Happy New Year from Fancy Hill!

Dear friends,

We hope this letter finds you warm and cheerful on this snowy, winter day. The above picture of Fancy Hill was taken just this morning, and we thought who better to share it with than our loyal supporters! We are immensely grateful for all the support we received in 2024 and are even more eager to see what we will accomplish together in 2025!

On that note, we would like to officially announce our programming for the 154th Founders Day. Like last year, we are celebrating across the country, from Rockbridge County to Houston, Kansas City, Shreveport, Winston-Salem, and beyond! Each year our Founders Day programming grows: but more on that below.

As you may well recall, the university officially discontinued Founders Day in 2021, 150 years after congregants first assembled to eulogize their late president in Lee Chapel on January 19, 1871.

The holiday was one of the first resolutions trustees passed after Robert E. Lee’s untimely death.

October 15, 1870: “Resolved. That this Committee be requested to make arrangements for the delivery of a Eulogy on the life & character of General Lee in the College Chapel on the 19th day of January: and we further express, the hope that this anniversary like the birthday of Washington, will be hereafter always celebrated in this College.”

As the above excerpt shows, the holiday was created with both Robert E. Lee and George Washington in mind. And over time, the holiday became known as “Founders Day,” a joint recognition of W&L’s namesakes.

For 150 years, that day signified one of grand importance to the university—and national—community. Speakers of great renown, both Southern and Northern, would deliver keynote addresses on the life of those two illustrious men.

After the campus founding of Omicron Delta Kappa in 1914, Founders Day welcomed another opportunity to celebrate academic excellence. As late as 2020 and 2021, students and honorary initiates were inducted into the renowned honor society on Founders Day.

But for some reason, this was unacceptable. Trustees voted to abolish the holiday on June 4, 2021, giving no reason for this decision. The closest “answer” they provided was several paragraphs before, when they announced that “We have reviewed campus symbols, names and practices, and we are making changes to remove doubt about our separation from the Confederacy and the Lost Cause.”

But Founders Day was hardly an icon of the Confederacy and Lost Cause. It was a celebration of our namesakes, Washington and Lee, whose contributions to this institution are unparalleled.

So, while we are saddened by the university’s misstep towards Founders Day, we refuse to let the tradition die. That is why those of us with The Generals Redoubt have hosted events every year since it was “discontinued.”

Founders Day lives through all of us: the Washington and Lee Community. We don’t need a speech in Lee Chapel to thank our namesakes. We can do it in our homes or at our favorite diner.

So, whether you are joining TGR at one of our parties this year, or just hanging out with a couple of classmates, we encourage you to raise a glass this month in honor of George Washington, Robert E. Lee, and all those leaders who shaped generations of W&L graduates.

I for one am very eager to celebrate Founders Day at Fancy Hill. After months of work, the office is finally opening to students and visitors, by appointment. We are on track to open the entire house sometime this spring, so please stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can expect more programming from us for Founders Day. Later this month, we will release our first podcast, recorded in our new Fancy Hill Studio. This state-of-the-art room is just one example of how TGR is soaring to new heights in 2025.

We need your help to make these objectives succeed. Our annual fund $400,000 match continues through January 31, allowing contributions from your Required Minimum Distribution to have an even larger impact this season. Can you help us meet our annual fund goal of $800,000 and give in the name and spirit of Founders Day? Please see below for more information on how you can direct your gift to The Generals Redoubt and support the legacy of our beloved namesakes, George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

Thank you for your kind support!

Kamron M. Spivey, ‘24
Campus Director & Research Fellow

(Students and alumni gather for the 154th Founders Day celebration at Fancy Hill, VA. Saturday, January 18, 2025.)