was almost complete, and VMI had to temporarily hold classes at the Alms House in Richmond, Virginia. One of the reasons that Confederate General Jubal A. Early burned the town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, was in retaliation for the destruction of VMI.
=== Post Civil War ===
In April 1865, Richmond was evacuated due to the impending fall of Petersburg and the VMI Corps of Cadets was disbanded. The Lexington campus reopened for classes on October 17, 1865 with Francis H. Smith returning as superintendent. VMI went on to become a model for other institutions in the South, including Louisiana State University and Texas A&M.
After the war, Matthew Fontaine Maury, the pioneering oceanographer known as the "Pathfinder of the Seas", accepted a teaching position at VMI, holding the physics chair. John Mercer Brooke also joined the school. Similarly, David Hunter Strother, who was chief of staff to General Hunter and had advised the destruction of the institute, served as Adjutant General of the Virginia Militia …
