History of sigma nu
The History of Sigma Nu
Virginia Military Institute
VMI was founded in 1839. At first it was to be part of Washington and University, but the Virginia legislature feared that the new academy might dominate the older school. Thus an independent institute was established at Lexington, Virginia, where it remains today. The institute was modeled after the academy west point and it soon became known as the “west point of the south”. Among professors teaching at VMI were stonewall Jackson and other noted generals of the confederacy. The graduates of VMI also achieved fame during the civil war; one tenth of the confederate’s armies were led by men of the southern academy. An important note should be noted here: before the war, only residents of Virginia were admitted as students.
At the outbreak of the war, cadets were used to train over twenty thousand men of the south. Actual fighting of the cadet corps wasn’t experienced until May 1864. At that time federal forces had advanced into the south, and on that morning in May they entered Newmarket, a town north of Lexington. The confederate forces were badly outnumbered, and the cadets were finally drawn into the center of the battle line. “In the midst of terrible artillery fire, the battalion marched in per… order to within four hundred yards of the enemy’s batteries. A single shell killed three boys in the front ranks. The order was given for the cadets to charge. Running forward and yelling they faced straight for the enemy’s guns.” Eventually southern forces won the battle, largely due to the efforts of youths ranging in age from fourteen to twenty.
Following the war VMI admitted students from every part of the south. Attendance increased enormously because of the war fame of the institute and because of its excellent faculty.
Behind this prosperous façade there were severe problems. Prior to the war, hazing (or “ratting”, as it was then called) had been an orderly process and part of the academy’s discipline. But now it had degenerated into a vicious and meaningless chaos. The excessive hazing by upper classmen originated in a fraternity founded at VMI; it was a very select group, its members being chosen only from residents of eastern Virginia. Gradually this secret society began to direct their abuse mainly towards non-Virginians. It was only natural that feelings against this fraternity became intense, and finally a minor revolution developed around a cadet who resisted the hazing with determination. His name was James Frank Hopkins. Because of his principles and protection of others, he was elected to be first corporal of the sophomore class, the highest rank attainable.
The following fall and interesting event occurred. Hopkins was corporal of the guard one evening when he was summoned to investigate a disturbance in one of the dorms. He burst into the room and discovered a meeting of the secret fraternity. There he saw a group of “masked men hooded and robed in white, their black boots protruding in startling contrast”. Thus were the Blackfeet named the group later to become Alpha Tau Omega.
The hazing reached a climax when upper classmen hung one of the freshmen from a door. There was naturally a hell of a fuss and the cadet corps voted hazing out of existence.
The Legion of Honor
During his third year at VMI, Hopkins was initiated into the Masonic order. The ceremony so impressed him that he decided to form a brotherhood “designed to preserve the friendships he had made, and destined to perpetuate the principles upon which these friendships had been founded.” He confided his intentions to two others. The three became the founders of Sigma Nu:
- James Frank Hopkins, born in Mississippi in 1845
- Greenfiels Quarles, Kentucky, 1849
- James McCavaine Riley, Missouri, 1849
One night in October 1868, they stood by a great limestone rock on the pared grounds and joined in the vows that bound them as brothers in the Legion of Honor. The Existence of the new society was kept secret until its first formal meeting on January 1, 1869, which is the accepted date of the founding of the fraternity. The new society was formed not to contrast the power of that other but to affirm the principles and rights for which these men had fought.
For many years there existed a belief that Sigma Nu had been organized to break up the Blackfeet. In contrast the members of Sigma Nu were called “The Whitefeet”. There was a rivalry, true, but Sigma Nu wasn’t founded as an act of vengeance.
Alpha Chapter began its normal fraternity activities in the fall of 1869. Riley was the first Eminent Commander and Hopkins was his Lieutenant Commander. Soon thereafter, Riley was elected the first Regent to the new Fraternity.
The Symbols of Sigma Nu
In the spring of 1869 the first badges were made and worn. Hopkins modeled the badge after the Cross of the Legion of Honor in France. The original badges were about one and one-quarter inches across and were cut from a sheet of gold. White and Gold were the colors of VMI and black implied secrecy.
In 1883 John Howard produced the first magazine of the Fraternity. There were three chapters: Alpha (VMI), Kappa (North Georgia), and Lambda (Washington and Lee). Howard thought it appropriate to use the triangular Greek letter “delta” to symbolize the chapters then existing; hence, came the name The Delta.
The White Rose, our official flower, was adopted in 1892.
The Rock of Sigma Nu, first meeting place of the founders, was blasted away in 1912 to make way for a new building. A large fragment, however, is enshrined at National Headquarters in Lexington.
The Creed of Sigma Nu was written by Water J. Sears. It was first delivered at the Thirteenth Grand Chapter in 1906. It has since been condensed to form the short creed:
“To believe in the life of love…
To walk in the way of honor
To serve in the light of truth
This is the life, the way and the light of Sigma Nu.
This is the creed of our Fraternity.”
History of delta xi
History of Delta Xi Chapter Coming Soon!
