VMI Cadets & John Brown’s Execution – Dec. 1859

The Virginia Military Institute has a number of interesting digital collections related to the Civil War era, including one that focuses on the school’s involvement in John Brown’s execution. After Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in October 1859, VMI Superintendent Francis H. Smith wrote Virginia Governor Henry Wise and offered to send some of the cadets to Charles Town, Virginia to provide extra security for the execution. After the cadets arrived in late November 1859, their commanding officer reminded them that he “expected…[everyone] to abstain from impropriety which could by possibility impair the standing of the corps.” This collection includes Superintendent Smith’s letters to Gov. Wise, Smith’s report on the deployment, orders issued to the cadets, and eyewitness accounts from VMI Prof. Thomas J. Jackson and John T. L. Preston.