The "Hall of Valor" - Part 1

Any visitor to New Market Battlefield State Historical Park and its “Hall of Valor” museum/visitor center is bound to notice the, shall we call it, “unusual” architectural design of the HOV. Few folks today know it, but today’s HOV was not the original design – the original created a storm of debate when approved in 1966 by VMI and then was subsequently rejected by the Virginia Art Commission, which led to the eventual adoption of today’s HOV.

The Hall of Valor (seen above in an architect’s rendering reprinted on the front page of the New Market Shenandoah Valley of November 3, 1966) was to commemorate not just the VMI Cadets who participated in the battle, but “to honor the courage of all American fighting men throughout history,” according to an un-named VMI spokesman [Shenandoah Valley,11-3-66]. The design was approved unanimously by VMI’s Board of Visitors in late October 1966, with construction expected to begin in the Spring of 1967 and the building to open to visitors in the Summer of 1968. Designed by Meathe, Kessler and Associates of Grosse Pointe, MI, the 2-story, $500,000 building was designed to be eye-catching. Perhaps the architects were a little too successful in that.

VMI Superintendent Maj. Gen. George R.E. Shell stated that the architects had been charged with designing something “arresting, unusual, and a memorial to the strength and courage of the cadets” [qtd in Staunton News-Leader, 12-18-66]. Perhaps part of the thinking behind a modernistic building was, as one local newspaper editorialized, that with the building being highly visible from nearby Interstate 81, something so highly unusual and out-of-place was bound to draw attention, and by extension, visitors [Woodstock Shenandoah Herald, 12-29-66].

Immediately detractors questioned why such a modern architectural style was used. Some compared it to a bunker of the Maginot Line – the fortifications constructed in the 1930s along the border between France and Germany - the “Maginot Line Memorial” they called it [Staunton News-Leader, 12-18-66]. To some it looked more like something from “outer space” [Strasburg Northern Virginia Daily, 11-8-66]. The Woodstock Shenandoah Herald declared the design “looked a little like something borrowed from a World Fair, and damaged in shipping” [12-29-66]. The Winchester Star declared “the design proposed to honor the VMI cadets engaged in the Battle of New Market…ludicrous. It is about as fitting as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of World War I sporting a Green Beret or the monument aboard the USS Arizona in the mud of Pearl Harbor being used as a platform for a Titan missile” [qtd in Staunton News-Leader, 12-18-66]. One Front Royal writer voiced the sentiments of many in the Valley: “It might be very appropriate for a space-age factory or World’s Fair science center, but it certainly is incongruous as a memorial to the VMI cadets and the events which the site is to commemorate. The proposed building appears to be a replica of the Virginia Civil War Centennial Center erected in Richmond, which was equally inappropriate for the State’s observance of that Centennial” [NVD, 11-16-66].

That is not to say the building didn’t have its supporters. The VMI Board of Visitors unanimously approved the design, and it did have some support in the community although apparently few were privy to the design before its approval. Ironically, even though newspapers across Virginia condemned the design, New Market’s own paper thought it “ideal:”

“The building as proposed is ideally suited for the purpose it is supposed to serve. Functionally it is remarkably well arranged to make it easy for the traveling public to see the various features of the building, display relics of the Battle of New Market, giving a dramatic re-enactment [sic] of the historic episode that made the engagement famous, and make the most of the magnificent panorama to the north, east, south, and west that can be observed from the point the building will occupy.

“There are those who would like to see the structure follow the general motif of Colonial architecture. While they agree that such should be the case, few have the same idea of what Colonial architecture really is…

“The individual, who goes whole hog for a Colonial treatment, has in mind the impression that the exterior makes. To him that is interesting, indicative of something and important. There is a question if the millions that travel nearby Interstate 81 will react favorably to such an exterior image. To many it will be just another musty Civil War Museum, and old soldiers’ home or something from the moldy past.

“The proposed exterior appearance is ultra modern. It is very striking. It is attention compelling. It stimulates interest. It would be sufficiently provocative to cause many to slow their pell mell rush and take time out just to see what it is and what it stands for.

“It’s not enough to have a handsome structure in the best tradition of the Colonial period for the passing motorist to admire. It must stop him in his tracks, stimulate him to take a peek and actually visit the place. We feel that the proposed treatment will insure much more traffic through the visitor’s center to see its unique features and the matters of historic interest.” [New Market Shenandoah Valley, 12-29-66]

The building’s detractors seemingly got their way when the Virginia Arts Commission rejected the design, just before Christmas 1966. (Yet the Commission did not give their reason for rejecting the plan, nor did they initially suggest any changes or alternatives. While their reasoning was unknown, it was not because of the futuristic appearance of the building, as the commissioners were known to favor such architectural style over something more conservative or classical – such as the Colonial theme some wanted.) This threw plans for the development of the Battlefield Park into some confusion, as the overall timeline for the Park called for groundbreaking on the Hall of Valor to take place in the Spring of 1967. With the design for the HOV all but approved, Institute and Park officials had been ready to put out a request for bids for the actual construction of the HOV – having to come up with a new architectural plan for the HOV at that stage of the game simply had not been anticipated. While dealing with this hurdle, Park Director James Geary was able to continue with plans to restore the Bushong House and other aspects of park interpretation.

Although there was some debate as to whether the Commission even had jurisdiction in the matter – the argument being that the funds to construct the HOV were not “public” funds but rather part of the bequest to VMI from George Collins specifically for the creation and interpretation of New Market Battlefield, which was countered by the fact that the Park was administered by Virginia Military Institute, a state-supported school, thus the funds were now indeed “public” even if they did not originate as tax dollars – the “Maginot Line Memorial” was scrapped, and eventually today’s Hall of Valor was constructed (which will be examined in a future post).

New Market Battlefield, part 1 - George Collins

Over the next few weeks I’m going to examine the establishment and development of what is today called “New Market Battlefield State Historical Park.” Our story begins during the Civil War Centennial with a West Virginia man named George Collins…

Like all cadets at Virginia Military Institute, George Randall Collins learned of the Battle of New Market. Only a few years before Collins’ matriculation at the Institute in 1907, “New Market Cadet” Moses Ezekiel’s Virginia Mourning Her Dead – a tribute to his comrades who fell at New Market – was unveiled on the edge of the parade ground, a dedication ceremony attended by many of the surviving “New Market Cadets.” Perhaps during his time at the Institute, Collins may even have met some of these cadets who fought at New Market. Regardless, at VMI Collins learned the special place the battlefield at New Market held in the Institute’s history.

After his graduation in 1911, Collins went on to a distinguished career as a coal executive in West Virginia, including president of Smokeless Fuel Company, general manager of Superior Portland Cement, and several other companies in the Ohio River Valley. During World War I, Collins served as an artillery captain with the American forces in France.

During the early 1940s, news of battles in Europe and the Pacific dominated the newspaper headlines, so it likely was not front-page news in 1942 when a roughly 200-acre farm just north of the small town of New Market, Virginia, was sold by the family which had owned it for more than a century. The family name was “Bushong.” Nearly 80 years before, Federal and Confederate forces met in battle on their farm – their small orchard was nearly destroyed as both sides jockeyed for control of the tactically important ground there. About 225 cadets from VMI secured the orchard for the Confederate forces. After the battle, the Bushong house, barn and all the outbuildings became a massive field hospital complex for the vast numbers of wounded from both sides.

The former Bushong farm was sold again in 1944. This time the buyer was George Collins. It seems that Collins intended for some time for the Bushong farm to be preserved by his alma mater. He sold off many of his business ventures in the late 1940s and early 1950s, living in semi-retirement in Charleston, West Virginia. At the time of his death June 27, 1964, at his home in Charleston, at the age of 74 George Collins had no immediate survivors.

Collins’ estate was valued at more than $4 million dollars. His Charleston home he left to his nephew and more than $1 million was divided among several other relatives. The 175 acres Collins owned at New Market, including the Bushong Farm, were left to Virginia Military Institute, along with a $3 million endowment “to be used as a trust to perpetuate and maintain as a memorial of the Battle of New Market and to place improvements thereon for educational purposes,” according to his short hand-written will. [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9 Dec 1964] (The “improvements…for educational purposes” shall be examined in future posts…)

Even though Collins had hinted before his death that VMI would be the recipient of the Bushong Farm, and a copy of his will was probated and placed on file in the Shenandoah County courthouse within days of his death, news of his gift to VMI was not made public knowledge for six months. Once the information was released, it was front-page news throughout Virginia. Wrote a reporter for the Roanoke (VA) World News: “It is especially fitting that his gift should be accepted by the Institute during the period of the Civil War Centennial. The courage that was shown by the VMI cadets of 1864 will stand forever as an inspiration for the cadet corps. Mr. Collins’ gift insures permanency of the battlefield as a historic shrine, to be visited and appreciated by Virginian, cadet and tourist.” [Roanoke World News, 11 Dec 1964]

Today the approach road to New Market Battlefield State Historical Park is named “George R. Collins Parkway,” and a large bronze plaque inside the Hall of Valor (the history of which will be examined in a future post) honors him, as does an interpretive sign on the park grounds.

[George Collins photo courtesy VMI Archives]