The Georgia Military Institute (GMI) was established on in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

, United States, on July 1, 1851. It was burned by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during 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 polici ...

and was never rebuilt. The current GMI is a reactivation of the name for a Georgia National Guard

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

(OCS) curriculum.

History

GMI was established in Marietta on July 1, 1851. The campus consisted of . Seven students started classes in July and 28 men were in attendance by the end of the first year. GMI operated regularly until spring 1864 when the cadets were formed into two companies and deployed to

West Point, Georgia West Point is a city in Troup and Harris counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is located approximately halfway between Montgomery, Alabama and Atlanta along Interstate 85. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 3,474, and in 2015 t ...

, as a result of the Civil War. During the Civil War, superintendent Francis W. Capers sent cadets to use as drill instructors for CSA, and other cadets volunteered or were drafted. On May 14, 1864, GMI cadets fought in the

Battle of Resaca The Battle of Resaca, from May 13 to 15, 1864, formed part of the Atlanta Campaign during the American Civil War, when a Union force under William Tecumseh Sherman engaged the Confederate Army of Tennessee led by Joseph E. Johnston. The batt ...

and made contact with the

9th Illinois Mounted Infantry regiment The 9th Illinois Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. History Initial 3 month service Shortly after the Battle of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers.M ...

. After this single engagement, the cadets were pulled off the front line. The empty campus was burned by Sherman's troops on November 15, 1864. Following the Civil War, Georgia Military Institute was not rebuilt. In its place was founded North Georgia Agricultural College in Dahlonega, as the Military College of Georgia. To honor the legacy of GMI, the Georgia Army National Guard named its

after it in 1961. In 2008, GMI returned to Marietta.Base's new owners settling in
''Marietta Daily Journal,'' August 26, 2008

Mission

Marietta Confederate Cemetery, Marietta, GA, US (05)

In January 2010, the

Georgia Army National Guard The Georgia Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Georgia National Guard, administratively part of the Georgia Department of Defense. It consists of more than 11,100 citizen-soldiers training in more than 79 hometown ...

established its OCS Program at GMI. It is based at the Clay Army National Guard Center (formerly NAS Dobbins) in Marietta at the 122nd Regiment - Regional Training Institute (RTI). GMI/OCS is reflagged as Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 122nd RTI under the 78th Troop Command of the Georgia Army National Guard. Current commissioning programs are available to Army National Guard soldiers in biannual Accelerated and annual Traditional program formats. A GMI graduate will receive both a state and a federally recognized reserve officer commission in the Georgia Army National Guard and US Army, respectively. Coursework is accredited via Fort Benning's US Army OCS curriculum.

References

External links

"Georgia Military Institute"
''New Georgia Encyclopedia'' {{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1851 Education in Cobb County, Georgia Defunct United States military academies Defunct schools in Georgia (U.S. state) 1851 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in Marietta, Georgia