Stripping military bases of Confederate names stirs passions

By ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer

BLACKSTONE, Va. (AP) — Civil War history casts a long shadow in Virginia, the birthplace of Confederate generals, scene of their surrender and now a crossroad of controversy over renaming military bases that honor rebel leaders. In and around the town of Blackstone, that shadow can stir passions when talk turns to nearby Fort Pickett. Some are troubled by Congress requiring the Pickett name be dropped as part of a wider scrubbing of military base names that commemorate the Confederacy or honor officers who chose to fight for it. Pickett is one of at least nine Army bases whose names will be changed.