University of the South - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Sewanee, TN)

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BISHOP LEONIDAS POLK President William Howard Taft ' s visit to Sewanee. Military training came to during the First World War. the Mountain 1 Sewanee began in 1856 when Leonidas Polk, writing letters to ■h fellow bishops in the Episcopal Church in the South, invited ' g I -them to join in an effort to establish a university. He characterized ■ his dream by saying it would be our common property, under J our joint control, of a clear and distinctly recognized Church • character, upon a scale of such breadth and comprehensiveness, ' I as shall be equal in the liberality of its provisions for intellectual cultivation to those of the highest class at home or abroad. To establish such an insti- tution had been Bishop Polk ' s dream for a number of years. Having studied institutions both in America and in Europe, he thought the time right for his Church to support such a regional project. On July 4, 1857, twenty-two trustees met on Lookout Mountain; and in three days, the principles were set upon which Sewanee was to be developed. The University of the South was the first modern university planned in America. It was to have thirty-two departments whose nature would allow any known subject in general education to be

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of means different things to dif- ferent people. To the stranger sitting next to you on the air- plane home at break-time or to the inquiring gas-station attendant, even to some of your old friends, it is merely a name. To your parents it is the source of all erudition and a safe place to send you. To the girl you are pinned to it is the best party anywhere. But to us, Sewanee is something entirely differ- ent from what it appears to be to outsiders. In the light of four years ' experi- ence, the Mountain has been depressing at times when your grades did not show a true measure of the sedulous work you put into a course, when a meaningful date for a party-weekend fell through, or when the team of which you were a part lost a ball game even after days of prudent prepara- tion. At other times, the friendships made here and the knowledge gained through hard knocks and honest endeavor could not be measured in any ma- terial form, and more than made up for any regrets. In short, the true worth of our Sewanee education will manifest itself to each individual in the years to come. Chances are that in our later years we will feel that same endear- ment for the Mountain which perhaps somewhat prematurely keeps a high percentage of freshmen from dropping out and, even more significantly, causes such a large number of the transfer students to return each year.

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taught. The school was to be patterned after Oxford, but was to be created complete. Johns Hopkins and Stanford Universities were developed along these lines decades later. The cornerstone was laid on October 10, 1860; and by that date the site had been received, a large endowment raised, a constitution written, and the Founders were ready to build. The Civil War broke out; and because most people thought that it would be of short duration, plans for the school were only temporarily suspended. Polk served as a lieutenant general along with W. J. Hardee under General Braxton Bragg in the Army of Tennessee. In a march south, Federal troops pursued the retreating Confeder- ates across the Domain of the new University, destroyed the cornerstone with a powder charge, and burned the buildings. By the end of the struggle, Polk and Otey were dead and Elliott was to live but another year. The Diocese of Tennessee elected the young Reverend Charles T. Quintard as its second bishop in 1865. As a chaplain in the Confederate Army, Quintard had promised Bishop Elliott, then Presiding Bishop of the Confederacy, to assume personal responsi- bility for the University of the South. Along with his collaborator, Major General Fair- banks, Quintard returned to Sewanee in 1866 to find the school completely destroyed. The Bishop and Fairbanks gathered around them working men and clergy and held a ceremony during which a rude wooden cross was erected, formally re-establishing the University of the South. Immediate moves were made to begin rebuilding. As an ex- ample of Quintard ' s resolution and firmness of intent, he designated Sewanee as the Episcopal theological training center for the Church in Tennessee, put up Otey Hall, built his own house on the Mountain, as did Major Fairbanks, and operated his diocese from this location. Following Quintard ' s example, other dioceses gave their support. Although interest was revived, fund-raising was slow. When the Archbishop of Canterbury called a Pan- Anglican Council to meet at Lambeth Palace in London in the fall of 1867, Bishop Quintard went to England in the hope that he might gain support abroad. He was able to solicit 2,500 pounds from sympathizers with the Southern cause. The amount was not especially large; but because very influential individuals had contributed, his mission §.64 S.FU. SAB LechO SA2 AA -V5 •f ' h cuth ij{8 oise Brown Xanier wfeins Uillem-Russel Copp 5.1 X.5.U Si S.l 63.S vS.l Juka. rv Cheape Taulkinbm-y Williams M-mlev. was brought to light. Using the English gifts, Quintard opened the University in Sep- tember, 1868, with nine students and four professors. In spite of the South ' s poverty and ruin, the advocates of the University were deter- mined to make the school thrive. The trustees elected General Robert E. Lee to be the first Vice-Chancellor, but he respectfully declined because of other commitments. Mat- thew Fontaine Maury, the former Confederate commodore who had charted the ocean ' s currents, also could not accept the post. Bishop Quintard served as Vice-Chancellor on a temporary basis until 1872, when conditions were secure and General Josiah Gorgas became second Vice-Chancellor. Gorgas served for several years, going to the University of Alabama in 1878, after disagreement arose here. The University ' s athletes were genuine champions in the early days of inter- collegiate athletics in the South.