"Always Faithful" This is a special place. A place alive with the rich history of the Virginia Military Institute, Washington and Lee University and, of course, the Legion of Honor. Men such as George Washington, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Robert E. Lee, George C. Marshall and Francis H. Smith all took part in shaping this community, our Commonwealth and our nation. This very property which now houses the Headquarters Shrine was the home for more than fifty years of Dr. Livingston Smith, the grandson of VMI founder, Major General Francis H. "Specs" Smith. The beginning of Sigma Nu Fraternity is found in the shadows of the most tempestuous time in our nation's history. In a war where brother fought against brother, General Robert E. Lee officially notified VMI Superintendent Smith that the

Corps of Cadets might be needed to protect this great Valley. The Institute would be ready; "Always Faithful To Virginia" was her motto. On May 10, 1864, the call arrived by special courier from Confederate General John C. Breckinridge. It was a desperate call for assistance as Union forces were sweeping up the Valley, headed south toward Staunton, perhaps Lynchburg, where their mission was to destroy a strategic railroad and canal complex. The Corps of Cadets answered Breckinridge's call for support. "Always Faithful To Virginia!"

An eighty-mile march by 257 cadets, most of whom were under the age of 18, in horrible weather conditions, with a singular purpose of repelling an invading army... an invading army that outnumbered them by more than two to one. Untried and untested the Corps met the enemy at New Market on a Sunday afternoon--- a day when, in normal times, they would have been at Bible study with General Smith. General Breckenridge ordered his entire force to charge the enemy's line at the critical moment of the battle. The Cadets lead the way. Beyond all expectation, they prevailed.

One year after the war ended, three young men came to Lexington to enter VMI for the purpose of receiving an education in engineering. If Virginia had needed VMI leaders during the war, she needed them even more now during the rebuilding. These three new cadets, two of whom were war veterans, were not ready for or willing to accept the culture of harsh treatment accorded Rats by the old Cadets. James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlvaine Riley, banded together not only to oppose injustices and hazing, but also to extol the Honor ideal and encourage the application of the Honor

principle among all Cadets. General Smith, the man that had prepared his cadets for and ordered them to battle at New Market, a man of deep convictions, unquestionable integrity and a high regard for the Honor ideal, guided and encouraged the three cadets to begin what they would call the Legion of Honor in 1868. Following a Bible study with Smith, Hopkins, Quarles and Riley met under the stars on a limestone outcropping on the VMI parade ground to profess their vows of Brotherhood. And so it was that Sigma Nu was born on January 1, 1869. Little did the three dream that their resolve would inspire generations of like minded young men.

This is the legacy of leadership and service that is Sigma Nu -- it has brought us together today. Being a Brother in a fraternity chapter on a campus is a fleeting four-year experience. Commitment to Sigma Nu is a life long commitment to the principles left to you by those three founders in 1869. Over the past quarter century I have seen it in the lives of the Sigma Nu men I have personally known. For generations now our country has been enriched by men who pledge to the ideals that brought Hopkins, Quarles and Riley together that cold night on the VMI Parade Ground. From this place the concept of the Legion of Honor spread, first across American and then to Canada. Like the Cadets at New Market, Sigma Nu men have always answered the call of our nation in time of war. "Always Faithful!" Leaving behind family and community, they have carried the ideals of your fraternity across the globe and across the century. They, and the men we honor today, are bound by the call to be defenders of Freedom and Liberty. On this very day, at this very hour, there are Sigma Nu men answering that call. I can only believe it is the way James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlvaine Riley would have wanted it to be.

Editors note: This was the keynote address given at the dedication the Sigma Nu Memorial Flag Pavilion by Colonel Keith E. Gibson the Executive Director of VMI Museum Operations. In this capacity, Colonel Gibson oversees both the VMI Museum in Lexington as well as the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park and Hall of Valor Civil War Museum located in New Market, Virginia.

Colonel Gibson also serves as a military technical advisor and consultant for film and print media. He has worked for television stations including PBS, the Discovery Channel, A&E and the History Channel. His big screen work includes Somersby, Gettysburg, and Gods and Generals, to name a few. Colonel Gibson is a leader of and strong advocate for Battlefield preservation.

To purchase a brick or contribute to the Memorial Flag Pavilion, click here.