The Father of Virginia Military Institute: A Biography of Colonel J.t.l. Preston, Csa

Shaffner, Randolph P.

ISBN 10: 078649395X / ISBN 13: 9780786493951

Published by McFarland Publishing, 2014

About this Item

269 pages. 10.25x7.25x0.75 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-078649395X

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Father of Virginia Military Institute: A Biography of Colonel J.t.l. Preston, Csa
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 078649395X
• ISBN 13: 9780786493951
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.5 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

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."

About the Author

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.