Federal Officials have halted plans to rename two Georgia Lakes named after Confederate soldiers after a severe backlash from Republican policymakers. The US. Rep Andrew Clyde who represents northeast Georgia said he called the Corps of Engineers to express opposition to the renaming. He termed the pause “a tremendous victory” and that “renamings would have attempted to rewrite history, impose massive burdensome costs on our community, and create unnecessary mass confusion.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a statement announcing that the move to change the name has been paused. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is pausing any actions related to project renaming pending further guidance from the Department of the Army,” Gene Pawlik, acting chief of public affairs for the Corps, said.
Lake Lanier, a 150 square kilometers enormous reservoir, built after World War 11 was named after poet Sidney Lanier who served as a private in the Confederate army, andis best known for his poem “Song of the Chattahoochee.” The reservoir is built on the Chattahoochee River.
Buford Dam is named after Lt Col Algernon Sidney Buford who served in the Virginia militia during the Civil War. The Georgian town is named after Buford who went on to become the president of the railroad that helped to create the town after the civil war.
The renaming move was initiated by the Corps of Engineers in the wake of a 2021 Federal Law that requires that military installations and bases named after Confederates be renamed. The renaming attempt has been paused to the backlash from Republicans.
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