Virginia Military Institute Historic District
N 37° 47.441 W 079° 26.194
17S E 637658 N 4183742
The VMI campus covers 134 acres, 12 of which are designated as a National Historic District. The campus is referred to as the "Post." All cadets are housed on campus in a large five story building, called the "barracks."
Waymark Code: WM11CY
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 12/13/2006
Views: 25
Shortly after the War of 1812 the Virginia Arsenal was established on the outskirts of Lexington, Virginia. In 1834 it was proposed among Lexington’s leading citizens that the arsenal be transformed into a military college, wherein the students while protecting arms could also pursue educational courses.
On November 11, 1839, 23 young Virginians were mustered into the service of the State and, in a falling snow the first cadet sentry, John B. Strange, relieved the old arsenal guard. To this day cadets perform guard duty and serve the State as a military corps, as the first Corps of Cadets did.
Professor (later Major General) Francis H. Smith, a distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy, was named the first Superintendent of VMI and presided over the affairs of the Institute for its first half-century. By 1850 the Corps was housed in new barracks, and other buildings were added; the curriculum broadened, and the faculty enlarged. Among them was a moody, eccentric professor of “natural philosophy”—”physics,” it is called today—named Thomas Jonathan Jackson, who joined the faculty in 1851 and served until April, 1861, when he resumed military duty as a general of the Confederate forces, later called “Stonewall” Jackson, one of the great commanders in American military history. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the Cadet Corps was called under command of its professor of physics, to train recruits for the Confederate Army in the Richmond area. The cadets served as drill instructors for eight months, until the Corps was reconstituted at the Institute to supply officers for the Southern armies. The Cadet Corps was called into active service a number of times in the Valley of Virginia during the next three years.
On May 15, 1863, the Corps of Cadets escorted the body of “Stonewall” Jackson to his grave in Lexington, after his death in the battle of Chancellorsville.
One year to the day after the funeral of Jackson, the VMI Cadet Corps was engaged as a unit in a pitched battle. Called upon to bolster the Southern line against the advance of Union General Franz Sigel, the Corps marched down the valley to New Market and, in the battle fought there, won credit for helping turn the tide in favor of the Confederate forces. Ten cadets were killed and 47 wounded. Six of the dead are buried on the VMI grounds
The Institute was shelled and burned on June 12, 1864, by Union forces under the command of General David Hunter. The destruction was almost complete. Had it not been for the courageous efforts of General Smith and dedicated members of the faculty, it is doubtful the Institute would have reopened in the war-ravaged South. VMI did reopen on October 17, 1865, to begin its climb back from ruins.
Today the Virginia Military institute continues its tradition of graduating some of our Nations finest military Leaders. Past graduates include General George C. Marshall (Class of 1901) who became General of the Army, Chief of Staff of the Army during World War II, U.S. Secretary of State (1947–1949), U.S. Secretary of Defense (1950), and Nobel Peace Prize winner for the Marshall Plan in Europe after World War II.
Source/Credit: The Virginia Military Institute
Street address:
Letcher Avenue
Lexington, VA. United States
24450
County / Borough / Parish: City of Lexington (Rockbridge County)
Year listed: 1974
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Military, Denfense, Education
Periods of significance: 1800 - 1924
Historic function: Military, Defense, Education
Current function: Education, Denfense
Privately owned?: no
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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