Book Description

Excerpt from Memorial, Virginia Military Institute: Biographical Sketches of the Graduates and Élèves of the Virginia Military Institute Who Fell During the War Between the States The idea of the following work first found expression in December, 1862, when the Adjutant-General of the State of Virginia, in presenting his annual report to the Legislature included in it an extended memorial of the eleves of the Military Institute, who up to that time had taken part in the service of the Southern Confederacy. This memorial, which had been prepared by General Smith, was widely circulated and eagerly sought after. During the summer of 1865, General Smith, as a partial relief from the heavy care laid upon him by the destruction of the Institute buildings, the erection of which had constituted one part of his life-work, turned to that other part, which no enemy could destroy - the record of those who had gone forth from the now dismantled walls to battle and to die for their country. He felt assured that if an interest had been evinced in such a memorial when the Cause was young, vigorous, and with prospect of success, much more, now that the Cause was lost, would there be felt a deeper and more tender interest in a fuller record, which should include all who fought or died for its dear sake. Acting upon this idea, he prepared short sketches of about four hundred Cadets who had been in service. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.