INTRODUCTORY LECTURE READ BEFORE THE CORPS OF CADETS, • ON THE RESUMPTION OF THE ACADEMIC M 'i IKS 0* TIE Virginia Military Institute, AT THE ALMS HOUSE, RICHMOND, VA., December 28, 1864, BY • FRANCIS H. SMITH, A. M, » Superintendent of the Va. Military Institute. Published by order of the Board of Visitors. RICHMOND: MACFARLANE & FERGUSSON, PRINTERS. 1865. ■ LECTURE. Many days of memorable interest are traced in undying characters through the brief annals of the Virginia Military Institute. That cold and blustering eve, on the 11th November, 1839, when a squad of young Virginians unfurled the banner of their State from the Arsenal building at Lexington, as the standard of the " V. M. 1. Cadet," will never be forgotten by any who participated in that inter- esting ceremony. The 1th of July, 1S42, was the birth day of the First Graduating Class — the pioneers in the great work to which the Institution had been dedicated by its founders. When, on the 1th of July, 1850, General Philip St. George Cocke, as President of the Board of Visitors, laid, with impressive ceremonials, the corner stone of that magnificent building, erected by the liberality of the State of Virginia, all felt that that day permanently fixed the State policy in support of the Virginia Military Institute. Ten hard probationary years had rolled away — the test of experiment in its se- verest ordeal, had been applied — and with the plaudit " well done I" the Commonwealth of Virginia adopted as her own the bantling of 1839. Who can ever forget that turbulent crowd — eager for the fray — which sought, under the plea of a fancied insult, to give vent to the revolutionary fires that burned within ? The State of Virginia had actually seceded, but her independence was not publicly known — and that Saturday afternoon, in April 1861, was nigh witnessing a sanguin- ary drama — the prelude to the struggle which soon followed. Ah ! what memories cluster around the 15th of May, 1801 ! The 2 LECTURE. battle-field had been familiar to most of those trained in this nursery of patriot soldiers. But that day was signalized by the conspicuous gallantry of the corps of cadets as a battalion — and the dead — and the wounded — and the living — bear testimony to the glory which encircles the brow of all who participated in that brilliant victory of Xav Market. Just one month later, and the clouds of heaven reflected the confla- gration which made the cherished home of the cadet a mass of ruins ! Memorable days ! all of these J And now, once more, to-day, in this building appropriated as an asylum for the destitute and the homeless, we aie to add another to the many eventful days in our memorable his- tory. Truly, every cadet is to realize now the character and the destiny of the soldier-scholar. He finds himself in a beleagured city. The roar of the cannon avrakes him in the morning — and lulls him to sleep at night. He has to study with his armor on, and his musket by his side, ready for the lecture-room or the battle-field, as duty may call. Cadets ! soldier-scholars ! you are to make this day memorable, as illustrating by your valor on the one hand — and by your assiduity on the other — the spirit of the Institution which aims to train you, amid these sur- roundings, for the crisis of your country's history. It is surely not necessary for me, at this time, to refer to the many and serious difficulties which embarrass an Institution like this, in its effort to continue its operations undeT the circumstances which sur- round it. There is scarcely a comfort that may be required for you, as a soldier or a scholar, that has not to be procured and preserved, at great labor and with much uncertainty. Even the house which now shelters you, was the only available one at command, and this has been secured, with all its inconveniences and want of adaptedness, under dis- couragements and serious hindrances. There must then have been good and substantial reasons with the governing authorities of the Institu- tion to order its continuance at such a time and under such circum- stances. It is proper that these reasons should be distinctly set before you to-day. And the first and paramount motive was — a sense of the essential importance of this military school to the military defences of our suffer- ing and bleeding country. When the Confederate army was first organized, on the opening of the war, most persons felt the importance of military education. The i^ECTURB. 8 graduates of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point — of the Vir- ginia Military Institute, and of the various military schools of the South — were promptly and eagerly sought for, to take commanding positions in this Army. Some eight hundred of those who had been educated at this Institu- tion, were placed in commission — and many of them occupied stations of high rank and responsibility. It is estimated that one-tenth of the Confederate army, in 1862, was under the command of officers who had been trained to arms here. Even the cadets were brought into requisition at once as drill-masters — and here, at Camp Lee, in a con- tinued and laborious service of nearly three months — drilled 15,000 of the gallant army that achieved the first battle of Manassas. And the country reaped the benefits of this Providential supply of well qualified officers. The signal success which crowned our arms, especially in Virginia, were earned by the valor of our troops, under the training and discipline of such commanders. But other views, in the progress of the war, gained ground. It has been thought that the battle-field is the place to tutor officers — and that now that our whole country has been made one military camp, the lessons which shall qualify the soldier for command, are only properly to be acquired there. Legislation has followed the popular idea, — ap- pointments to command are made by popular election — popularity or supposed fitness secures advancement, in many cases, to the rejection of the educated military talent of the country. It is not to be denied that military genius i3 not to be tied down to any routine — and that the camp and the battle-field are emphatically the positions to test and develope the military qualities of an officer. Many of our most distinguished leaders have received only this practi- cal training. But, after making the fullest allowances for these excep- tional cases, and giving the fullest credit to the importance of that ex- perience which public service alone can give, I am prepared to say, that our country is now reaping the consequences of grave error on this point, and that the disasters which have attended our arms, have been mainly due to the lack of that discipline and drill which it is the spe- cial province of military schools to impart. Men may be never so brave ; they may be led by officers who know no fear, but unless they are moved in the order, and with the command which educated disoi- 4 LECTURE. pline gives, the army suffers under defeat, and hard oarned victories are thrown away, and turned into disasters. Need I cite instances to illustrate this truth ? From ShiloJi to the unfortunate disaster at Cedar Creek, the whole war presents the pain- ful fa«t, that where valor has achieved the greatest successes ; the want of discipline and drill has entailed upon us many serious reverses. The Father of His Country, when President of the United States, had learned, from his experience in the field, the importance of milita- ry instruction. In his annual message, December 3d, 1793, he sug- gested the enquiry, whether the act of Congress of May 8th, 1793, " More effectually to provide for the national defence," &c, accom- plished the desired objects; and whether a material feature in the im- provement of the scheme, (l ought not to be, to afford an opportunity for the study of those branches of the art, which can scarcely ever be attained by practice alone" And in his message of December 7th, 1796, he again introduced the subject of military instruction in the following explicit terms: " The institution of a military academy is also recommended by cogent reasons. ***** Whatever argument may be drawn from particular examples superficially viewed — a thorough examination of the subject will evince that the art of war is both comprehensive and complicated — that it demands much previous study ; and that the possession of it in its most improved and perfect state, is always of great moment to the security of a nation." These views led to the establishment of the Military Academy at West Point, a/id the practical benefits which have resulted from that important arm of national defence, hav^becn so conspicuously seen by the Federal Government since this war commenced, that instead of suspending its operations, or restricting its sphere of usefulness, in con- sequence of the number of trained officers whom practice in the field had brought out — increased vigor has been given to its administration, and it is reported that the number of cadets has been increased to double the usual complement. Nor has the U. S. Army failed to reap the advantages anticipated by the Father of His Country. With a mercenary body of men, anima- ted by no such principle as that which fires the breast of every South- ern patriot — its discipline and drill have preserved it from disaster, • LECTURE. 3 when defeated, and given it a power that mere force of numbers could not impart. Shall we turn to the pages in the history of the French Revolution of 1789, for additional illustrations confirmatory of the view I am now presenting? Thiers thus writes: " The permanent requisition decreed by the French Assembly, in August, 1793, had filled the army with soldiers — but officers were want- ing. The committee acted in this respect with its accustomed promp- titude." " The Revolution," said Barrere, " must accelerate all things for the supply of its wants. The revolution is to the human mind, what the sun of Africa is to vegetation." " The school of Mars was re-estab- lished. Young men, selected from all the provinces, repaired on foot, and in military order, to Paris. Encamped in tents on the plain of Sablons, they repaired thither to acquire rapid instruction in all the departments ©f the art of war, and then to be distributed among the armies." So that instead of relaxing military instruction, when a general con- scription called every able bodied soldier into the field, to resist the armies of the allies — such necessities made more urgent the re-estab- lishment of a school which had been closed amid the disorders incident to the opening of the revolution. And France reaped the benefits of such a provision. The subaltern officers of the army — those upon whom must depend the discipline and drill of the companies, that regi- ments, brigades and divisions may be moved with celerity, order and effect — were supplied from these military schools, and the successes of 1794, and the following years, were the fruits of the policy so happily enforced. To these illustrations, drawn from history, I will only add the testi- mony of the great and invincible commander of the army of Northern Virginia. The re-opening of the Virginia Military Institute, 1st Jan- uary, 1862, after its temporary suspension in the summer and fall of 1861, was urged in emphatic terms by General Robert E. Lee, as one of the chief instrumentalities to keep up the supply of well qualified officers; and on the 4th of July, 1864, he thus expresses himself: " I have grieved over the destruction of the Military Institute, but the good it has done to the country cannot be destroyed, nor can its name or fame perish. It will rise stronger than before, and continue to dif- fuse its benefits to a grateful people. Under your wise administration, LECTURE. • there will be no suspension of its usefulness. The diflieulties by which it is surrounded will call forth greater energies from its officers, and increased diligence from its pupils. Its prosperity I consider certain." We are thus engaged in a great public work, which looks to the suc- cess of our arms, in this life-struggle for our independence, when we aim not only to maintain life in this military school of Virginia, but to impart to it all the vigor and efficiency which the circumstances of the times and of the country may allow, that educated officers may be pro- vided for our armies. AVe know no more effectual way of repairing the exhaustions of the battle-field. Already, more than one hundred of the most gifted alumni of this school have fallen in battle, and some three hundred more have been wounded or disabled, making about one- half of those who had been in commission. Every battle swells this number, and unless the views I have been presenting are delusions, it will be impossible to maintain and preserve that discipline and drill which I have insisted upon as essential to our success — without the an- nual additions to the educated military talent of the country, which this and other military schools of the South supply. Improper or ill- advised legislation may, for a time, keep the educated cadet out of the position of greatest usefulness to the country ; but all here trained, if true to themselves and to the institution which nurtures them, will ul- timately rise to the positions for which they are qualified. To this great and paramount reason for continuing the operations of this Institution, is added another — the felt necessity for some adequate provision for the general education of the youth of our country. Schools of every grade have, to a greater or less extent, been suspen- ded by the necessities of the military service. Young men above the a