Virginia Military Institute

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. One of them was placed in Lexington. Residents came to resent the presence of the soldiers, whom they saw as drunken and undisciplined. In 1826, one guard beat another to death. Townspeople wanted to keep the arsenal, but sought a new way of guarding it, so as to eliminate the "undesirable element."[18][19] In 1834, the Franklin Society, a local literary and debate society, debated, "Would it be politic for the State to establish a military school, at the Arsenal, near Lexington, in connection with Washington College, on the plan of the West Point Academy?" They unanimously concluded that it would. Lexington attorney John Thomas Lewis Preston became the most active advocate of the proposal. In a series of three anonymous letters in the Lexington Gazette in 1835, he proposed replacing the arsenal guard with students living under military discipline, receiving some military education, as well as a liberal education. The school's graduates would contribute to the development of the state and, should the need arise, provide trained officers for the state's militia.[18][20]

After a public relations campaign that included Preston meeting in person with influential business, military and political figures and many open letters from prominent supporters including Alden Partridge of Norwich University, 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.[21][22][23]

The organizers of the planned school formed a board of visitors, which included Preston, and the board selected Claudius Crozet as their first president. Crozet had served as an engineer in Napoleon Bonaparte's army before immigrating to the United States. In America, he served as an engineering professor at West Point, as well as state engineer in Louisiana and mathematics professor at Jefferson College in Convent, Louisiana.[24] 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.[25]

Under Crozet's direction, the board of visitors crafted VMI's program of instruction, basing it off of those of the United States Military Academy and Crozet's alma mater the École Polytechnique of Paris. So, instead of the mix of military and liberal education imagined by Preston, the board created a military and engineering school offering the most thorough engineering curriculum in America, outside of West Point.[26]

Preston was also tasked with hiring VMI's first Superintendent. He was persuaded that West Point graduate and former Army officer Francis Henney Smith, then professor of mathematics 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.[18]

After Smith agreed to accept the Superintendent's position, Preston applied to join the faculty, and was hired as Professor of Languages.[27] Classes began in 1839, and the first cadet to march a sentinel post was Private John Strange.[28] With few exceptions, there have been sentinels posted at VMI every hour of every day of the school year since 11 November 1839.

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.

VMI cadets and alumni played instrumental roles in the American Civil War. On 14 occasions, the Confederacy called cadets into active military engagements. VMI authorized battle streamers for each one of these engagements but chose to carry only one: the battle streamer for New Market. Many VMI Cadets were ordered to Camp Lee, at Richmond, to train recruits under General Stonewall Jackson. VMI alumni were regarded among the best officers of the South and several distinguished themselves in the Union forces as well. Fifteen graduates rose to the rank of general in the Confederate Army, and one rose to this rank in the Union Army.[29] Just before his famous flank attack at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson looked at his division and brigade commanders, noted the high number of VMI graduates and said, "The Institute will be heard from today."[30] Three of Jackson's four division commanders at Chancellorsville, Generals James Lane, Robert Rodes, and Raleigh Colston, were VMI graduates as were more than twenty of his brigadiers and colonels.[30]

Engraving of VMI ca. 1863

On 14 May 1864, the Governor of Virginia once again called upon the cadets from VMI to participate in the American Civil War. After marching overnight 80 miles from Lexington to New Market, on 15 May 1864, 247 members of the VMI Corps of Cadets fought at the Battle of New Market. This event marks the only time in U.S. history wherein the student body of an operating college fought as an organized unit in pitched combat in battle (as recognized by the American Battlefield Trust).[31][32] This event was the 14th time VMI Cadets were called into action during the Civil War.

At New Market, in a matter of minutes, VMI suffered fifty-five casualties with ten cadets killed; the cadets were led into battle by the Commandant of Cadets and future VMI Superintendent Colonel Scott Shipp. Shipp was also wounded during the battle. Six of the ten fallen cadets are buried on VMI grounds behind the statue "Virginia Mourning Her Dead" by sculptor Moses Ezekiel, a VMI graduate who was also wounded in the Battle of New Market.[33]

General John C. Breckinridge, the commanding Southern general, held the cadets in reserve and did not use them until Union troops broke through the Confederate lines. Upon seeing the tide of battle turning in favor of the Union forces, Breckinridge stated, "Put the boys in...and may God forgive me for the order."[34] The VMI cadets held the line and eventually pushed forward across an open muddy field, capturing a Union artillery emplacement, and securing victory for the Confederates. The Union troops were withdrawn and Confederate troops under General Breckinridge held the Shenandoah Valley.

A cadet lies dead after being killed by a Union bayonet

On 12 June 1864 Union forces under the command of General David Hunter shelled and burned the Institute as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864. The destruction was almost complete and VMI had to temporarily hold classes at the Alms House in Richmond, Virginia. In April 1865 Richmond was evacuated due to the impending fall of Petersburg and the VMI Corps of Cadets was disbanded. The Lexington campus reopened for classes on 17 October 1865.[35] One of the reasons that Confederate General Jubal A. Early burned the town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania was in retaliation for the shelling of VMI.[36] Following the war, Matthew Fontaine Maury, the pioneering oceanographer known as the "Pathfinder of the Seas", accepted a teaching position at VMI, holding the physics chair. Following the war, David Hunter Strother, who was chief of staff to General Hunter and had advised the destruction of the institute, served as Adjutant General of the Virginia Militia and member of the VMI Board of Visitors; in that position he promoted and worked actively for the reconstruction.

VMI produced many of America's commanders in World War II. The most important of these was George C. Marshall, the top U.S. Army general during the war. Marshall was the Army's first five-star general and the only career military officer ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.[37] Winston Churchill dubbed Marshall the "Architect of Victory" and "the noblest Roman of them all". The Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army during the war was also a VMI graduate as were the Second U.S. Army commander, 15th U.S. Army commander, the commander of Allied Air Forces of the Southwest Pacific and various corps and division commanders in the Army and Marine Corps. China's General Sun Li-jen, known as the "Rommel of the East", was also a graduate of VMI.[38]

During the war, VMI participated in the War Department's Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) from 1943 to 1946. The program provided training in engineering and related subjects to enlisted men at colleges across the United States. Over 2,100 ASTP members studied at VMI during the war.

VMI admitted its first female student in 1995 after the U.S. Justice Department pursued a seven-year long lawsuit against the institution alleging discrimination. Although that first female student dropped out soon after matriculating, 30 female students enrolled in 1997, cementing VMI's new status as a coeducational institution.[39]

On 20 October 2020, a letter from Governor Ralph Northam and multiple other state officials reported that they had received reports from students of a racist culture at VMI. The students reported a threat of lynching, attacks on social media, and a staff member promoting "an inaccurate and dangerous 'Lost Cause' version of Virginia's history."[40] The letter was signed Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, state Senate President Louise Lucas, Attorney General Mark Herring and chairman of the Black caucus Lamont Bagby.[40] Northam, a VMI alumnus who graduated from the school in 1981, ordered a state-led investigation.[40] On 26 October 2020, the investigation prompted retired Gen. J.H. Binford Peay, 80, to tender his resignation as Superintendent of VMI, a position he had held since 2003.[41]

On December 7, 2020, VMI announced it was removing a statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, a former VMI professor. The statue will be relocated to a Civil War museum located on a battlefield where a number of VMI cadets and alumni were killed or wounded.[42]

Since 1839, VMI has had fourteen superintendents. Francis H. Smith was the first and the longest serving, filling the position for 50 years. Eleven of the fourteen superintendents were graduates of VMI.

VMI cannons in front of barracks

1. Francis H. Smith (1839–1889), United States Military Academy West Point Class of 1833
2. Scott Shipp '59 (1890–1907), wounded leading VMI cadets into The Battle of New Market[43]
3. Edward W. Nichols '78 (1907–1924)
4. William H. Cocke '94 (1924–1929)
5. John A. Lejeune (1929–1937), United States Naval Academy Class of 1888, 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps
6. Charles E. Kilbourne '94 (1937–1946), Medal of Honor recipient and first American to earn the United States' three highest military decorations.[44]
7. Richard J. Marshall '15 (1946–1952)
8. William H. Milton, Jr. '20 (1952–1960)
9. George R. E. Shell '31 (1960–1971)
10. Richard L. Irby '39 (1971–1981)
11. Sam S. Walker (1981–1988), matriculated at VMI transferred to United States Military Academy West Point Class of 1946
12. John W. Knapp '54 (1989–1995)
13. Josiah Bunting III '63 (1995–2002)
14. J. H. Binford Peay III '62 (2003–2020)

In 2015 VMI ranked fourth nationally, after the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy and the United States Air Force Academy, in the U.S. News and World Report rankings' "Top Public Schools, National Liberal Arts Colleges" category.[58]

Forbes' 2012 Special Report on America's Best Colleges ranked VMI in the top 25 public universities in the nation, well ahead of any other senior military college in the country. VMI was ranked 14th in the "Top 25 Publics" section, just behind the United States Military Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Naval Academy, but ahead of the United States Coast Guard Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.[59] Overall, VMI ranked 115th out of the 650 colleges and universities evaluated.[60]

Kiplinger's magazine, in its ranking of the "Best Values in Public Colleges" for 2006, made mention of the Virginia Military Institute as a "great value", although the military nature of its program excluded it from consideration as a traditional four-year college in the rankings.[61]

In 1997, VMI ended its prohibition and became the last U.S. military college to admit women. In 1990 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a discrimination lawsuit against VMI for its all-male admissions policy. While the court challenge was pending, a state-sponsored Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL) was opened at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, as a parallel program for women. The VWIL continued, even after VMI's admission of women.[72]

After VMI won its case in U.S. District Court, the case went through several appeals until 26 June 1996, when the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7–1 decision in United States v. Virginia, found that it was unconstitutional for a school supported by public funds to exclude women. (Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself, presumably because his son was attending VMI at the time.) Following the ruling, VMI contemplated going private to exempt itself from the 14th Amendment, and thus avoid the ruling.[73]

Assistant Secretary of Defense Frederick Pang, however, warned the school that the Department of Defense would withdraw ROTC programs from the school if privatization took place. As a result of this action by Pang, Congress passed a resolution on 18 November 1997 prohibiting the Department of Defense from withdrawing or diminishing any ROTC program at one of the six senior military colleges, including VMI. This escape clause provided by Congress came after the VMI Board of Visitors had already voted 9–8 to admit women; the decision was not revisited.[73]

In August 1997, VMI enrolled its first female cadets. The first co-ed class consisted of thirty women, and matriculated as part of the class of 2001. In order to accelerate VMI's matriculation process several women were allowed to transfer directly from various junior colleges, such as New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI), and forgo the traditional four-year curriculum that most cadets had been subjected to. The first female cadets "walked the stage" in 1999, although by VMI's definitions they are considered to be members of the class of 2001. Initially, these 30 women who were held to the same strict physical courses and technical training as the male cadets until it became apparent that adjustments to the standards had to be made. VMI resisted following other military colleges in adopting "gender-normed" physical training standards until 2008 when it was listed as a goal in VMI's 2039 Strategic Plan.[74][75] On 30 June 2008, gender-normed training standards were implemented for all female cadets.[76]

Virginia Military Institute was the last public college in Virginia to integrate, first admitting black cadets in 1968, [77] but interracial problems persist to the present day.[78] According to the Washington Post, even in 2020 "Black cadets still endure relentless racism [in an] atmosphere of hostility and cultural insensitivity".[78]

The Regimental Commander gives commands to the Corps of Cadets during a parade in coatee.

Just as cadets did nearly 200 years ago, today's cadets give up such comforts as beds, instead lying upon cots colloquially referred to as "hays". These hays are little more than foam mats that must be rolled every morning and aired every Monday. Further, cadet uniforms have changed little; the coatee worn in parades dates to the War of 1812. New cadets, known as "Rats", experience even further deprivations from many "creature comforts" common to college life at other schools: they are not permitted to watch TV or listen to music outside of an academic setting. To this end, living conditions are considered more austere here than other service academies.[79]

During the first six months at VMI, New Cadets are called "Rats," the accepted term (since the 1850s) for a New Cadet. The VMI ratline is a tough, old-fashioned indoctrination-system which dates back to the institute's founding. All "Rats" refer to their classmates, male or female, as "Brother Rats." The term "Brother Rat" is a term of endearment which lasts a lifetime amongst VMI graduates. Legend has it that when Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) students and VMI cadets drilled together in the 1830s, the students called the cadets "Rats" perhaps because of their gray uniforms. The cadets responded in kind calling the neighboring students "Minks" perhaps because many of them were from wealthy backgrounds. The purpose of the Ratline is to teach self-control, self-discipline, time-management, and followership as prerequisites for becoming a VMI cadet.[80]

New freshmen, known collectively as the "Rat Mass", walk along a prescribed line in barracks while maintaining an exaggerated form of attention, called "straining". This experience, called the Rat Line, is intended by the upper classes to instill camaraderie, pride, and discipline into the incoming class. Under this system, the Rats face numerous mental and physical challenges, starting with "Hell Week." During Hell Week, Rats receive basic military instruction from select upper classmen ("Cadre"); they learn to march, to clean their M14 rifle, and to wear their uniforms. During Hell Week, Rats also meet the members of various cadet-run organizations and learn the functions of each.

At the end of the first week, each Rat is paired with a first classman (senior) who serves as their mentor for the rest of the first year. The first classman is called a "Dyke," reference to an older Southern pronunciation of "to deck out," or to get into a uniform, as one of the roles of the rat is to help prepare their "Dyke's" uniform and dress them for parades.[81] While the Dyke watches out for the Rat and the Rat works for the Dyke in accordance with Institute policy, Cadre still enforce all rules for the Rats. In combining the softness of the Dykes with the hardness of the system they lead, with countless push-ups, sweat parties, and runs, the Rats are instilled with the virtue of time management and attention to detail.

The Ratline experience culminates with Resurrection Week ending in "Breakout," an event where the Rats are formally "welcomed" to the VMI community. After the successful completion of Breakout, Rats are officially fourth class students and no longer have to strain in the barracks or eat "square meals." Many versions of the Breakout ceremony have been conducted. In the 1950s, Rats from each company would be packed into a corner room in the barracks and brawl their way out through the upperclassmen. From the late 1960s through the early 1980s the Rats had to fight their way up to the fourth level of the barracks through three other classes of cadets determined not to let them get to the top. The stoops would often be slick with motor oil, packed with snow, glazed with ice, greased, or continuously hosed with water. The barracks stairs and rails were not able to take the abuse, so the Corps moved the breakout to a muddy hill, where Rats attempt to climb to the top by crawling on their stomachs while the upper classes block them or drag them back down.[81] The Rats no longer breakout in the mud but instead participate in a grueling day of physical activity testing both physical endurance and teamwork.

The entire body of Rats during the Ratline is called a "Rat Mass." Since Rats are not officially fourth classmen until after Breakout, the Rat Mass is also not officially considered a graduating class until that time either. Prior to Breakout, the Rat mass is given a different style of year identifier to emphasize this difference. The year identifier starts with the year of the current graduating class (their dykes' class), followed by a "+3" to indicate the anticipated year of their own class. For example, cadets that make up the Class of 2022 were considered the "Rat Mass of 2019+3" as the members of their dykes' class graduated in 2019 and they themselves will graduate three years onward from then.

In addition to the Ratline, VMI has other traditions that are emblematic of the school and its history including the new cadet oath ceremony, the pageantry of close-order marching, and the nightly playing of "Taps". An event second only to graduation in importance is the "Ring Figure" dance held every November. During their junior year, cadets receive class rings at a ring presentation ceremony followed by a formal dance.[82] Most cadets get two rings, a formal ring and a combat ring; some choose to have the combat ring for everyday wear, and the formal for special occasions.

Every year, VMI honors its fallen cadets with a New Market Day parade and ceremony. These events take place on 15 May, the same day as the Battle of New Market in which the VMI cadets fought during the Civil War that was in 1864. During this ceremony, the roll is called for cadets who "died on the Field of Honor" and wreaths are placed on the graves of those who died during the Battle of New Market.[83]

The requirement that all cadets wishing to eat dinner in the mess hall must be present for a prayer was the basis for a lawsuit in 2002 when two cadets sued VMI over the prayer said before dinner.[84] The non-denominational prayer had been a daily fixture since the 1950s.[85][86][87] In 2002 the Fourth Circuit ruled the prayer, during an event with mandatory attendance, at a state-funded school, violated the U.S. Constitution. When the Supreme Court declined to review the school's appeal in April 2004, the prayer tradition was stopped.[88]

The tradition of guarding the institute is one of the longest standing and is carried out to this day. Cadets have been posted as sentinels guarding the barracks 24 hours a day, seven days a week while school is in session since the first cadet sentinel, Cadet John B. Strange, and others relieved the Virginia Militia guard team tasked with defending the Lexington Arsenal (that later became VMI) in 1839. The guard team wears the traditional school uniform and each sentinel is armed with an M14 rifle and bayonet.[89]

VMI is known for its strict honor code, which is as old as the Institute and was formally codified in the early 20th century.[90] Under the VMI Honor Code, "a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do."[90][91] There is only one punishment for violating the VMI Honor Code: immediate expulsion in the form of a drumming out ceremony of dismissal, in which the entire corps is awakened by drums in barracks and the honor court to hear the formal announcement. VMI is the only military college or academy in the Nation which maintains a single-sanction Honor Code and in recent times, the dismissed cadet is removed from post before the formal announcement is made.[92]

VMI currently offers over 50 school-sponsored clubs and organizations, including recreational activities, military organizations, musical and performance groups, religious organizations and service groups.[93][94] Although VMI prohibited cadet membership in fraternal organizations starting in 1885, VMI cadets were instrumental in starting several fraternities. Alpha Tau Omega fraternity was founded by VMI cadets Otis Allan Glazebrook, Alfred Marshall, and Erskine Mayo Ross at Richmond, Virginia on 11 September 1865 while the school was closed for reconstruction.[95]

After the re-opening, Kappa Sigma Kappa fraternity was founded by cadets on 28 September 1867 and Sigma Nu fraternity was founded by cadets on 1 January 1869.[90] VMI cadets formed the second chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order.[96] In a special arrangement, graduating cadets may be nominated by Kappa Alpha Order alumni and inducted into the fraternity, becoming part of Kappa Alpha Order's Beta Commission (a commission as opposed to an active chapter). This occurs following graduation, and the newly initiated VMI alumni are accepted as brothers of the fraternity.[97]

Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium

VMI played its first football game in 1871. The one-game season was a 4–2 loss to Washington and Lee University. There are no records of a coach or any players for that game.[102] VMI waited another twenty years, until 1891, when head coach Walter Taylor would coach the next football team.[103] The current head football coach at VMI, Scott Wachenheim, was named the 31st head coach on 14 December 2014.[104] The Keydets play their home games out of Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium, built in 1962. VMI's last winning football season was in 1981.[105]

Perhaps the most famous athletic story in VMI history was the two-year run of the 1976 and 1977 basketball teams. The 1976 squad advanced within one game of the Final Four before bowing to undefeated Rutgers in the East Regional Final, and in 1977 VMI finished with 26 wins and just four losses, still a school record, and reached the "Sweet 16" round of the NCAA tournament.

The current VMI basketball team is led by head coach Dan Earl and assistant coaches: Steve Enright and Austin Kenon. Tom Kiely is the Director of Basketball Operations.

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