only Navy ship named after a Confederate military officer, a building at the U.S. Naval Academy was also named after Maury.
That building’s name was changed last month to honor “Ring Knocker” and former President Jimmy Carter.
The Navy has also announced in recent weeks the name change for the guided-missile cruiser Chancellorsville, which was named in honor of a Confederate battlefield victory.
The warship will be renamed after Robert Smalls, a former slave and mariner who stole a Confederate ship and delivered it to the United States during the war.
And it’s not just the military purging Maury. The Daily Wire reports that “A monument of Maury, who died in 1873, was also removed from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, in 2020.”
How soon until the Maury is renamed again because the woman it was renamed after isn’t a trans woman of color?