History

While enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute, three Civil War veterans – James McIlvane Riley, James Hopkins, and Greenfield Quarles (a Kentuckian by birth) – came together following an evening Bible study at the home of the Institute’s superintendent, driven both by a commitment to the virtues of love, honor, and truth, and a desire to actively work towards the abolishment of the hazing system which dominated the vast majority of undergraduate fraternities of the time. Having seen the horrors and unprecedented magnitude of destruction of the Civil War, their collective dedication to ending abuses and securing peace dictated the foundation of such an organization.

What followed was the establishment of what they named the “Legion of Honor” in the fall of 1868, and although the three founders initially maintained the secrecy of said organization, they publicly announced it as Sigma Nu Fraternity in January of 1869. Utilizing the White Cross of the French Legion of Honor and creating a Code of Honor system not unduly dissimilar from that of VMI’s, the organization commenced rapid growth, and had approximately 51 members by the time of commencement in 1869.

This growth was not merely contained to the Virginia Military Institute, however; and in 1870, the second chapter was installed at the University of Virginia. As time continued, Sigma Nu spread throughout the south, opening its chapter at North Georgia Agricultural College in 1881. This was particularly significant in Sigma Nu’s history, as John Alexander Howard – the man largely responsible for chartering the chapter -- compelled the adoption of the Greek Alphabet to denote chapters, as prior to this time, chapters were known by the order in which they had been chartered – e.g. VMI, formerly Chapter I, became Alpha Chapter, University of Virginia became Beta Chapter, etc. Howard is also a key figure as he was the founder of The Delta, Sigma Nu’s magazine, which first published in 1883.

Other important Sigma Nu Milestones include:

The First National Convention in Nashville, 1884
The establishment of the first chapter on the West Coast at Stanford University in 1891
Creation of National Headquarters in Indianapolis in 1915

Though headquartered in Indianapolis throughout the early parts of the twentieth century, Sigma Nu felt the need to return to its birthplace at the Virginia Military Institute. Under the leadership of James W. Bradley, the fraternity purchased the Lexington, Virginia home of the son of General Frances Smith – the superintendent of VMI at the time of Sigma Nu’s founding. The property was rededicated in 1960, and has been the home of Sigma Nu Headquarters since.

As the twentieth century progressed, Sigma Nu approached a number of landmarks as an organization, celebrating its centennial in 1969, and 125 years existence in 1994. It was at this time that Sigma Nu had initiated over 200,000 members, had about 250 chapters, and with new developments such as the LEAD Leadership program, the fraternity continues to be a vanguard for the ideals of Love, Honor, and Truth, the actualization of which three Civil War veterans so committed themselves in October of 1868.