Bethel Military Academy Explained

Bethel Military Academy was a school near Warrenton, Virginia in Fauquier County.^{[1] [2]} It operated from 1867 until 1911^[3] and had several prominent alumni. The Virginia General Assembly passed a bill in 1901 incorporating the school. The bill included a requirement that one student chosen from each district of Virginia was granted tuition free admission to the school.^[2]

The 1896 Maryland Aggies football team played against Bethel Academy. Kappa Sigma Kappa fraternity had a branch at the school for a few years.

Buttons worn on a uniform from the school include the Virginia state seal of Virtus slaying the giant.^[4]

Alumni

• John L. McLaurin, U.S. Representative
• Theodore G. Croft, U.S. Representative
• Charles W. Field (1857–1917), Maryland state delegate^[5]
• Leon Lydecker Freeman, local mayor and former owner of the Freeman House Store
• Grenville Gaines (1854–1922), mayor of Warrenton, Virginia^[6]
• Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. (1879–1973), American judge and mayor of Houston^[7]
• Frank Owens Smith, U.S. Representative
• David D. Terry, U.S. Representative
• Howard W. Smith, U.S. Representative

Further reading

• The History of Bethel Military Academy, Warrenton, Virginia by Peter Bartow Smith University of Virginia M.A. dissertation 1945.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Archived copy . 2019-10-01 . 2019-10-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191001222529/https://fauquierlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Index-Bethel-Military-Academy.pdf . dead .
2. Web site: Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. January 25, 1901. Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Purchases and Supply. Google Books.
3. Book: Brenner, Kate. Warrenton. January 25, 2014. Arcadia Publishing. 9781467121675. Google Books.
4. Web site: Ridgeway Civil War Archive Buttons from Virginia, schools and academies....DRAFT..... . www.relicman.com . 25 January 2020.
5. Book: Distinguished Men of Baltimore and of Maryland . 1914 . Baltimore American . 119 . 2022-12-08 . Archive.org.
6. Book: University of Virginia; its history, influence, equipment and characteristics, with biographical sketches and portraits of founders, benefactors, officers and alumni . Lewis Publishing Company . 2 . 1904 . 147–148 . . 2023-04-27.
7. Book: University of Virginia; its history, influence, equipment and characteristics, with biographical sketches and portraits of founders, benefactors, officers and alumni . Lewis Publishing Company . 2 . 1904 . 30–31 . . 2023-04-24.
8. Book: Smith . Peter Bartow . The History of Bethel Military Academy, Warrenton, Virginia . 1945 . University of Virginia . 25 January 2020 . en.