Buffalo Soldier from Dinwiddie commemorated as new namesake for Fort Lee

PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The U.S. Army has officially renamed its military base in Prince George to honor Buffalo Soldier and Dinwiddie County native Private Fitz Lee on Friday, July 11.

The change comes after President Donald Trump reversed a bipartisan congressional statute that removed Confederate names from U.S. military bases.

Friday's ceremony was originally on land named in honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Though the base is called "Fort Lee" again, its new namesake is for Private Lee. It creates what some call an old name with a new legacy.

Army officials also unveiled a sign commemorating the new Lee gate on base and kicked off a new opportunity to remember and honor Buffalo Soldiers. They were Black cavalry and infantry members after the Civil War.

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Some, like Nina Amos, consider them as those who built the U.S. as we know it today, as they were also known to build the nation's railroads and serve as forest rangers.

Amos's grandfather -- Andrew Kelly -- was a Buffalo Soldier too.

"It gives us a starting point to be able to tell the history about the Buffalo Soldiers and who they were and part of our military history and why this is actually so important," Amos said.

It's that history -- including Private Lee's -- which was acknowledged on Friday. A Medal of Honor recipient, Private Lee joined the Buffalo Soldiers' ranks in 1889 and received national attention by saving wounded soldiers in June 1898 in Tayacoba, Cuba, leaving no man behind and returning all the wounded to safety.

It's that day, 127 years ago, when all in attendance are reminded about what it means to be a soldier, according to the Army.

Meanwhile, Fort Lee officials say they're not forgetting the Fort Gregg-Adams namesake. Lieutenant Arthur J. Gregg and Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams have been considered Black pioneers in the Army.