Francis H. Smith, VMI and the Rise of Military Education in the South, 1839-1861

The Virginia Military Institute's first superintendent, Francis Henney Smith, played a key role in the development of Southern military education. He provided the structure, ideology and pedagogical models of these institutions and advised, guided and inspired those at nearly every other Southern military school in the two decades preceding the Civil War. His innovations spread far beyond military schools, as he promoted a new vision for Virginia and the South that advocated independence and intellectual solidarity, attracting individuals who proselytized his methods. This book presents the first comprehensive study that discusses the social, political and pedagogical impact of a leading educational reformer on the antebellum South.