Who are The Generals Redoubt?
An Update from the Executive Director
September 26, 2025
Last Saturday, I had the great honor of welcoming Washington and Lee’s finest students, alumni, and friends to the newly-renovated Fancy Hill, a Federal-style manor situated seven miles South of Lexington.
For those who don’t know, The Generals Redoubt (TGR) purchased Fancy Hill in 2023 to secure a permanent headquarters in Rockbridge County. As a student, I had the great honor of researching the house’s 200+ year history. And now, as an alumnus and the Executive Director of The Generals Redoubt, I have an even greater honor stewarding this exceptional estate. Though not as recognizable as the grand neo-classical columns adorning Washington Hall and the Colonnade, Fancy Hill’s quaint history is one of critical importance to Rockbridge County.
The home, which actually predates the Colonnade, was erected in 1821 by a prominent Scots-Irish family. Fancy Hill — its original, though unusual name — served as a tavern, jail, post office, and stagecoach stop for over two decades, before passing through various antebellum owners of notable reputation. After the American Civil War, a group of war-torn veterans converted its halls into a preparatory academy for young Southern men. Many graduates of Fancy Hill Classical School would further their education at Washington College (and later, Washington and Lee University), studying under the tutelage of some of the postwar South’s greatest minds.
Eventually, the academy faded away, and with it, so did Fancy Hill’s prominence as an intellectual epicenter from which youthful teenagers emerged as principled leaders.
Thanks to the generosity of our faithful supporters, Fancy Hill has once again been restored to an intellectual epicenter. Rather than prepare students to enter W&L, however, Fancy Hill is now a critical supplement to the educational experience of Washington and Lee students.
(Fancy Hill c.2023. Watercolor by Purnell Pettyjohn. | Source: The Generals Redoubt)
Those of us with The Generals Redoubt have a simple mission: to enrich future generations of students with the timeless traditions of honor, civility, and a classical liberal arts education.
To achieve this goal, and to provide the best possible W&L education, we support four primary objectives:
First, and most fundamental to our alma mater, is to preserve and celebrate the legacies of George Washington, Robert E. Lee, and other critical figures in W&L history. Without these great — albeit imperfect — examples of American exceptionalism, our university would not be here: not just the physical campus, course offerings, and endowments, but the entire cultural identity of Washington and Lee. We are indebted to our forefathers, and we believe that celebrating their contributions is the only way to guarantee future students have the same enriching experiences that we received.
Critical to that enrichment are the necessary protections of democratic liberties: free speech, civil discourse, and academic freedom. If students and faculty do not possess these rights, or if one faction is allowed to suppress them, the university fails its mission and its forebears. Thus, The Redoubt will always advocate for these principles on Washington and Lee’s campus, and through our own initiatives at Fancy Hill. We are particularly excited to announce an upcoming, monthly civil discourse program, so please stay tuned!
And while these liberties are important to uphold throughout the nation, there are a handful of uniquely-W&L traditions — such as the Honor System, Greek Life, and off-campus housing — that we believe are integral to fostering the caliber of leading citizens for which Washington and Lee is known.
Thus, TGR maintains the importance of campus traditions, and does our best to both inform new students about their historical significance and to reinforce their popularity at our activities. For example, we welcome students out to Fancy Hill to study, take exams, and write their papers. We even have a growing library (which you can contribute to) for Civil War and Revolutionary history. As accommodating as our hours are, we require all students to pledge on their honor when they sign up to work at Fancy Hill. This positive reinforcement is a simple, yet critical, step in maintaining the community we so greatly cherish.
Our fourth objective is to sustain The Generals Redoubt’s long-term influence. Prior to purchasing Fancy Hill, TGR was an ephemeral movement, dislocated from Lexington and unable to directly impact the education of many students. But we grew quickly. Our twenty-two-acre property provides us with significant room for development; and our frequent events, collaborations, and engagement with the community pump our message into the heart of Rockbridge County.
We hope to develop a stronger relationship with the university and our ideologically-diverse neighbors. While we may not always agree with the direction or decisions of the college, its professors, or even other alumni, we can appreciate our mutual goal: that we all want the best for current and future students of the academy. We have and will continue to express our position on what is needed to support that mission; and at times of concern, we will challenge our alma mater to live up to its reputation, and to be the example of honor and integrity that our students deserve.
If you agree with our efforts, we ask you to please contribute today. Fancy Hill was a major investment, both financially and ideologically. We have opened the house to the Washington and Lee community, converting it into a living museum that both honors our past and serves our future. We welcome you to sign up to visit the next time you pass through Lexington.
And if you don’t agree with our efforts, or if you are unconvinced of George Washington and Robert E. Lee’s fundamental importance to the future of W&L, I would like to plead with you, personally, to hear us out.
College students, and by extension, life-long learners, are best served when they open themselves up to discourse and civil disagreement. I imagine there was much of that at Fancy Hill in its raucous days as a tavern, and especially in its intellectual days as an academic epicenter.
If you are reading this and you have a connection to Washington and Lee, either as a student, parent, professor, or alum, we already have more in common than most. Let us come together and celebrate that heritage.
Thank you, and Go Generals!
Kamron M. Spivey, ‘24
Executive Director
The Generals Redoubt
