10
10
0
On November 11, 1839, The Virginia Military Institute was founded in Lexington, Virginia. From the article:
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a state-supported military college in Lexington, Virginia, the oldest such institution in the United States. Unlike any other senior military college in the United States, and in keeping with its founding principles, VMI enrolls cadets only and awards baccalaureate degrees exclusively.[5][6][7][8][9][10] VMI offers its students, all of whom are cadets, strict military discipline combined with a spartan, physically and academically demanding environment. The Institute grants degrees in 14 disciplines in engineering, the sciences, and the liberal arts.[11]
While VMI has been called "The West Point of The South",[12] it differs from the federal military service academies in several respects. For example, VMI numbers only 1600 cadets and the living conditions are more austere.[13] Also, while all cadets must participate in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) of the United States Armed Forces, VMI cadets are afforded the flexibility of pursuing civilian endeavors or accepting an officer's commission in any of the active or reserve components of any of the U.S. military branches upon graduation.[14]
The Board of Visitors is the supervisory board[15] of the Virginia Military Institute.[16][17] Although the Governor is ex officio the commander-in-chief of the Institute, and no one may be declared a graduate without his signature, he delegates to the Board the responsibility for developing the Institute's policy.[17] The Board appoints the Superintendent and approves appointment of members of the faculty and staff on the recommendation of the Superintendent.[17] The Board may make bylaws and regulations for their own government and the management of the affairs of the Institute,[18] and while the Institute is exempt from the Administrative Process Act in accordance with Va. Code § 2.2-4002(A)(6) (which exempts educational institutions operated by the Commonwealth),[19] some of its regulations are codified at 8VAC 100. The Executive Committee conducts the business of the Board during recesses.[16][20]
The Board has 17 members, including ex officio the Adjutant General of the Commonwealth of Virginia.[17] Regular members are appointed by the Governor for a four-year term and may be reappointed once.[17] Of the sixteen appointed members, twelve must be alumni of the Institute, eight of whom must be residents of Virginia and four must be non-residents; and the remaining four members must be non-alumni Virginia residents.[17] The Executive Committee consists of the Board's President, three Vice Presidents, and one non-alumnus at large, and is appointed by the Board at each annual meeting.[20]
Under the militia bill (the Virginia Code of 1860) officers of the Institute were recognized as part of the military establishment of the state, and the Governor had authority to issue commissions to them in accordance with Institute regulations.[17] Current law makes provision for officers of the Virginia Militia to be subject to orders of the Governor.[17] The cadets are a military corps (the Corps of Cadets) under the command of the Superintendent and under the administration of the Commandant of Cadets, and constitute the guard of the Institute.[17][21]
In the years after the War of 1812, the Commonwealth of Virginia built and maintained several arsenals to store weapons intended for use by the state militia in the event of invasion or slave revolt.[22] In the 1830s Lexington attorney John Thomas Lewis Preston belonged to a debate club known as the Franklin Society. In 1836 he made the case to the society that the arsenal in Lexington could be put to better use as a normal school for providing education on practical subjects, as well as military training to individuals who could be expected to serve as officers in the militia if needed.[23]
After debate and revision of the original proposal, the Franklin Society voted in favor of Preston's concept. After a public relations campaign that included Preston meeting in person with influential business, military and political figures, letters to editors of prominent news sources from Preston writing under a pen name, and many other open letters from prominent supporters, in 1836 the Virginia legislature passed a bill authorizing creation of a school at the Lexington arsenal, and the Governor signed the measure into law.[24][25][26]
The organizers of the planned school formed a board of visitors, which included Preston, and the board selected Claudius Crozet, a prominent officer and engineer formerly under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte, to serve as their President.[27] Crozet was also the Chief Engineer of Virginia and someone whom Thomas Jefferson referred to as, "the smartest mathematician in the United States." The board delegated to Preston the task of deciding what to call the new school, and he created the name Virginia Military Institute.[28]
Preston was also tasked with hiring VMI's first Superintendent. He was persuaded that West Point graduate and Army officer Francis Henney Smith, then on the faculty at Hampden–Sydney College, was the most suitable candidate. Preston successfully recruited Smith, and convinced him to become the first Superintendent and Professor of Tactics. In an endeavor unique to the United States, Preston, Crozet, and Smith founded VMI intending to create a hybrid of the best characteristics of the United States Military Academy and British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst educational models.
After Smith agreed to accept the Superintendent's position, Preston applied to join the faculty, and was hired as Professor of Languages.[29] Classes began in 1839, and the first cadet to march a sentinel post was Private John Strange.[30] With few exceptions, there have been sentinels posted at VMI every hour of every day of the school year.
The Class of 1842 graduated 16 cadets. Living conditions were poor until 1850 when the cornerstone of the new barracks was laid. In 1851 Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson became a member of the faculty and professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy. Under Jackson, then a major, and Major William Gilham, VMI infantry and artillery units were present at the execution by hanging of John Brown at Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1859.
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a state-supported military college in Lexington, Virginia, the oldest such institution in the United States. Unlike any other senior military college in the United States, and in keeping with its founding principles, VMI enrolls cadets only and awards baccalaureate degrees exclusively.[5][6][7][8][9][10] VMI offers its students, all of whom are cadets, strict military discipline combined with a spartan, physically and academically demanding environment. The Institute grants degrees in 14 disciplines in engineering, the sciences, and the liberal arts.[11]
While VMI has been called "The West Point of The South",[12] it differs from the federal military service academies in several respects. For example, VMI numbers only 1600 cadets and the living conditions are more austere.[13] Also, while all cadets must participate in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) of the United States Armed Forces, VMI cadets are afforded the flexibility of pursuing civilian endeavors or accepting an officer's commission in any of the active or reserve components of any of the U.S. military branches upon graduation.[14]
The Board of Visitors is the supervisory board[15] of the Virginia Military Institute.[16][17] Although the Governor is ex officio the commander-in-chief of the Institute, and no one may be declared a graduate without his signature, he delegates to the Board the responsibility for developing the Institute's policy.[17] The Board appoints the Superintendent and approves appointment of members of the faculty and staff on the recommendation of the Superintendent.[17] The Board may make bylaws and regulations for their own government and the management of the affairs of the Institute,[18] and while the Institute is exempt from the Administrative Process Act in accordance with Va. Code § 2.2-4002(A)(6) (which exempts educational institutions operated by the Commonwealth),[19] some of its regulations are codified at 8VAC 100. The Executive Committee conducts the business of the Board during recesses.[16][20]
The Board has 17 members, including ex officio the Adjutant General of the Commonwealth of Virginia.[17] Regular members are appointed by the Governor for a four-year term and may be reappointed once.[17] Of the sixteen appointed members, twelve must be alumni of the Institute, eight of whom must be residents of Virginia and four must be non-residents; and the remaining four members must be non-alumni Virginia residents.[17] The Executive Committee consists of the Board's President, three Vice Presidents, and one non-alumnus at large, and is appointed by the Board at each annual meeting.[20]
Under the militia bill (the Virginia Code of 1860) officers of the Institute were recognized as part of the military establishment of the state, and the Governor had authority to issue commissions to them in accordance with Institute regulations.[17] Current law makes provision for officers of the Virginia Militia to be subject to orders of the Governor.[17] The cadets are a military corps (the Corps of Cadets) under the command of the Superintendent and under the administration of the Commandant of Cadets, and constitute the guard of the Institute.[17][21]
In the years after the War of 1812, the Commonwealth of Virginia built and maintained several arsenals to store weapons intended for use by the state militia in the event of invasion or slave revolt.[22] In the 1830s Lexington attorney John Thomas Lewis Preston belonged to a debate club known as the Franklin Society. In 1836 he made the case to the society that the arsenal in Lexington could be put to better use as a normal school for providing education on practical subjects, as well as military training to individuals who could be expected to serve as officers in the militia if needed.[23]
After debate and revision of the original proposal, the Franklin Society voted in favor of Preston's concept. After a public relations campaign that included Preston meeting in person with influential business, military and political figures, letters to editors of prominent news sources from Preston writing under a pen name, and many other open letters from prominent supporters, in 1836 the Virginia legislature passed a bill authorizing creation of a school at the Lexington arsenal, and the Governor signed the measure into law.[24][25][26]
The organizers of the planned school formed a board of visitors, which included Preston, and the board selected Claudius Crozet, a prominent officer and engineer formerly under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte, to serve as their President.[27] Crozet was also the Chief Engineer of Virginia and someone whom Thomas Jefferson referred to as, "the smartest mathematician in the United States." The board delegated to Preston the task of deciding what to call the new school, and he created the name Virginia Military Institute.[28]
Preston was also tasked with hiring VMI's first Superintendent. He was persuaded that West Point graduate and Army officer Francis Henney Smith, then on the faculty at Hampden–Sydney College, was the most suitable candidate. Preston successfully recruited Smith, and convinced him to become the first Superintendent and Professor of Tactics. In an endeavor unique to the United States, Preston, Crozet, and Smith founded VMI intending to create a hybrid of the best characteristics of the United States Military Academy and British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst educational models.
After Smith agreed to accept the Superintendent's position, Preston applied to join the faculty, and was hired as Professor of Languages.[29] Classes began in 1839, and the first cadet to march a sentinel post was Private John Strange.[30] With few exceptions, there have been sentinels posted at VMI every hour of every day of the school year.
The Class of 1842 graduated 16 cadets. Living conditions were poor until 1850 when the cornerstone of the new barracks was laid. In 1851 Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson became a member of the faculty and professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy. Under Jackson, then a major, and Major William Gilham, VMI infantry and artillery units were present at the execution by hanging of John Brown at Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1859.
Virginia Military Institute - Wikipedia
Posted from en.m.wikipedia.org
American History
Military History
Virginia Military Institute
Education
Posted 6 y ago
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google