CHAPTER HISTORY

The Alpha Kappa chapter of Kappa Alpha Order was founded on December 21, 1891 at the University of Missouri-Columbia. KA has a long and great history at MU. Alpha Kappa has had three Alumni serve as Knight Commander, which is the hightest national position in the Order. Kappa Alpha is continually recognized as a top fraternity at Mizzou for it's all-around performance.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Much rich history has been sown in the fertile soil of Virginia’s famed Shenandoah Valley.

While many towns of this valley have laid claim to immortality, many people consider the tiny, Blue Ridge Mountain town of Lexington a small piece of heaven. This town, that witnessed much of the Civil War, is the epitome of heritage and tradition. It is the site of Natural Bridge - one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World - it serves as the final resting place of Generals T. J. “Stonewall” Jackson and Robert E. Lee; it is the birthplace of famed “Texian” revolutionist Sam Houston; and it is the home of two great universities - Washington & Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute.

In 1865, at the end of the bloodiest war our nation has ever seen, the two institutions were but shadows of their former selves. VMI had been burned nearly to the ground and Washington College was severely damaged when it was used as Union barracks.

However, the school’s trustees were determined to save their desperate college. Brashly, the trustees of the college elected Robert E. Lee as president.

Everyone in the country knew that Lee could lead soldiers but few remembered that he also had served as superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. For Lee, the position in tiny Lexington was an opportunity to lead his people not into battle, but into recovery. On August 31, 1865, Lee became the president of a school named for his mentor and his wife’s grandfather, George Washington.

“I think it is the duty of every citizen, in the present condition of the country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony,” he wrote to the trustees in his letter of acceptance. “It is particularly incumbent of those charged with the instruction of the young to set them an example of submission to authority.”

Among first post-war students were three of KA’s four founders, James Ward Wood, William Nelson Scott, and William Archibald Walsh. Founder Stanhope McClelland Scott, brother of William Nelson Scott, entered the college’s second post-war session, the spring semester of 1866.

The Founders

James Ward Wood was born on December 26, 1845, in rural Hardy County, Va. (now West Virginia). He was the fifth generation of Woods to farm the land near Lost River and his descendants (who also continue the KA tradition) occupy the family land even today. Wood was studying the law when his part of Virginia entered the Civil War. He was blessed with a fantastic home library which was wide and varied. While his education was not formal as we know today, he had a rich and broad base of learning. This was accomplished by his intense reading and study of all types of literature. As a young man, Wood was very “dignified and deferential.” He was also very engaging and friendly. Wood joined the 12th Virginia Cavalry (the famed Laurel Brigade).

It was, in part, Lee’s acceptance of the presidency of Washington College, and a new job as the head master of the Ann Smith Academy for girls, that caused the well-respected Reverend John A. Scott to move his family to Lexington in 1865. The Scott family had once lived in Hardy County and was intimate with the Woods for two generations. Wood’s father recognized his son’s natural intellect and high moral character and sought to formalize his education. He also believed that his son would profit under the influence of the Reverend Scott, an esteemed Presbyterian minister throughout Virginia. Rev. Scott’s influence immediately inspired Wood because he soon became known as the “College Bard” on campus. He became a member of the Washington Literary Society and became known for his poems and essays that appeared in the campus paper. He was also known to enrich his conversations by quoting biblical scripture and lines from literature. He was impressed with phrases that he had not heard before. Ammen actually met Wood, while walking to campus, when he overheard him repeating a Latin phrase and translated it for him. It was this phrase first appearing in Wood’s ritual, which later became the great theme of Kappa Alpha Order. In an 1866 essay that Wood read to Alpha Chapter, he gives insight into his thoughts on the purpose of his young K.A. Fraternity: “Let us be just, charitable and good. Let us be great by the prayers of widows and orphans rather than by their tears and lamentations. Let us be of one mind and faith, let us banish all that is evil and cling to all that is good. Let us pull together and pull hard, but above all things let there be no doubt that we are pulling right.”

Wood, because of the manner of his upbringing, had a “preference for activity and doing things that he enjoyed.” Wood was “not used to organized study.” He “was a dreamer.” Ammen perceived his friend Wood as “seeing the allegorical; the deep meaning; and, the symbolism” of things. Unfortunately, Wood did not take to the environment of a formal education. In January of 1867, Lee wrote Wood’s father and advised him his son was not succeeding academically. Accordingly, Wood was “called home by his father” and resigned his chapter office of secretary on January 25, 1867. On February 1, 1867, Wood called his chapter together at the Main Building of Washington College and made a departing speech and a small presentation. Wood remained at home at Woodlawn until 1871. He then began travels in the west and migrated to Missouri where he took part in the Grange Movement. In 1875, he returned to Woodlawn where he raised blooded stock. He married at the age of 40 and eventually had eight children. As well as a farmer/rancher, Wood, during his life, became a justice of the peace, school board president, county judge, surveyor, and notary public and representative in the West Virginia State Assembly. He died on January 7, 1926, and is buried in the Ivanhoe Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Lost River, W. Va.

William Nelson Scott was born in Houston, Va., on September 25, 1848. He was the only other founder who was engaged in military service during the Civil War. Although his service, like Wood’s, was limited, at the age of fifteen he became part of the reserves in Virginia. Will Scott was introduced to Wood in September of 1865 by Rev. Scott and the two young men became fast friends. He joined in Wood’s evolving effort during the fall of 1865 to form a new society on campus. When the group formally organized, Will Scott, because of his impressive personality, was selected as its first president. He worked with Wood to guide the fledgling fraternity through its trying first year. While it was Wood who first met S. Z. Ammen, it was Will Scott who convinced him to join the group of seven in October of 1866. Ammen said of Scott, “I have never seen any in equal to him in charm of voice, in solemnity of manner, in dignity of demeanor, or in general impressiveness in the initiatory customs.” Will Scott presided over Ammen’s initiation. After departing Washington College, Scott entered Union Theological Seminary and completed his study there. In 1872, he became a Presbyterian minister. After heading a parish in Richmond, Va., for a few short years, Scott moved to Galveston, Texas, where he led the First Presbyterian Church there for 19 years. After surviving the Great Hurricane and Flood of 1900, that decimated the island and killed thousands, he returned to Staunton, Va., where he remained pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church until his death on June 3, 1919. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Va.

William Archibald Walsh was born in Richmond, Va., on September 11, 1849. Although Walsh was not present when Will Scott first joined in Wood’s idea of forming a new society, he soon was made aware of the idea and joined the effort. It was in Walsh’s dorm room that Wood and Scott spent time between classes. The friendship that was cemented focused the group. On December 21, 1865, Wood proposed a toast to the “two Williams” which caused this group who “swore together” to form a society. Wood wrote: “The principal work of the first year was done in Walsh’s room. Walsh was bright and capable, and he helped me a great deal, especially in connection with the badge.” Because Walsh’s family had resources, it is likely that he financed the first seven badges from the Lexington jeweler, D.M. Riley. Wood also spoke of the “many conferences in October and November while preliminary plans were laid.” While he also revealed that “Christmas caused delay” it is important to note that the first meetings occurred in Walsh’s quarters. After one year at Washington College, Walsh left in June of 1866 to take up his family’s business as a merchant. The first document revealing the name of the group as “K.A.” was issued to Walsh as a fees receipt in April of 1866. Walsh continued to correspond with Alpha Chapter, even after his departure, and is generally considered to be our first Alumnus member. In 1874, Walsh traveled in Africa and returned home to Richmond in impaired health. He died in 1876 and is also buried in the Hollywood Cemetery.

Stanhope McClelland Scott, the younger brother of Will, was not enrolled in school during the Fall of 1865. However, he was “soon enlisted as he would enter Washington College in January.” He was 15 years old at the time of our founding making him the youngest founder. This occurrence set the minimum age for eligibility for membership in KA, which endures to this day. Stanhope graduated from Washington and Lee in 1871 and went on to study medicine at the University of Virginia. After receiving his medical license, he returned to his hometown to practice. Dr. Scott practiced medicine in western Maryland and northern West Virginia for over 50 years. Stanhope Scott was the last of the four original founders to survive. He passed away on September 4, 1933, and is buried at Terra Alta, W. Va.

Organization

In 1870, Ammen’s efforts finally achieved the permanence of ink in Kappa Alpha’s first publication. A copy of the forty-six page booklet, which contained the Order’s constitution, ritual and bylaws, was sent to each chapter. Called the “Green Book,” because of its green paper cover, the publication established the “General Council,” now called Convention. The first Convention was held that same year in Richmond, Va., where Ammen presided in a dual capacity as Number I of Alpha chapter and as Knight Commander (our national president).

With organization, KA continued to grow. Over the next twenty-five years, the Order expanded deeper into the South, to the North (in Baltimore and Philadelphia) and in 1895, to the West Coast with chapters at the University of California-Berkeley and Stanford University. By the turn of the century, the number of active chapters had increased to 44.

As the Order matured, our chapters began graduating more and more men that longed to continue their KA association after college. These men began to search out fellow brothers in their local areas and, before long, alumni chapters were springing-up all over the country.

In 1986, the National Administrative Office returned the Order to its roots by moving home to Lexington, Va. The move marked a progressive change for Kappa Alpha as it became fully computerized for the first time in its existence. The first office in Lexington was operated out of temporary space until a suitable structure could be purchased.

In 1990, the Order purchased the old Rockbridge County Jail, which had been vacant for two years, and began the massive task of transforming it into a beautiful, modern functioning office. After two years of painstaking restoration, the office moved into the federal-style building, located on the courthouse square in Lexington’s historic downtown district, in April 1992.

ROBERT E. LEE

A Short Story of Lee

Robert Edward Lee, born January 19, 1807, at his family's plantation (Stratford) in Westmoreland County, Virginia, was destined for greatness. Through his father, General Henry Lee, the celebrated "Light Horse Harry" of Revolutionary War fame, and his mother, Ann Hill Carter, he was a member of two of the most distinguished families of early America.

Lee entered West Point in 1825. When he graduated four years later, he was cadet corp adjutant, head of his class in tactics and artillery and second in general standing. He also graduated without receiving a single demerit. By the time of his commissioning, Lee had developed traits of character which would distinguish him from his contemporaries and make him a legend after his death. Of these traits, moderation, self control, duty, sincerity, consideration of others, courage, special regard for ladies, courtesy, honor and deep religious conviction, he believed duty and honor to be especially important. Lee once stated, "There is true glory and true honor, the glory of duty done and the honor of integrity and principles." He also wrote, "Duty is the sublimest word in the language. You cannot do more than your duty; you nver wish to do less."

In 1831, he married Mary Custis, great-granddaughter of Martha Washington. For the next thirty years, Arlington was Lee's beloved home. Lee had three sons and four daughters. Lee had a celebrated military career.

In the summer of 1865, the Board of Trustees of Washington College in Lexington, VA, voted unanimously to offer the college presidency to Lee. One of Lee's mosted noted statements to his students was, "We have but one rule here and that is that every student must be a gentleman."

Lee died in the President's House at Washington College (later to be name Washington and Lee College) on October 12, 1870.

-taken from the Varlet