The day was spent in Lexington, Virginia just ten miles
north of our campground. Lexington is a
city that has a very high regard for Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall”
Jackson. Before the American Civil War,
Major Jackson was an instructor at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Buildings and sites around the city are named
after Jackson. Also, the general is
still held in very high regard in everyday life at VMI.
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| Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson |
Horse-drawn Carriage Tour
After gathering at the town’s visitor center, we boarded
horse-drawn carriages for a tour of the city.
Our guides pointed out highlights like the Stonewall Jackson House and
Museum, local restaurants, significant buildings, Virginia Military Institute,
Washington and Lee University (W&L), and the Stonewall Jackson Memorial
Cemetery.
Lexington was named in 1778.
It was one of the first of what would be many American places named
after Lexington, Massachusetts. According
to our tour guide, Lexington was established on top of a hill in order to
provide a defensible position from Indians, the British, and any other
potential invaders. The streets were
very steep because of the hilltop. Years
after the American Revolution, the town determined that no one was likely to attack
the city, so the residents decided to level out some of the streets by digging
out the hilltops. Some of the streets
were lowered as much as seven feet and the dirt was used to fill in some of the
low spots. This digging meant that some
building foundations were exposed and their entrance doors were then seven feet
off the roadway. During our tour, we saw
many buildings where the foundations are still revealed.
Stonewall Jackson House and Museum
Upon completion of our carriage tours, the guides dropped us
of at the Stonewall Jackson House and Museum.
This building, located in the historic district of Lexington was the
residence of Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson from 1858 to 1861. The house was purchased in 1858 by then Major
Jackson, a professor at VMI for $3,000.
It is the only house Jackson ever owned.
He lived in the brick and stone house with his second wife, Mary Anna Morrison
Jackson, until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
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| Stonewall Jackson House |
After Jackson’s death in 1863, Mary Anna rented out the house for the
next 44 years. From 1907 until 1954, the
building housed the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital; when it was converted
into a museum. In 1979, the house was
restored to its appearance at the time of the Jacksons' occupancy.
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| Waiting for Others After Leaving Stonewall Jackson's House & Museum |
Virginia Military Institute
After lunch on our own in town, we drove to Virginia
Military Institute for a campus tour.
VMI is a state-supported military college. The college offers cadets strict military
discipline combined with a spartan, physically and academically demanding
environment. The living conditions at
VMI are far more austere than the military service academies. Although all cadets must participate in the
ROTC, they can pursue civilian careers or accept a commission in any of the
active or reserve components of any of the U.S. military branches upon
graduation.
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 little changed; the coatee worn in parades dates
to the War of 1812. New cadets, known as
"Rats", experience even further deprivations; for example, they are
not permitted to watch TV, listen to music, or use the telephone unsupervised. As we walked past the barracks, we heard
members of the upper class “Cadre” shouting out orders and instructions Rats on
how to keep their barracks rooms and how to handle the M14 rifle each cadet is
issued.
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| VMI Barracks |
Our tour continued to the school’s chapel. This building houses a museum that includes
General Stonewall Jackson’s horse, a layout of a typical cadet’s room, and
uniforms of cadets over the ages.
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| VMI Chapel |
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| Typical Barracks Room for 3 Cadets |
Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery
As we departed VMI, we headed to the Stonewall Jackson
Memorial Cemetery where General Jackson is buried. Along with the general, his two wives and his
daughter are buried on the site. In
additional to General Jackson, the cemetery contains the remains of several
other Confederate soldiers.
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| General Jackson's Tomb Site |
