Description
photo.gif (154 bytes) Cadet Battery, 2005. The Cadet Battery as it looks following its restoration to original colors in 2000. This custom-designed battery was cast at the Cyrus Alger Foundry in Boston and arrived at VMI on June 6, 1848. From 1851 until the beginning of the Civil War, the guns were commanded by Major Thomas J. Jackson (later known as Stonewall), VMIs professor of Natural Philosophy and Artillery Tactics. During the war the guns were used by several units, including the famed Rockbridge Artillery under the command of William Pendleton. It was Pendleton, an Episcopal minister, who named the four cannon Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The 2000 restoration project included repairing and painting the pieces to return them to the original 1848 specifications.
