Old Hull, New Hull
Companion piece to the Army base renames. The Navy track of the Naming Commission is less famous, but the stories behind the new namesakes are the best part of the whole effort. Robert Smalls stole a Confederate transport and sailed it out of Charleston harbor in 1862; now his name rides a guided-missile cruiser. Marie Tharp mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from a Columbia office full of soundings; now her name rides a survey ship. The bow stencil changed. The cruise book lineage did not.
The Naming Commission’s Vol. II addressed the Navy, Marine Corps, and DoD-wide items. For Navy hulls, the headline outcomes were two redesignations executed in 2023: USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) → USS Robert Smalls in May 2023, and USNS Maury (T-AGS-66) → USNS Marie Tharp on September 28, 2023. Both keep the original hull number and lineage; only the name and the namesake changed. Source: The Naming Commission Final Report Vol. II (Sept 2022); Navy.mil press releases.
The Two Navy Hull Renames
Hull number unchanged. Lineage unchanged. Just the name and namesake.
| Old name | New name | Hull | Redesignated |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Chancellorsville | USS Robert Smalls | CG-62 | May 2023 (renaming directed February 27, 2023) |
| USNS Maury | USNS Marie Tharp | T-AGS-66 | September 28, 2023 |
Source: Navy.mil press releases (Feb/May 2023 for Robert Smalls; Sep 2023 for Marie Tharp); The Naming Commission Final Report Vol. II.
Who the New Namesakes Actually Are
Public messaging on the renames stopped at “not Confederate.” The actual stories deserve more.
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser. Cruisers traditionally honored famous battles.
The 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville — a Confederate tactical victory over the Union Army of the Potomac.
Robert Smalls. Born into slavery in South Carolina in 1839. In May 1862, while serving as a forced pilot aboard the Confederate transport CSS Planter, he commandeered the vessel and sailed it past the Confederate harbor batteries to deliver it — and his family and crew — to the Union blockade. He later served as a Union Navy pilot and, after the war, served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (R-SC). The cruiser is the first U.S. Navy ship named for a Black American man to be renamed under the Naming Commission process. Choosing a person to honor on a cruiser class historically named for battles is itself a break from tradition.
Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship (MSC, civilian-crewed). Survey ships honored scientists and oceanographers.
Matthew Fontaine Maury — pioneering 19th-century oceanographer who resigned his U.S. Navy commission to serve the Confederate States Navy as a commander.
Marie Tharp (1920–2006). American geologist and oceanographic cartographer. Working with Bruce Heezen at Columbia, she mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and identified the rift valley running down its center — evidence that helped confirm plate tectonics and seafloor spreading. The survey-ship class naming tradition (scientists) was preserved cleanly; the namesake was simply swapped from one oceanographer to another.
Why It Matters More Than People Realize
The Navy ship rename story got less ink than the Army base story, but it matters more to sailors than the headlines suggest:
- Crew identity attaches to a name. A sailor introduces herself as “former Chancellorsville” or “Maury crew.” That identity does not vanish on the rename date. It just means the vessel acquires a second institutional biography — same hull, two names across its service life.
- Cruise books, patches, command coins, and ball caps are still valid.The hull number is the immutable identifier. Memorabilia from the previous era still refers to the same ship.
- Accountability records are continuous. Material history, mishap history, dry-dock records, and lineage all carry forward under the hull number. Both names refer to the same vessel.
- Naming a person on a cruiser hull is itself a break from tradition.Ticonderoga-class cruisers were named for famous battles. Naming CG-62 for Robert Smalls is a deliberate departure — a person who took a Confederate ship in 1862 now sails on a U.S. Navy cruiser hull in the 2020s.
Navy Class Naming Traditions (Educational Sidebar)
The Navy assigns ship names by class convention — and the Naming Commission tried to preserve those traditions when substituting non-Confederate namesakes. Marie Tharp fits her class (scientists) cleanly. Robert Smalls is a deliberate exception on a class historically named for battles.
| Class | Naming tradition |
|---|---|
| Aircraft carriers (CVN) | Presidents and senior Navy figures. |
| Ballistic-missile submarines (SSBN) | U.S. states. |
| Attack submarines (SSN) | Cities and states (modern Virginia-class). |
| Cruisers (CG) | Historically famous battles. The Smalls rename breaks the pattern (a person on a cruiser hull). |
| Destroyers (DDG) | Navy and Marine Corps heroes. |
| Amphibious assault ships (LHA/LHD) | Famous Marine Corps battles and earlier ships. |
| Survey ships (T-AGS) | Famous oceanographers and scientists. Marie Tharp fits the tradition cleanly. |
Source: Naval History and Heritage Command — Ship Naming in the United States Navy.
Beyond Hull Names: Buildings, Streets, ROTC Units
The Naming Commission’s Vol. II covered more than ship hulls. Building names, street names, ROTC unit designations, and other facility-level items tied to Confederate officers were also identified. Those renames happened at the facility level — at the relevant base, station, or installation — on a slower schedule than the hull renames, and the rollouts varied by command.
We don’t enumerate that list here because the public record on facility-level renames is incomplete and updated facility by facility. The comprehensive reference is the Naming Commission Final Report Vol. II for the original scope, and Naval History and Heritage Command for current status. Verify against NHHC reporting rather than third-party lists.
What This Means for Your Records and Memorabilia
For sailors who served aboard Chancellorsville or Maury under the old name, nothing in your record requires correction. The hull is the same ship. The paperwork rules are the same as for the Army base renames.
No correction needed. The ship name as it appeared on your orders or detachment papers at the time you served is the correct name for that period. A DD-214 listing USS Chancellorsville is historically accurate for service before May 2023.
Still valid memorabilia. The hull number (CG-62, T-AGS-66) is unchanged. Cruise books published under the old name remain accurate accounts of that vessel during that era.
Old ship names are recognized. Service treatment records, line-of-duty determinations, and stressor statements referencing USS Chancellorsville or USNS Maury are not denied on that basis. Same logic as the Army base renames.
Use the name as it appeared on the document during your service period. USAJOBS and most major background-check vendors treat the old and new names as the same vessel.
Plank-owner associations, reunion groups, and Facebook shipmate pages tied to the old name remain valid and active. The Navy ship-name lineage is not the only kind of crew lineage that matters.
The Questions People Actually Ask
When was USS Chancellorsville renamed USS Robert Smalls?
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced the renaming on February 27, 2023, and the ship was officially redesignated USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) during a ceremony in May 2023 in San Diego. The hull number (CG-62) did not change. The ship’s commissioning date, lineage of crews, and historical service record remain attached to the hull, not the name.
Who was Robert Smalls?
Robert Smalls was born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839. In May 1862, working as a pilot aboard the Confederate transport CSS Planter in Charleston harbor, he and a small crew took the ship out past the Confederate forts at night and delivered her to the Union Navy blockade — along with his family. He went on to serve as a Union Navy pilot, then was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served five terms (1875–1879, 1882–1887) representing South Carolina. He is the first formerly enslaved person to have a U.S. Navy combatant named for him.
Who was Marie Tharp?
Marie Tharp (1920–2006) was an American geologist and oceanographic cartographer. Working at Columbia University with Bruce Heezen, she produced the first comprehensive map of the entire ocean floor and identified the rift valley running down the center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge — a finding that helped confirm continental drift and plate tectonics. Naming a Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship for her preserves the class tradition (survey ships honor scientists) cleanly.
Are my old cruise book, patches, ball cap, and challenge coins still valid?
Yes. The hull number (CG-62, T-AGS-66) is unchanged. Cruise books, command ball caps, plaques, command coins, and shipmate networks tied to USS Chancellorsville or USNS Maury still refer to the same vessel. A ship rename is administrative — it does not erase prior commissioning eras, deployment lineage, or the service of the sailors who crewed her under the old name. On a resume or DD-214 stub, the name on the document at the time you served is the correct name for that period.
Will the VA accept the old ship name on my service record or claim?
Yes. Service records reflect the duty assignment as it existed on the dates of service. If your records list USS Chancellorsville or USNS Maury, that is historically accurate. VA adjudicators recognize the redesignations and treat the old and new names as the same vessel for claim purposes. The same logic applied to the Army base renames applies here.
Why doesn’t the Navy rename ships more often?
The Navy treats ship names as load-bearing institutional lineage. A ship name carries forward across hulls — when one USS Enterprise decommissions, another eventually picks up the name — and crews build identity around it. The cost of renaming an in-service ship goes beyond paint and signage: cruise books, building names, mailing addresses, supply codes, and crew-issued gear all carry the name. The Naming Commission process kept the scope narrow specifically because each rename has real downstream cost.
Were any other Navy ships flagged or renamed under the Naming Commission?
The Naming Commission’s Final Report Vol. II covered Navy, Marine Corps, and other DoD-wide assets — buildings, streets, ROTC unit names, and individual items beyond the two ship hulls listed above. The two ship renames executed in 2023 (Chancellorsville → Robert Smalls, Maury → Marie Tharp) are the headline Navy hull changes. For the most current status of any additional pending items or facility-level renames, verify against current reporting from the Naval History and Heritage Command (history.navy.mil) rather than trusting any third-party list — the situation evolved facility by facility.
What about Coast Guard, Air Force, or Army vessels?
The Coast Guard operates under DHS, not DoD, so the Naming Commission’s legislative scope did not directly bind USCG. The Air Force does not operate named warships. The Army operates a small fleet of vessels (LCUs, LSVs, tugs) primarily under the Transportation Corps; these have their own naming conventions and were not the focus of the Commission’s Navy track. If you served on an Army watercraft, the Army base-rename slate (see /tools/base-renames) is the more relevant change for your records.
- • William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2021, Section 370 — Public Law 116-283 — congress.gov / PLAW-116publ283.pdf
- • H.R. 6395 (116th Congress) — the bill that became Public Law 116-283 — congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6395
- • The Naming Commission — Final Report Vol. II (Sept 2022). Government archive: archives.gov
- • U.S. Navy — press releases for the redesignation of USS Chancellorsville and USNS Maury (2023) — navy.mil
- • Naval History and Heritage Command — ship naming references and lineage data — history.navy.mil
- • U.S. Naval Institute News — institutional reporting on the Navy track of the Naming Commission — news.usni.org