Since the founding of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1802, more than eight hundred military schools have existed in this country. The vast majority have closed their doors, been absorbed into other educational institutions, or otherwise faded away, but others soldier on, adapting to changing times and changing educational needs. While many individual institutions have had their histories written or their stories told, to date no single book has attempted to explore the full scope of the military school in American history. Cadets on Campus is the first book to cover the origin, history, and culture of the nation’s military schools—secondary and collegiate—and this breadth of coverage will appeal to historians and alumni alike. Author John Alfred Coulter identifies several key figures who were pivotal to the formation of military education, including Sylvanus Thayer, the “father of West Point,” and Alden Partridge, the founder of the school later known as Norwich University, the first private military school in the country. He also reveals that military schools were present across the nation, despite the conventional wisdom that most military schools, and, indeed, the culture that surrounds them, were limited to the South. Coulter addresses the shuttering of military schools in the era after the Vietnam War and then notes a curious resurgence of interest in military education since the turn of the century.

Since the founding of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1802, more than eight hundred military schools have existed in this country. The vast majority have closed their doors, been absorbed into other educational institutions, or otherwise faded away, but others soldier on, adapting to changing times and changing educational needs. While many individual institutions have had their histories written or their stories told, to date no single book has attempted to explore the full scope of the military school in American history. Cadets on Campus is the first book to cover the origin, history, and culture of the nation’s military schools—secondary and collegiate—and this breadth of coverage will appeal to historians and alumni alike. Author John Alfred Coulter identifies several key figures who were pivotal to the formation of military education, including Sylvanus Thayer, the “father of West Point,” and Alden Partridge, the founder of the school later known as Norwich University, the first private military school in the country. He also reveals that military schools were present across the nation, despite the conventional wisdom that most military schools, and, indeed, the culture that surrounds them, were limited to the South. Coulter addresses the shuttering of military schools in the era after the Vietnam War and then notes a curious resurgence of interest in military education since the turn of the century.

Given in memory of Gene Brossmann by George Richardson.

Focusing on the South’s four major military colleges—the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), the South Carolina Military Academy (later The Citadel), the Georgia Military Institute, and the University of Alabama—The Young Lions is the story of young Confederate military cadets at war. From the opening of VMI in 1839 through the struggles of all the schools to remain open during the war, the death of Stonewall Jackson (a VMI professor), and the Pyrrhic victory of the Battle of New Market to the burning of the University of Alabama in 1865, this book reveals the everyday dramatic actions of cadets on battlefield and beyond.

Since its founding in 1842, The Citadel has provided generations of leaders to the state and nation. From its original purpose of providing an education to young men of South Carolina who would perform military duties for the state, it has evolved into an institution of national stature, highly regarded for both its academic reputation and its disciplined environment. Graduates of The Citadel have fought in every United States war since the Mexican War in 1846. Cadets have also achieved prominence in other fields, such as serving in leadership roles in state and national government, education, the professions, and business. With the help of over 200 black-and-white photographs, this work explores the development of The Citadel over the past 160 years, and included are sketches of its visionary founders, faculty members, and leaders. Descriptive vignettes highlight the success of the alumni and give insight into the experiences of the most important element of The Citadel: the South Carolina Corps of Cadets.