Randolph P. Shaffner

The Father of Virginia Military Institute

A Biography of Colonel J.T.L. Preston, CSA

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The Virginia Military Institute launched an educational revolution when it became the first school in the American South to combine classical and practical courses under an effective system of military discipline. It pioneered free schooling for the poor and exemption from tuition and board in exchange for two years of teaching. It has furnished fully qualified citizen-soldiers for both civilian and military life since before the Civil War. Who first conceived of VMI has been the subject of multiple claims since the school's founding in 1839. Attempting to answer that problem, this biography of Col. J.T.L. Preston unfolds the life of a teacher and soldier, husband and father, who defined the school as it exists today, served Stonewall Jackson as his first adjutant general, married the Poetess of the Confederacy and sired a family whose members bore the stamp of their father's character. Preston is revealed as a man of faith who suffered ""anguish beyond remedy"" under ""the bloody, remorseless hand of war,"" which ""tore from his heart what, to him, was more precious than liberty, home, or anything but heaven.""

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: McFarland and Company, Inc.
• Seitenzahl: 284
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. September 2014
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 254mm x 178mm x 15mm
• Gewicht: 540g
• ISBN-13: 9780786493951
• ISBN-10: 078649395X
• Artikelnr.: 40873060

Autorenporträt

Randolph P. Shaffner is a retired professor of English and comparative literature and author of several books and articles on a variety of historical subjects. He is archivist for the Highlands Historical Society in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Inhaltsangabe

Table of Contents Acknowledgments deleteix Preface Prologue: "A Day I Will Never Forget" Part I: In the Beginning 1.
The Growth of the Mind 2.
A Classical Education Part II: Father of the Dream 3.
The Cives Letters 4.
The Battle of the Arsenal Bills 5.
From Dream to Reality Part III: The First Decade 6.
Professor of Modern Languages 7.
Classical and Practical 8.
VMI Under Attack 9.
Fluctuations 10.
The Challenge of Discipline Part IV: Morning and Evening Star 11.
A New Physics Professor 12.
Irreparable Loss 13.
Venus 14.
A Grave Question of Educational Reform Part V: Reluctant Confederates 15.
Shades of Conflict 16.
Virginia First and Last 17.
Jackson's Chief of Staff 18.
Craney Island 19.
He Cannot Be Spared Part VI: The Gloom and the Glory 20.
Slain in Battle 21.
The Shuddering Horror of Death 22.
This Savage and Ferocious War 23.
It Made Our Hearts Leap Part VII: Twilight 24.
Like a Bolt of Lightning 25.
God and Slavery 26.
Beyond the Sunset 27.
Brigadier General and Doctor of Laws 28.
Finis Opus Coronat Epilogue Chapter Notes Bibliography Index