From the Richmond Enquirer, 1/8/1861, p. 3, c. 1

[Excerpt of letter from Gov. Letcher]

THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE.

The reports of the Superintendent and Board of Visitors of this flourishing and valuable Institution, are herewith transmitted. The Institution is managed with very great ability, and has secured a strong hold upon popular favor. Its merits are well attested by the extraordinary success which has attended it. It is second only to the West Point Academy in its system of instruction and in the number of the cadets. At this crisis in our affairs this Institution deserves to be fostered and liberally sustained. It prepares our youth thoroughly for the performance of military duties, and in these troublous and perilous times, we know not at what moment such information will be called into requisition for the protection of the honor, the preservation of the rights and the maintenance of the institutions of the Commonwealth. I recommend these reports and their recommendations to your favorable consideration.

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