We’re in the final push to hit our Annual Fund goal by June 30. Please see below to support our continued progress in Lexington!
In the four+ years since our formation, The Generals Redoubt (TGR) has made great strides in our effort to build a coalition of alumni, parents, and friends who are committed to preserving Washington and Lee’s values, traditions, and history.
While we have enjoyed much success, we have also had some setbacks.
We fought successfully to retain the “Lee” in Washington and Lee in 2021. But the Board of Trustees simultaneously renamed Lee Chapel to “University Chapel” and closed the museum to the public. Through the Orwellian policies of Washington and Lee’s current leadership, Lee Chapel is now almost entirely stripped clean of any reference to Lee.
We fought to prevent the administration from building a wall—quite literally—designed solely to obscure the iconic Recumbent Statue of Lee from public view in Lee Chapel. Despite our vocal objections, the university remains determined to hide Gen. Lee behind a permanent barrier.
Robert E. Lee should not be hidden behind a wall. Those of us who know his story—an inspirational story of character, honor, and reconciliation—are committed to keeping his legacy alive at Washington and Lee.
Founders’ Day, which for generations celebrated the critical contributions that George Washington and Robert E. Lee made to our university, has been cancelled. We are working with local alumni chapters and on-campus organizations to keep Founders’ Day alive.
We are disheartened that students at Washington and Lee today find minimal support—if not outright hostility—from the administration for the Greek system. More concerning is the ongoing erosion of the honor system, which has grown weaker in recent years as our valued traditions are deemphasized. Our sources on campus tell of widespread cheating, with both faculty and students reluctant to enforce the code. While our cherished system of honor fades, we hear nothing but silence from the University’s leadership.
We are addressing these problems by building vibrant relationships with the student body, bringing prominent speakers to campus, supporting the Greek system, providing significant funding for the 2024 Mock Convention, and assisting the publishers of The Spectator, which serves as a free-thinking alternative to the Ring-tum Phi.
We have raised significant seed capital to start the George Washington & Robert E. Lee Institute at our new headquarters at Fancy Hill. The Institute will work to celebrate the legacies of our founders, with or without the support of the University.
We are engaged in a long struggle. We will win some battles and lose others. But we will never lose sight of our goal of relegating today’s woke movement to the ash-heap of history.
While the situation at Washington and Lee is precarious, all is not lost. Our growing list of supporters is voting with their wallets—diverting their generosity from the university to The Generals Redoubt—and sending an unambiguous message to the current leadership that we must remember our past and continue to shape the character of Washington and Lee students for generations to come.
Thank you for your support!
The Generals Redoubt Board of Directors
Please click on the link below to help us continue the progress we are making in our efforts to influence the future of Washington and Lee. Your financial support of TGR sends a powerful message to the leadership at Washington and Lee which they cannot ignore.Let your voice be heard through our growing organization. In addition to improvements and activities at our new Fancy Hill headquarters in Rockbridge County, your generous contribution will fund more on-campus programs, student groups and national speakers who share our commitment to the values, history, and traditions of Washington and Lee.
The Generals Redoubt (TGR) is a non-partisan 501 (c) (3) organization that is not aligned with, nor supports, any political party, individual, or organization.
Information on how to make a donation: https://www.thegeneralsredoubt.us/support
To donate by check please make payable to:
The Generals Redoubt and mail to: The Generals Redoubt, P.O. Box 1097, Lexington, VA 24450.