Fort Polk was originally named after Bishop Leonidas Polk, who fought to preserve slavery
Bishop Leonidas Polk, first Bishop of Louisiana
Bishop Leonidas Polk, first Bishop of Louisiana
FORT POLK is one of seven US army bases to have its name restored by President Trump, although not to its original title, which honoured a figure in the history of the Episcopal Church of the United States.
The forts had been renamed under the Biden administration to honour Confederate generals. President Trump has announced that the names will be reverted, although, to avoid Congressional approval for the name changes, he said that the restored names now refer to different war heroes, who all happen to have the same surname as a Confederate general.
Fort Polk was originally named after Bishop Leonidas Polk, who was born into a family of slave owners and became the first Bishop of Louisiana. He joined the Confederate army as a General fighting to preserve slavery and was known as the “fighting bishop”; he died on the battlefield in 1864. Memorials to him in Episcopal Churches have been removed in recent years.
The fort had been renamed by President Biden for William Henry Johnson, a Black soldier who served in the First World War. It is now to be named after James H. Polk, a Second World War recipient of the Silver Star Medal, who was given the award for courage in combat. Two New York Senators have described the renaming of the fort as an “insult to black Americans”.
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