Staunton Military Academy was a private all-male
military school
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
located in
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...
. Founded in 1884, the academy closed in 1976.
The school was highly regarded for its academic and military programs, and many notable American political and military leaders are graduates, including Sen.
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
, the 1964 Republican presidential candidate, and his son, Rep.
Barry Goldwater Jr., 1960's folk singer
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
, and
John Dean
John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...
, a
White House Counsel
The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...
who was a central figure in the
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
of the early 1970s.
A museum dedicated to the school's history is located on its former campus, now part of
Mary Baldwin University
Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...
.
Throughout its history, the academy was referred to by students, faculty, and Staunton residents simply by its initials, SMA.
History
![Staunton Military Academy Kable Hall Plaque 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Staunton_Military_Academy_Kable_Hall_Plaque_2009.jpg)
The Staunton Male Academy was founded in 1884 by William H. Kable, a native of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
in the region that became
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
following the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. Kable served the
Confederacy during the war and was injured during the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
, and when the war ended began a career in education. After teaching briefly in rural Virginia, Kable enrolled at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
to resume studies he had begun before the war. He graduated with a Master of Arts in 1868 and briefly started a school outside
Staunton, Virginia but left teaching to tend to his family's farm near
Charlestown, West Virginia. Kable married during this period and had his first son in 1872. Around this time, he joined the Charlestown Academy, a private school, as
Principal, a position he held for 12 years. Near the end of his tenure at Charlestown, in May 1884, Kable sold 13 acres of his farm and purchased a house and four-acre property in Staunton with the intention of starting his own school.
Troubled times
On September 2, 1884, the Staunton Male Academy opened with 50 students, including boarders who lived in the Kable residence. Classes were held in a frame building Kable had constructed on the property. After four years of successful operation, Kable added a wood frame barracks, acquired additional land, and adopted a military format, changing the school's name to Staunton Military Academy. During the summer of 1888, Kable's brother-in-law and business manager W.W. Gibbs went on a tour of the South and recruited more than 40 students. The academy started its 1888-89 session with a total enrollment of 117 cadets and a faculty of 11 instructors.
Around this time, a depression struck the country, and over the next decade enrollment at the new academy dwindled, falling to 50 in 1892. Unable to satisfy his creditors, Kable turned over control of the school to a trustee, and the next year he was forced to sell his assets at public auction, first the school's furnishings and equipment and then his land, house, and school buildings. Kable incorporated Staunton Military Academy which offered to buy the school's contents and was high bidder for the properties, having secured bonds that were to be satisfied in annual payments. Kable spent the next ten years paying off his remaining debts, which were finally settled in 1903. However, during this period enrollment continued to decline, sinking to 30 in 1896 and a low of 15 in 1900.
Recovery years
Kable's son William G. Kable was completing his studies at the academy as the troubles were just beginning. After graduating with honors in 1890, he went off to work for a year in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, completed business college in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, taught for two years at the academy, and then worked for several major firms in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The younger Kable finally returned to Staunton in 1898 to become a
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
Language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
s instructor and was promoted to
Commandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
in 1900 with responsibility for managing the academy's operations. He was joined by another key figure in the school's development, Thomas Russell. A graduate of
The Citadel
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...
military college
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
in
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, Russell had distinguished himself as a cadet and after graduation became Commandant at Horner Military Academy in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. In 1904, he was invited to come to Staunton as
Headmaster
A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...
.
Meanwhile, Captain Kable, as the father was known (he had been a Captain and a Quartermaster during the Civil War), served as President.
The new Commandant began expanding the school soon after taking over. He built a three-story wooden frame Mess Hall in 1901 with cadet rooms on the upper floors and added a five-story frame barracks in 1904. Enrollment soared over the first years of the new century with 270 cadets signed up for the start of the 1904 academic session. Then, on November 25, 1904, the day after
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
, a fire broke out in the new barracks. By morning, three of the academy's main structures were leveled, including the new barracks, the school's original barracks, and its classroom building. Only the Mess Hall building and Kable residence were spared.
Fortunately, no students were seriously injured, many of them awoken by Captain Kable himself. The town of Staunton responded to the tragedy admirably. Cadets were offered temporary housing, and the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
provided accommodations for classes. Meanwhile, the Kables went right to work rebuilding the school.
Expansion period
In March 1905, construction began on a combination barracks and classroom facility. Within six months the building was completed, in time for the start of the 1905 school year that September. Eventually named South Barracks, the three-story brick fortress-like structure stood on the top of the hill at the southern edge of the academy grounds overlooking Mary Baldwin College. The arched entranceway at the north end led to an open quadrangle surrounded by cadet rooms, classrooms, and study hall on the first floor and open galleries with cadet rooms and suspended walkways on the two upper floors. In all, the barracks accommodated over 100 cadet rooms, 3 laboratories, and 19 classrooms, including a large instruction hall on the second floor.
The academy flourished under the younger Kable over the next 15 years. Captain Kable died in 1912, at which point his son became President. That same year, the academy's plaza, which was used several times each day for cadet formations, was covered with asphalt, giving the assembly area the name it would be known by for the next six decades, "The Asphalt." In 1913, a new 500-seat Mess Hall was completed, and a building known as the Natatorium was erected to house a new swimming pool. In 1917, while the U.S. was becoming involved in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on the side of the Allies, SMA joined the Army's
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools acr ...
(JROTC) program, an affiliation that would last for nearly a half-century. The next year, a Junior School was added for 6th through 8th grades with the only wooden barracks to be built since the disastrous fire of 1904.
Finally, North Barracks was constructed in 1919. With six stories and a
smokestack
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typ ...
at the rear rising another three stories above the roof, the building was the tallest ever built in Staunton. Four three-story columns graced its entrance, topped by a triangular
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
with a large clock overlooking The Asphalt. The bottom floor, which was two stories tall, housed a
gymnasium that could be used as a 1,600-seat assembly hall. The second floor included a
mezzanine
A mezzanine (; or in Italian language, Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft ...
and the entrance to the school's
armory
Armory or armoury may mean:
* An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition
Places
*National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...
, an underground storage facility in the front of the barracks.
The entrance from The Asphalt led to the building's third floor, which housed the school library, a post office, cadet social room, classrooms, and a laboratory. As with South Barracks, the building had an open quadrangle with cadet rooms around the perimeter and suspended walkways on the three upper floors. With the addition of North Barracks and its 55 cadet rooms, SMA opened its 1919-20 academic year with 650 students, a record that would stand until the mid-1960s.
Good times and bad
![Staunton Military Kable Hall 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Staunton_Military_Kable_Hall_2009.jpg)
William G. Kable died in 1920, and as the academy's sole
shareholder
A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...
, he bequeathed ownership to his widow and their children.
Thomas Russell, who was promoted to President,
completed Kable's expansion plans during the mid-1920s, adding a wall around the Kable Field parade grounds, a two-story
Guard House at the center of the South Barracks quadrangle, and Memorial Hall on the campus's north end. The latter structure, which was three stories tall, housed the
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
Foreign Language
A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at schoo ...
departments, classrooms, faculty apartments, a gymnasium, and three large recreation rooms.
The last major building to be built on the SMA campus for the next 30-plus years was Kable Hall, in 1932. Located between Memorial Hall and North Barracks, the five-story structure included a new swimming pool on its ground floor, 54 cadet rooms on the three floors above the pool, and a
rifle range
A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military o ...
on the fifth floor. The building, dedicated in honor of the academy's founder and his son, marked the end of the school's expansion, though various improvements would continue over the ensuing decades.
With the nation in the throes of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, SMA's enrollment plummeted, and only 264 cadets enrolled the year Kable Hall was completed. Russell died the next year, 1933. With a new president in place and a new member installed on the academy's
Board of Trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, one of the board's original trustees was accused of an impropriety that occurred during the course of Russell's tenure.
In 1937, William G. Kable II brought a court suit alleging that William C. Rowland had issued improper commission payments to Russell over the 13-year period of his presidency. Rowland was forced to resign and ordered to pay $116,000 plus interest to the academy. Kable also charged Gilpin Willson, the new President, with breaching his
fiduciary duty
A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, for exampl ...
as a trustee in connection with an uncollected loan, resulting in a judgment of $150 plus 20% of the premiums for a
life insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
policy taken out on Russell's behalf. In addition, Willson was held responsible for half of the
commissions paid to Russell.
Finally, with the death of the new trustee in 1940, William G. Kable's widow was able to replace most of the board, giving her and her son complete control of the institution.
Cadet life
For the next quarter of a century, SMA earned a national reputation for its academic standards and the quality of its Junior ROTC program. Each day began for cadets with reveille on The Asphalt followed by breakfast in the Mess Hall. Students then attended classes until mid-afternoon with a break for lunch. After school, cadets participated in drills, practiced sports, and enjoyed free time. Following dinner, the evenings held more free time, sweep detail, a study period, and at the end of the day, taps.
On weekends, the routine changed. Saturdays included periodic military inspections and town
leave
Leave may refer to:
* Permission (disambiguation)
** Permitted absence from work
*** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee
*** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...
, while Sundays featured church services and occasional parades. Other cadet activities included the academy's elite honor guard and drill team, The Howie Rifles; weekend varsity and junior varsity sports, notably varsity football; periodic dances; a military ball each spring; and
alumni
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
events twice annually. The school year would be capped with graduation ceremonies in late May, highlighted by a formal review of the corps on Kable Field led by the next year's First Captain, the highest ranking cadet.
The academy's demise
During the 1960s and 1970s, the unpopularity of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
created an anti-military sentiment that eroded enrollments at military academies across the U.S. Contributing to the difficulties faced by military schools, particularly in the South, was the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
. Under the act, programs receiving federal funds were required to
racially integrate
Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity ...
. SMA chose not to do this, instead giving up federal funds by dropping its
JROTC
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...
program and did not admit Black Students though the school continued to admit Asian and Hispanic students. SMA hoped to attract an influx of students who were withdrawing from the now-racially integrated public schools. The enrollments never materialized and instead, students gravitated toward non-military private schools. JROTC was reestablished in a few years and continued until 1976's closure, when during that year the Corps received an unprecedented 100% score during the Annual Federal Inspection, held every spring by Army Command, and known as "GI Weekend".
The enrollment at Staunton peaked during the 1966-67 school year, reaching a historic high of 665 cadets. By 1972, enrollment fell to about 250, climbing back into the 300s the following year, then entering a final decline to under 200 by 1976. Accordingly, the academy's finances began to decline. Its last profitable school year was 1969-70, which ended with a net of $69,000 for the Kable family. The next year, 1970–71, the owners experienced a loss of $98,000, followed by a deficit of $132,000 a year later.
[Income Statements and Balance Sheets 1969 thru 1975 dated November 25, 1975 - United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Proceedings for Arrangement 75-236 (H)]
Faced with the prospect of
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
, the Kables elected to sell the academy. The new owner, Layne Leoffler, changed SMA's charter to non-profit status when he took over the school in 1973.
The following year, Loeffler undertook cost-cutting measures, including a reduction in athletic scholarships and the closing of North Barracks.
He also fully integrated the school admitting the first Black students in the fall of 1973. However, his introduction of aggressive religious practices, peculiar staff and management changes, and reactions to accidental fires in South Barracks and Kable Hall proved too much. The deteriorating situation, combined with management problems, forced the academy to close in 1976.
Mary Baldwin University
Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...
, then a women's college and SMA's longtime neighbor, bought the property for $1.1 million in a bankruptcy sale.
Staunton Military Academy today
Today, eight of the buildings in which SMA cadets lived and learned survive as part of the Mary Baldwin campus. The SMA Mess Hall sign still hangs over the entrance to the building, now the university's Student Activities Center. The military legacy of the academy's grounds continues through the
Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership
Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...
(VWIL) at Mary Baldwin, the only all-women's corps of cadets in the world.
In 2001, a joint SMA-VWIL museum opened in the academy's former supply room at 227 Kable Street in Staunton. Additionally, the alumni association has endowed four scholarships to keep the school's legacy alive: SMA Leadership Scholarship, Henry Scholarship Honoring SMA, Henry SMA Legacy Scholarship for VWIL cadets, and SMA-John Deal Education Scholarship for a Florida State University student.
In April of each year an SMA all-class reunion is held in Staunton. Events include an "Old Boys" parade on Friday afternoon in conjunction with VWIL on the former SMA parade field and a banquet on Saturday night.
Academy buildings and campus
![Staunton Military Academy Mess Hall, 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Staunton_Military_Academy_Mess_Hall%2C_2009.jpg)
The SMA campus covered 60 acres, which were purchased by the Kable family as 30 separate parcels from 1884-1946. Following are the buildings that were part of the academy over its 92-year history, including those that have survived and are now owned by Mary Baldwin University.
*
Kable House: built 1873, added to
Virginia Landmarks Register
The Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) is a list of historic properties in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The state's official list of important historic sites, it was created in 1966. The Register serves the same purpose as the National Registe ...
, December 19, 1978, and
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, June 19, 1979 (Ref. # 79003299), current Student Life & Career Development Department, Mary Baldwin
*Kable Field (parade ground): purchased 1884, current Physical Activities Center, Mary Baldwin
*Classroom Building: built 1884, destroyed by fire 1904
*First Cadet Barracks: built 1887, destroyed by fire 1904
*The Asphalt (assembly grounds): built 1887, current parking lot, Mary Baldwin
*Original Mess Hall: built 1903, destroyed by fire 1933
*Second Cadet Barracks: built 1904, destroyed by fire 1904
*Original Laundry Building: built c. 1905, demolished 1918 (replaced by North Barracks)
*South Barracks: built 1905, demolished 1979
*Mess Hall: built 1913, current Student Activities Center, Mary Baldwin
*Natatorium (swimming pool): built 1913, demolished for Kable Hall 1931
*Superintendent's Quarters: built as Commandant's House 1916, current President's House, Mary Baldwin
*Junior School: built 1918-21, demolished 1966 (replaced by Tullidge Hall)
*North Barracks: built 1919, demolished 1982
*Central Heating Plant and Laundry: built 1919, current Drama Department Costume Shop, Mary Baldwin
*Mathematics Building: built 1921, destroyed by fire 1933
*West Barracks: built as Work Shop 1931, current Physical Plant Offices and Shops, Mary Baldwin
*Kable Hall: built 1932, current Kable Residence Hall, Mary Baldwin
*Memorial Hall (classroom building): built 1925, current Deming Fine Arts Center, Mary Baldwin
*Wieland Memorial Gate: built 1947
*Supply Room: built 1947, current Staunton Military and
Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership
Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...
Museum, opened 2001
*Tullidge Hall: built 1966, current Tullidge Residence Hall, Mary Baldwin
Faculty
Notable faculty included:
*
Thomas D. Howie
Major Thomas Dry Howie (April 12, 1908 – July 17, 1944) was a United States Army Infantry Officer and Battalion Commander in the 29th Infantry Division who was killed in action during the Battle of Normandy in World War II while leading his un ...
, "the Major of St. Lo"
*
Alexander Patch
General Alexander McCarrell Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars, rising to rank of general. During World War II, he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps ...
, commander of the Seventh Army 1944-1945
*Colonel Robert H. Wease, Professor of Government
Extracurricular activities
Staunton Military Academy sports teams played teams from other prep schools, as well as college freshman and varsity teams. The academy also had a group known as the Howie Rifles, a nationally known drill team.
Notable alumni
![Rosenbluth tar heels](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Rosenbluth_tar_heels.jpg)
*
Ed Beard
Edward T. "Red" Beard, (c. 1828-November 11, 1873) was a gambler and saloon keeper of the Old West.
Biography
Beard is the son of the man who first settled Beardstown, Illinois. Originally from Illinois, Beard settled in Virginia, and was for a ...
(1960),
NFL San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, 1965–72
*
Ken Beck,
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
for the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
in 1959-60
*
Samuel Beer
Samuel Hutchison Beer (July 28, 1911 – April 7, 2009) was an American political scientist who specialized in the government and politics of the United Kingdom. He was a longtime professor at Harvard University and served as president of the ...
(1929), political scientist
*
Winton M. Blount (1938),
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency.
The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
1969-71
*
Bruce Crump
Bruce Hull Crump, Jr. (July 17, 1957 – March 16, 2015) was the drummer with the rock band Molly Hatchet from 1976 to 1982 (including their 1980 hit song " Flirtin' with Disaster" ) and 1984 to 1991. He also played as a member of the Canadian ba ...
, drummer of
Molly Hatchet
Molly Hatchet is an American rock band formed in 1971 by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida. They were a popular band during the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s among the southern rock and hard rock communities. The band released ...
*
E. Jocob Crull (1877), Montana State Representative and colonel who was Jennette Rankin's (first female member of the U.S. Congress) chief primary rival
*
John Dean
John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...
(1957),
White House Counsel
The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...
1970-73
*
Walter E. Foran, member of the
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...
1969-86
*
Robert T. Frederick
Major General Robert Tryon Frederick (March 14, 1907 – November 29, 1970) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in World War II. During the war, he commanded the 1st Special Service Force, the 1st Allied Airborne Task Force, and t ...
(1924),
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
combat commander
*
Frank L. Gailer Jr. (1941), World War II
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
*
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
(1928),
five-term US Senator from Arizona (1953–65, 1969–87)
*
Barry Goldwater Jr. (1957), US Representative from California 1969-83
*
Frank Gorrell (1941) Lt. Gov. of State of Tennessee; Speaker of the state senate; football player for
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
*
Ricardo Martinelli
Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal (born March 11, 1951) is a Panamanian politician and businessman who was the 36th president of Panama from 2009 to 2014.
Early life
Born in Panama City, Ricardo Martinelli is the son of Ricardo Martinell ...
, President of the Republic of Panama 2009-14
*
David McCampbell
Captain David McCampbell (January 16, 1910 – June 30, 1996) was a United States Navy captain, naval aviator, and a Medal of Honor recipient. He retired from the navy in 1964 with 31 years of service.
McCampbell is the United States Navy's all ...
(1928), World War II Navy "Ace of Aces" and Medal of Honor recipient
*
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
(1958),
folk singer
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
*
Edward C. Peter II
Edward C. Peter II (May 8, 1929 – November 12, 2008) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War, he attained the rank of lieutenant general and was most notable for his command of 2nd Battalion, ...
(1947), U.S. Army lieutenant general
*
Chuck Pfarrer
Charles Patrick Pfarrer III (born April 13, 1957) is an American writer, film producer, and former United States Navy SEAL. As an author, he has penned published screenplays, novels, comic book, and non-fiction works. Regardless of medium, his wo ...
(1975), ex-
Navy SEAL
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...
, novelist, screenwriter
*
Bill Quinlan
William David Quinlan (June 19, 1932 – November 10, 2015) was an American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, and the Washingt ...
(1952),
NFL player for nine seasons
*
Johnny Ramone
John William Cummings (October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004), better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American musician who was the guitarist and a founding member of the Ramones, a band that helped pioneer the punk movement. ...
, guitarist and founding member of
The Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
(attended only for ninth grade)
*
Lennie Rosenbluth
Leonard Robert Rosenbluth (January 22, 1933 – June 18, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), but he is remembered, first and foremost, for his college basketball player days. He play ...
(1953), college and
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
basketball player
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Richard P. Ross Jr.
Richard Potts Ross Jr. (March 18, 1906 – October 6, 1990) was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of brigadier general. He is most noted for his service with the 1st Marine Division during the Battle of Ok ...
, decorated brigadier general in the Marine Corps during World War II
*
Bob Savage
John Robert Savage (December 1, 1921 – July 26, 2013) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns of Major League Baseball (MLB) in parts of five seasons spanning 1942–1949. Listed at a ...
(1942),
Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...
pitcher
*
John F. Seiberling (1937), US Representative from Ohio 1971-87
References
External links
Staunton Military Academy Alumni AssociationThe Staunton Military Academy History Project
{{Coord, 38, 09, 15, N, 79, 04, 05, W, display=title
Boarding schools in Virginia
Defunct boys' schools in the United States
Defunct schools in Virginia
Defunct United States military academies
Educational institutions disestablished in 1976
Educational institutions established in 1884
Schools in Jefferson County, West Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
1884 establishments in Virginia
1976 disestablishments in Virginia