Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced February 27th that the Ticonderoga-class cruiser formerly named USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) will be renamed USS Robert Smalls (CG 62).

This renaming honors Robert Smalls, a skilled sailor and statesman born into slavery in South Carolina.

Despite the fact a US Army ship is already names for Small, this hurried WOKE decision arrived after a congressionally mandated Naming Commission outlined several military assets across all branches of service that required renaming due to confederate ties. In September 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accepted all recommendations from the naming commission and gave each service until the end of 2023 to rename their assets.