There+óGé¼Gäós nothing wrong with ceding honor to the dead. I come from a family that was profoundly affected by the War Between the States. The house where my mother was born was very old; it was seized by the Union army and used as a hospital during the battle of Kennesaw Mountain. On my father+óGé¼Gäós side, much of the family was wiped out fighting for the Confederacy. I don+óGé¼Gäót really know exactly what motivated members of my family to fight. As far as I am aware, there were no slaveholders among them. I think that within their historical context, these men fought mainly because they came to believe that they had to do so out of allegiance to their home and family+óGé¼GÇ¥as misguided as that may seem today.
More relevant to me personally is the fact that generations of my family faced poverty, repression, and blunted opportunities in a hardscrabble society marked by exploitation and sharp divisions according to race, class, and pedigree. A privileged southern elite had slaves and controlled the economy and society prior to the war, and a slightly different group of privileged elites manipulated and exploited the country afterwards. In the antebellum south and after the war, it was the privileged people like George Allen who enjoyed power and prestige, and did their best to control the economy and social mores in a way that helped them to hold onto their position.
As far as I know, George Allen does not have familial ties with the south. His fascination and identification with Confederate soldiers seems ironic. Maybe it derives from an appreciation of Redskins fans in Virginia. I don+óGé¼Gäót really know, nor could I say for certain whether his children are really named for Confederate war heroes, such as Robert Charles Tyler or Nathan Bedford Forrest. The world can be harsh at times, even for kids with the privileged, pampered upbringing that the Allen household affords. As much as I might like to live without ever having to do without, I don+óGé¼Gäót think I+óGé¼Gäód want to grow up in that family. So I regard these fortunate children with a mixture of envy and pity, and wish them the best.
Tyler was the last Confederate General slain in battle, and legendary for his bravery and will. He died defending a fort filled with convalescing wounded from a full Brigade of Union cavalry on April 16, 1865 at West Point, Georgia. At the time he was shot, Tyler was on crutches, having lost a leg in the battle at Missionary Ridge. He was previously wounded in the Battles of Chickamauga and Shiloh. Forrest was a legendary soldier who earned the praise of his enemies as a brilliant tactician who rose from the rank of Private to General and was feared by such Union Generals as Grant and Sherman. George Allen, on the other hand, has never served in the military, even though he admires military men and poses for pictures with them.
Forrest was an unconventional military leader, and quite effective, but hardly someone I would think you would want to name your child after.
Someone should ask Allen point blank where he got the names of his children.
BTW -- his mother was of Jewish background and Allen has claimed that she was in a concentration camp during WWII. His sister has said their mother regretted having given up her French citizenship for the lesser status of an American citizen. It might be worth asking the sister about the mom in more detail, and if she knows the basis of the names of her nephews (and niece).
I'm also struck by Allen's recurring theme of "Common Sense Jeffersonian Conservative Principles." Aside from the fact that Allen and Jefferson both served Virginia, what do they have in common?