The Virginia Military Institute [‘VMI’] was founded in 1839, as the first state-supported Military college in the United States. Located in the Shenandoah Valley town of Lexington, Virginia – it was only the second governmental military academy in the United States, the first being the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York (founded in 1802), and represented increased educational opportunity for non-elite southern men. Future Confederate generals; Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and John McCausland were VMI instructors during John Brown‘s raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859, and they led cadets to his execution in Charles Town, where they helped to provide security. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), approximately 1,800 VMI graduates served (including 19 in the U.S. Army), with about 250 of them killed in action. Cadets famously were called upon to fight in the Battle of New Market, contributing to the Confederate victory on May 15, 1864. In June, Union general David Hunter ordered the school burned, and the cadets relocated to Richmond, where they helped to defend the Confederate capital.
The VMI campus is about 200 acres and is incredible to walk and is steeped in history – visit the old campus on top, read the many informational plaques, visit the the sports fields, the museum and gift shop. (tip: visit during matriculation day and you’ll feel like you’re on the set of the movie ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’) (tip: make this part of a broader visit to Lexington which is just adjacent and go window shopping or enjoy many of the cafes and restaurants and the adjacent W&L campus). (tip: Virginia is also a Purple Heart state and the Virginia Military Institute is only 1 of 4 Colleges / Universities designates as a Purple Heart College / University in the State of Virginia). For More Information click here https://www.vmi.edu/ (25-minute drive from OBS)