Cooperative Living August 2014 - 32

STORIES FROM THE ROAD
THIS YEAR COOPERATIVE LIVING IS TAKING A
ROAD TRIP ALONG THE LENGTH OF ROUTE 11 AS
IT CROSSES VIRGINIA FROM NORTH TO SOUTH.
EACH ISSUE, CORRESPONDENT DEBORAH HUSO
WILL RELATE HER EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY.
Story and photos by
Deborah Huso,
Contributing Writer
Generals and Angels
Explore the lesser-known history of two famous Civil War generals' careers as educators,
and grab your buttered popcorn to settle in for a Lexington double feature!
D
riving into downtown
Lexington on Route 11 from
the north, the first thing
you'll likely notice is the imposing
Gothic architecture of the Virginia
Military Institute, which lines the
road on both sides before giving way
to the campus of Washington & Lee
University.
" Route 11 is one of the most historic
routes through Virginia and was
a major thoroughfare for western
migration into Tennessee and
Georgia, " Col. Keith Gibson, executive
Route 11 winds its way through historic downtown
Lexington and the VMI and W&L campuses.
director of the VMI Museum, tells me.
" Route 11 was the I-81 of its day, " he adds. " That made the
route very important to Stonewall Jackson during the Civil War.
It was critical for him to maintain control of the Valley Pike. "
And VMI has occupied a space hugging this important route
since 1839. " If you're heading southward on Route 11 through
Lexington, it cuts right through VMI's campus. "
'OLD JACK' IN THE CLASSROOM
VMI was the nation's first state-sponsored military college,
and the VMI Museum that traces the school's history is the oldest
public museum in the state of Virginia, having opened in 1856.
It was during this time that Thomas Jonathan " Stonewall "
Jackson served as a professor at the military college, teaching
natural and experimental philosophy (physics) and artillery tac30
tics.
Jackson gained the position as a
result of distinguishing himself in
artillery tactics during the Mexican
War; but, as Gibson points out, " his
resume did not reflect prior collegiate
teaching. "
And Jackson indeed struggled with
the material he taught, despite his
personal philosophy that if he tried
hard enough he could succeed at
anything. He began teaching at the
school in 1851, and Gibson says he
probably had a " competent understanding "
of the subjects he was
teaching by 1855. Cadets at VMI
called him " Old Jack " and, as Gibson describes it, " found him
kooky but saw a spark of genius in him. " Gibson laughs, " One
cadet called him as exciting as an algorithmic table. "
Gibson himself is a graduate of VMI, though he freely
admits the school was not his first choice. " I wanted to go to
UVA and become an architect, " he says. Then while he was a
senior in high school, he started getting solicitations from the
military college and couldn't figure out why until he learned his
SAT scores had accidentally been sent there. " I started receiving
phone calls from VMI alums while I'm sitting there waiting for
the phone to ring from anyone at UVA. " It was then that the
VMI network began to really appeal to him.
It was also at VMI that Gibson began to nurture his love of
history and learned he could make a career out of it. He's been
Cooperative Living/August 2014
Cooperative Living August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living August 2014
