The Generals Redoubt Celebrates Founders Day at Fancy Hill

The alumni organization celebrated “one of the most significant traditions at W&L.”

George Washington, Robert E. Lee, and Reverend William Graham were honored at the annual Founders’ Day celebration at Fancy Hill on January 18th, hosted by The Generals Redoubt.

Founders’ Day was created three days after Robert E. Lee’s death to honor his legacy alongside benefactor George Washington. Although the university discontinued the holiday in 2021, alumni across the country have carried on the tradition.

The event also celebrated the opening of Fancy Hill as the headquarters of The Generals Redoubt. Purchased in 2023, the renovations of the office wing with student workspaces and a podcasting studio are now complete. Formerly a garage built adjacent to the main house in 1936, it has now been turned into a space capable of hosting meetings and receptions.

Kamron Spivey, ‘24, delivered the event’s keynote address. Spivey, who serves as a TGR postgraduate fellow, commented that W&L discontinued the holiday on June 4th, 2021, citing attempts to separate the school from “The Lost Cause.”

The holiday, however, “predates The Lost Cause” and “the modern implications of it,” said Spivey. “All it is is a celebration of our namesake. Nothing controversial about it,” he remarked.

Spivey read an excerpt from President Theodore Roosevelt's 1907 letter to Washington and Lee commemorating the centenary of Robert E. Lee’s birth. Within, Roosevelt remembered Lee for his “extraordinary skill as a general… but also of that serene great obligation of civic duty.”

Roosevelt praised Lee for his actions after the war, writing that “he instantly undertook the task of healing and binding up the wounds of his countrymen” and helped “his people in the paths of peace and tranquility.”

Reverend William Graham and George Washington were celebrated for their roles in the formation of Washington and Lee. Graham, who is buried next to Lee Chapel, National Historic Landmark, was the first rector of what eventually became Washington and Lee, serving for over 20 years and during the American Revolution. He also secured the large donation of James River Canal stock from Washington, resulting in the eventual name change to Washington College, Spivey shared.

Tom Rideout ‘63, the director of The Generals Redoubt, told The Spectator that “part of our mission is to preserve the history, values, and traditions of the University, and those of the namesakes, Robert E. Lee and George Washington.”

As for Fancy Hill, Rideout said that TGR hopes to use the estate as a space to support student organizations as a venue for meetings, studying, and events.

Spivey told The Spectator that “in the 19th century, all of the W&L presidents… would have come and frequented events here, and we really want to bring that sort of… pillar of community back.”

He shared hopes to host speakers and symposiums in the future, as well as developing a lounge area with a pool table and other fun activities.

Alumni and tourists can visit Fancy Hill — whose full renovations will be finished in late Spring — by signing up on The Generals Redoubt’s website.

Spivey hopes this can help “fill the void” of recreational spaces at W&L. “They replaced the pool tables with offices for new deans… we don’t have any deans here at Fancy Hill, and we hope students will come out and use it.”