Trường quân sự tư nhân lâu đời nhất Virginia \ Waynesboro Virginia

Những năm đầu của Trường quân sự Fishburne

Trường Quân sự Fishburne (FMS) là một trường nội trú quân sự tư thục dành cho nam sinh ở Waynesboro, Virginia, Hoa Kỳ. Nó được thành lập bởi James A. Fishburne vào năm 1879 và là một trong những trường quân sự lâu đời nhất trong cả nước.

James A. Fishburne was born in Waynesboro, Virginia, on April 10, 1850. Of German descent, his family immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1749. His grandfather brought the family to Staunton in 1784. Daniel Fishburne, James’ father, moved to Waynesboro in 1819 as a young man. At that time, Waynesboro was a small settlement on the stage road from Staunton to Charlottesville. As the town grew, Daniel prospered as a flourishing general store owner. James was the eleventh of fourteen children.

The Civil War interrupted James’ happy childhood years and brought tragedy to his family. He was an independent and resourceful young man, however, and by the age of sixteen, had made enough money to enter Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) and the four years he spent there (1866-1870) under General Robert E. Lee, profoundly influenced his life. With James’ desire to become a teacher and open his own school, as well as General Lee’s encouragement, James soon saw his dream materialize. The General’s love of duty, honor, and his fellow man is clearly seen in the principles on which the Fishburne Military School was founded.

The Proprietorship / 1879 – 1916

James Fishburne soon embarked on a teaching career that would take him to Oxford, North Carolina, and New Roe, Kentucky. By 1878, he had enough money to start a school and returned to Waynesboro with his bride to realize his dream. With the help of his sister, Fishburne opened a day school called The Waynesboro High School. The first class of thirteen boys and girls was held in 1879 in the upstairs of the old Taylor Building on Main Street. The following year, he expanded into the abandoned Waynesboro Academy Building, hired his first instructor, and made bids for out-of-town students.

Beginning with the third session, the school admitted only boys. By this year, a challenging curriculum had been established: three foreign languages, eight courses in science and mathematics, English, history, geography, and nine other courses.

It was also in 1880 that Professor Fishburne began the construction of his home, which is located on the hill where Fishburne Military School now stands. He bought 1½ acres from Elizabeth Evans, wife of Joshua Evans. Professor Fishburne added approximately two more acres to his property a year later. Professor Fishburne’s home was completed in 1882, and the school moved to its present site. His two-story house with a full basement accommodated boarding students. Instructors and students roomed, ate, and studied here. Local histories indicate that this was the first house in the county with running water and a bath served by water pumped from a Wayne Avenue spring. The school’s name became Fishburne Home School, and this same year, construction of the wooden barracks began.

The school took on much of its military character during the next few years, though military uniforms were not yet required. The wooden Barracks were to be enlarged three times before they were razed in 1917 upon the completion of the fireproof barracks. Although very simple in design, the original barracks building was decorated with ornamentation suggestive of the Gothic style.

In 1883, a military school graduate was hired as drill master, and he instructed a program of close order drill. The following year, Captain I.H. Saunders, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, became commandant and the assistant to Professor Fishburne. Military uniforms were then required, students became cadets, and the institution became Fishburne Military School. The military approach to education provided a disciplined and conducive environment for learning. Cadets learned their rights and privileges, as well as their duties and responsibilities. Professor Fishburne’s aims for the school were to prepare his students physically and mentally while equipping them “for college, university, or practical life.”

Fishburne Military School became one of the first two schools in Virginia to be accredited by the stringent Southern Association of Secondary Schools. This honor was bestowed in 1897. Even today, Fishburne boasts an unbroken membership record in this critical and select educational association, making it a unique example in Virginia.

In 1901, Morgan H. Hudgins, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, joined Fishburne Military School as the Commandant of Cadets and Associate Principle to Professor Fishburne. Morgan Hudgins’ tenure with the school was to last fifty-one years. A strong and able man, he led the school through periods of growth and substantial development in its military training.

The Corporation \ 1916 – 1951

It was apparent to Professor Fishburne that a modern, fireproof facility would be required if the school continued its place in the forefront of secondary education. He invited the community’s outstanding and successful businesspeople to invest in a private stock corporation to acquire the school and fund the necessary improvements. The school was incorporated in 1916. The Staunton architect T.J. Collins was hired, and construction of the new Barracks began soon. The mess hall/chapel/swimming pool wing and the kitchen were added in 1919 and 1921, respectively. A wooden frame gymnasium was also built behind the Barracks in 1919. The old frame Barracks was torn down in 1917, forming a spacious parapet (drill area) in front of the new Barracks. The large field occupying the Fishburne property’s eastern portion was graded and leveled for use as a parade/athletic field.

Also, in 1919, an Infantry Unit of the Reserve Officers Training Corps was granted to the school by the War Department. This allowed for an active-duty Army officer to be stationed at the school for three-year tours of duty, during which he and other Army personnel conducted classes in military training. This Infantry Unit system would last until the mid-1970s. The War Department, renamed the Department of Defense in the 1940s, continues to have jurisdiction over the ROTC program at Fishburne.

In 1921, the west wing of the Barracks was completed. On Armistice Day of the same year, James Fishburne died peacefully at his home. A remarkable and dedicated man, his last conscious words were a prayer for “my boys.”

Colonel Hudgins succeeded Professor Fishburne as principal. Under Hudgins’ leadership, Fishburne Military School was to achieve great success in academic, military, and extracurricular activities for the next thirty-one years. In 1924, the Fishburne Cadets Corps was first rated an honor military school under the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program of the U.S. Army. Fishburne has never failed to achieve this honor and is distinguished as the only Junior ROTC school in the country with such a record.

In 1939, a fire destroyed the frame gymnasium, and the school launched an effort to build the Administration Building, incorporating the Fishburne home. The school again called upon the T.J. Collins firm to design the structure. The building was completed in 1940 and dedicated by Judge C.G. Quesenbery at the commencement of May exercises. This new building included the administrative unit, the memorial foyer, and the library. The gymnasium in the rear was fully equipped with a rifle range and team dressing rooms.

The Foundation, 1951 – Present

By the late 1940s, it was apparent that the school’s future lay in growth and development as a nonprofit educational foundation. The year 1951 proved to be critical for Fishburne. Mounting losses and unwillingness to invest the necessary private capital forced the stockholders to offer the school for sale. The local government purchased the school to transform it into the Waynesboro City Building. Local civic leaders, viewing Fishburne Military School as an integral part of Waynesboro’s heritage and a valuable community asset, along with a small group of friends and alumni, formed an organization that was able to purchase the school from the city a few months later, thus allowing Fishburne to continue the uninterrupted record of educational service. This nonprofit organization, the Fishburne-Hudgins Educational Foundation, was chartered to operate the school perpetually.

Although Fishburne Military School has changed with the times, its mission remains committed to Professor Fishburne’s desire to make Fishburne cadets “well equipped for the duties and responsibilities of life, and above all else, to maintain a high standard of honor and integrity in Corps of Cadets.” Today, Fishburne Military School is the oldest military school in the Commonwealth and the 13th oldest in the Nation, still in operation.

Virtus, nữ thần của đức hạnh, ăn mặc như một chiến binh

1921-1924 \ Professor Fishburne passes the baton

Vào Kỷ niệm ba năm Ngày đình chiến năm 1921, Giáo sư Fishburne đã qua đời một cách yên bình tại nhà riêng. Những lời ý thức cuối cùng của anh ấy là một lời cầu nguyện cho “các cậu bé của tôi”. Ông được kế nhiệm bởi Morgan H. Hudgins, tốt nghiệp Học viện Quân sự Virginia, người đã gia nhập trường năm 1901 với tư cách Chỉ huy Thiếu sinh quân và Hiệu phó cho Giáo sư Fishburne. Hudgins đã dẫn dắt trường qua các thời kỳ trưởng thành và phát triển đáng kể trong lĩnh vực đào tạo quân sự. Trong suốt 31 năm làm hiệu trưởng, FMS đã đạt được nhiều thành công trong học tập, quân sự và các hoạt động ngoại khóa. Năm 1924, Quân đoàn Thiếu sinh quân Fishburne được xếp hạng là một trường quân sự danh dự thuộc Chương trình Huấn luyện Sĩ quan Dự bị (ROTC) của Quân đội Hoa Kỳ. Fishburne chưa bao giờ thất bại trong việc đạt được vinh dự này và là trường Junior ROTC duy nhất trong cả nước có thành tích không bị phá vỡ như vậy.

Những nhà lãnh đạo dân sự những năm 1940 Tiết kiệm Fishburne

Vào cuối những năm 1940, trường bị thua lỗ về tài chính, và các cổ đông không sẵn sàng đầu tư vốn tư nhân cần thiết cho sự thành công của trường. Năm 1951, sau khi thua lỗ, những người sở hữu cổ phần đã bán ngôi trường cho thành phố, dự định chuyển nó thành Tòa nhà Thành phố Waynesboro. Tuy nhiên, các nhà lãnh đạo dân sự địa phương coi Trường Quân sự Fishburne là một tài sản cộng đồng quý giá và là một phần không thể thiếu trong di sản của Waynesboro. Cùng với một nhóm nhỏ bạn bè và cựu sinh viên, họ đã mua trường từ thành phố và thành lập Tổ chức Giáo dục Fishburne-Hudgins, một tổ chức phi lợi nhuận sẽ vận hành trường vĩnh viễn. Năm 2021 đánh dấu kỷ niệm 70 năm thành lập của Quỹ.

Những năm gần đây

Trong những năm gần đây, Fishburne đã trải qua nhiều sự thay đổi trong việc tuyển sinh theo tình hình kinh tế quốc gia và khu vực, quan điểm chung của người dân về các trường nội trú quân đội, và ngày càng có nhiều lựa chọn thay thế cho các trường công lập. Trong hai mươi năm qua, số học sinh ghi danh trung bình từ 130 đến 180 học sinh. Đại dịch Covid-19 đã ảnh hưởng đến dân số nội trú ở một mức độ nào đó. Nghiên cứu xây dựng thương hiệu mới của Fishburne sẽ tận dụng và thúc đẩy quy mô và sản phẩm của trường, với mục tiêu thu nhận 165-175 học sinh nội trú.