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Show The Virginia Military Institute Looks Back Over Its 100 Years of Stirring History as "West Point of the South" L i" f -i 4 -Y ' si" i at w s I r 7: 77 7717' 7, y v -; ; ? ; v -r- - , J A view of the parade ground of Virginia Military Institute, the "West Point of the South," with its 700 cadets staging their final review before the summer quarter begins. In the background are the barracks where they live. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) ITS official name is the Virginia Military institute but down in Dixie everyone knows what you're talking about when you refer to the V. M. I. For this school, which is celebrating its centennial this year, is the "West Point of the South" and back of it there is a tradition as full of glory as the honored legends which cluster around the school on the Hudson and one in which all Americans, North as well as South, can take pride. Although it is officially only on-ly 100 years old this year, its history really goes back to 1798 when the general assembly assem-bly of the state of Virginia provided for two more arsenals arse-nals for the preservation of state arms in serviceable condition. The location of these two arsenals was not decided, however, until the end of the War of 1812 made them a necessity. In 1816 it was decided to place one of them in the city of Lexington and a reservation of about seven acres overlooking the north branch of the James river was set aside for this purpose. Here about 30,000 stands of arms and other munitions were stored and it was not long before the citizens of Lexington began discussing the idea of a military school at the arsenal. Roosevelt to Speak. So the assembly passed legislation legisla-tion establishing the Virginia Military institute there. The first corps of cadets was mustered into service on November 11, 1839, and it is on November 11 of this year that the climax of the centennial celebration will come with President Roosevelt going to Lexington to deliver the principal address. There were only 23 young cadets at first, then 31, and gradually the enrollment increased. Although only 58 men had been graduated from V. M. I. when the Mexican war broke out, 25 of these went into service at once and distinguished distin-guished themselves in that war. On August 13, 1851, there came to Lexington a man whose name was destined to become a part of V. M. I. tradition. He was Brevet-Major Thomas J. Jackson of the First Regiment of United States artillery who had made a brilliant record in the Mexican war. He had been appointed "professor of natural philosophy and artillery tactics," obtained a furlough for nine months to accept ac-cept this position and finally in February, 1852, resigned from the army to remain at V. M. I. At the outbreak of the War Between Be-tween the States, there were 1,902 living former cadets at V. M. I. and although 94 per cent of these served in the Confederate army, it is recorded that 15 of them put on the Union blue. When Virginia Vir-ginia seceded from the Union in April, 1861, the corps of cadets marched to Richmond to enroll in the Confederate service and they marched there under the leadership leader-ship of their "professor of natural philosophy and artillery tactics." Three months later this professor was to win immortality as "Stonewall" "Stone-wall" Jackson at the Battle of Bull Run. The cadets were used to instruct in-struct and drill volunteers but many of them rapidly advanced in rank in the various branches of the Confederate service. It soon become apparent that the South would have need for a training train-ing school to supply skilled and trained officers for the Gray army so V. M. I. was reopened at the beginning of 1862. Heroic Schoolboys. Two years later the cadets were called upon for another service and as the result of it V. M. I. is the only school in the world entitled en-titled to wear an active service pennant on its flag. It won that right in a battle which was fought just 75 years ago last May the Battle of New Market, where the repeated charges of these beardless beard-less lads was one of the most heroic incidents in American military mili-tary annals. It came about in May, 1864, when Lee had just commenced his death grapple with Grant which was to end within a year at Appomattox. All of his available avail-able forces had been engaged in the Peninsula campaign and concentrated con-centrated for the defense of the Confederate capital. Valuable supplies for this great army were being furnished by the rich Valley Val-ley of Virginia, "the Granary of the Confederacy." Early in May, the Federal commander, com-mander, General Sigel, with about 12,000 troops proceeded southward down the Valley Pike to cut off this source of supply. General Lee detailed Gen. John C. Breckenridge with less than 3,000 men to stop this advance and to protect the lines of communication com-munication from Staunton to Richmond. On May 10, 1864, the superintendent superin-tendent of V. M. I., General Smith, received an order from General Breckenridge to send to him at Staunton the cadet corps and a section .of artillery. At midnight the long roll was sound- tion in the general column in rear of Echols brigade. After proceeding up the Valley pike a distance of some six miles, a halt was called, the troops remaining re-maining on the side of the road two or three hours. The Federal troops failing to advance as had been expected, General Breckenridge Brecken-ridge proceeded to attack the enemy at 12:30 p. m. in the general gen-eral vicinity of New Market. General Breckenriclge formed his infantry in two lines. Wharton's Whar-ton's brigade of infantry constituted consti-tuted the first line, Echols brigade, including the battalion of cadets, the second. The cadets were next to the last battalion in the'second line of the left flank, the second line following at an interval of 250 paces in rear of the first. The . battle lasted from 12:30 until 6:30 p. m., by which time the Confederate Confed-erate forces of less than 3,000 men had completely routed the 12,000 opposing them, the Federals Feder-als retreating across the river. Three Cadet Charges. The fighting lasted only six hours, but it was hot and .furious and the Confederates carried everything ev-erything before them by impetuous impetu-ous charges, the cadet corps being be-ing called upon to make three separate advances all under most withering fire. Out of 225 men engaged, the corps lost 56 killed and wounded. It is a well-known fact that a casualty of 10 per cent will strain the morale of seaT soned troops and yet on this occasion, occa-sion, the cadet corps suffered a casualty of nearly 25 per cent without wavering. As a battle, New Market was . ' ' ' A A ' fe - v. , s " J ' " 1 I x s , n - I n MX v -- ' Charge of the Virginia military Institute cadets at New market, Va., during the War Between the States, as depicted by mural painting paint-ing in the chapel of the institute. It was painted by Sir Moses Ezekiel, who as a youth was a member of the corps that fought there. ed. the corps assembled in front of barracks and an order was read, directing the corps to take up the line of march to Staunton. The next morning a battalion of four companies of infantry and a section of three-inch guns left Lexington for Staunton, arriving in Staunton the evening of the twelfth. The corps left Staunton at daylight on the thirteenth, marching 18 miles, moving at daylight on the fourteenth for another an-other 16 miles. At midnight on the fourteenth, the corps received orders to march immediately without beat of drum and as noiselessly as possible and at 1 :30 a. m., on the fifteenth took posi- of minor significance and had no material bearing on the final outcome out-come of the struggle in Virginia. For soon afterwards the raid of the Union General Hunter swept through the valley, burned the institute buildings and was not checked until he was met by General Early at Lynchburg. But the achievements of these school boys still in their teens who had never before smelled the smoke of battle or seen the carnage car-nage of warfare is not only a bright page in V. M. I. history but symbolical of what we like to believe is all that is best in American Amer-ican courage and American devotion devo-tion to an ideal. Inextricably woven with the story of V. M. I. is the story of one of the greatest military geniuses that America ever produced pro-duced "Stonewall" Jackson. An interesting view of this great soldier, sol-dier, while he was "professor of natural philosophy and artillery tactics" at that institution, is given giv-en in these reminiscences of a former student at Washington college col-lege (later Washington and Lee university) which appeared many years ago in the Wheeling (W. Va.) Register. He writes: "My first recollection of Stonewall Stone-wall Jackson is when I was a college boy at Lexington, Va., in the fall of 1860. I am not able to say whether it was the peculiar pecu-liar carriage of the stiff, military looking institute professor who daily passed the college grounds, that was of chief interest to the students of Washington college or whether the stories told of daring dar-ing and reckless courage in his early military life, invested him with a halo of romance and made him an object of hero worship in their youthful minds. " 'Old Jack,' as he was familiarly famil-iarly called by the cadets and students, was so plain in manner and attire, there was so little effort ef-fort at show, his feet were so large and his arms and hands fastened to his body in such an awkward shape, that the cadets didn't take much pride in him as a professor. They feared him in the lecture room, they paid the strictest deference to him on parade, but in showing a stranger the sights about the institute, a cadet was never known to point . ..,,,;j, 7fiL out 'Old Jack' as one of the ornaments orna-ments of the institution. He was more popular with the college students . . . "The next spring the fires of war threw their lurid glare over the entire land. Then it was Jackson took a final farewell of Lexington, never to return until he was brought back to be buried, according to his dying request, 'in the Valley of Virginia.' "The cadets were ordered tox the field. Major Jackson was selected se-lected to command them. After the passage of the ordinance of secession on the seventeenth of April, 1861, the war spirit was at fever heat in Virginia. The steady-going old town of Lexington Lexing-ton had suddenly been metamorphosed metamor-phosed into a bustling military camp. Volunteer companies were being organized, and every preparation being made for a horrible hor-rible war. But no event of that memorable period has left a more vivid impression upon my mind than the departure of the cadet battalion from the military institute. "It was a bright Sabbh morning morn-ing early in May, and a vast concourse con-course of people had gathered on Institute hill to see the youthful soldiers start for the war. The baggage and camp equipage had been put into the wagons, the horses hitched in, the drivers mounted, with whip in hand, waiting wait-ing for the command to pull out. The cadets were in line, their cheeks aglow, and their eyes sparkling with the expectation of military glory awaiting them. Poor boys! Little did they know as they stood there, in their bright uniforms and gilt guns shining in the morning sunlight, how few of them would be left to answer at the last roll call of the Army of Northern Virginia. "As they stood thus, Major Jackson, mounted on an ordinary-looking ordinary-looking horse, rode up. His face was. as calm and unmoved as ever, the thin lips tightly compressed, com-pressed, and looking just as he looked at Kernstown and Manas sas. Riding up to the side of an elderly looking gentleman in clerical cloth, standing in front of the main entrance to the institute, insti-tute, Major Jackson wheeled his horse, and facing his battalion as he raised his cap, said 'Let us pray.' "The venerable Dr. White, pastor pas-tor of the Presbyterian church, then stepped forward, and baring his gray locks to the sun, poured forth a feeling prayer. It was a memorable scene. Just as the clergyman pronounced the 'Amen,' Jackson wheeled his horse, and in a short, crisp manner, man-ner, gave the command, 'Forward, 'For-ward, march.' Waving a silent adieu to the assembled crowd, he rode off at the head of the column. col-umn. That was the last time his gaze fell upon the town of Lexington." |