John Marshall High School Corps of Cadets Alumni Association

  Military training at John Marshall High School lasted over half a century, having been approved and put into force by the School Board of the City of Richmond in 1915 at the urging of Walker C. Cottrell, school board chairman.  At the time it was approved, the Board requested Virginia Military Institute to designate an instructor to direct the activities of this new unit.  Consequently, Captain Edwin P. Conquest, an honor graduate of VMI, was appointed Assistant Professor of Military Science and Tactics and assigned to duty in Richmond as the first Commandant of the John Marshall Corps of Cadets.  He was employed and paid on contract by the Richmond City School Board.   A closeness to VMI prevailed for the life of the Corps, with the majority of the Corps Commandants being graduates of this Institute.  The Corps adopted it's uniform after that of VMI, and with some exceptions the two uniforms remained interchangeable.

  Authority for organizing such military units in high schools came from General Order #7 of the War Department, dated 1913 and an act of Congress, dated April 24, 1914.  Government aid and supervision came through the office of the Director, Civilian Marksmanship, War Department.  Upon request, the Corps was designated a 55NDA High School Unit in 1926, as authorized by the United States National Defense Act of 1916.

  The John Marshall Corps of Cadets was a very active, well known and popular organization since its inception.  It served as an escort to the Governor of Virginia and was reviewed by General Ferdinand Foch of France in 1921, and later by French General Robert Georges Nivelle. Favorable comments were made about the Corps by Sir Winston Churchill, President (then General) Eisenhower, and General MacArthur.  The Corps at John Marshall was known throughout Central Virginia for its marching skill, demonstrated in the hundreds of parades in which it was involved through the years.  Among them were the Inaugural parades of Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower.

  The Cadet Band was formed in 1918 and was very well known for its music and marching ability.  It was much sought after, playing at many public functions each year and at the inauguration of all of Virginia's Governors.  In 1933 it won a ribbon in President Roosevelt's inaugural parade.

  For many years the majority of able bodied male students of the school voluntarily belonged to the Corps of Cadets.  After World War II, with the city population shift, the strength of the Corps began to decrease, but remained a strong influence on the school.   

[Compiled from published sources by J. Allen Lane B Co. '58-'61] 

 The Corps Crest

  Just as company colors and a guidon symbolize a cadet company, the crest and corps colors signify the Regiment of Cadets.  It is our very own crest, and cannot be copied by any other organization.

  The crest and flag represent fifty-six years of John Marshall Cadets who "stuck it out" through freezing cold, sweltering heat, the discipline of Cadet life, and even the horrors of war itself.  They gave their best to the Corps, making it worthy of its many commendations.

  Our crest is registered in the Heraldic Division, Office of the Quartermaster General, United States Army, with those of many famous regiments.

  The blue and white of the shield are our school Colors.  The scales, emblematic of Justice, refer, also, to the great Chief Justice for whom the school was named.  "Duty, Honor, Country" is the motto of the Corps.  The colors of every company and the Band are represented in our flag, signifying the unity of the Corps.

  The John Marshall Corps of Cadets was one of the few in the United States with such regimental colors.  It is to us as our National Colors are to the Nation.       Honor it always!