Sigma Nu - History

History

Greenfield Quarles James McIlvaine Riley The founders of Sigma Nu

The origins of Sigma Nu coincide with the enrollment of Hopkins, Quarles, and Riley at Virginia Military Institute in 1866. James F. Hopkins entered VMI at age 21 and was older than many of the cadets entering the institute. Hopkins (as well as Greenfield Quarles) had served in the Civil War as a Confederate soldier. Hopkins expected there to be a reasonable amount of hazing at VMI but found the the system of "ratting" to be unjust and unethical. "Ratting" had been in place at V.M.I. since its beginnings. The system stayed in place at V.M.I. until 1934 when the system was finally fully abolished by the school. Hopkins saw that the ‘ratting’ was becoming more unreasonable and opposed it. Greenfield Quarles and James McIlvaine Riley joined Hopkins in his stance against the practice of ratting. These three along with the others who joined in this cause were called “Hopkins’ Rats.”

At this time, many secret societies were being formed on the VMI campus. One group, The Honduras Emigrant Association, had many members who would be members of Sigma Nu. The friendships and associations formed during that society’s existence continued, but, the society did not last very long on the campus. In Hopkins third year at VMI, he joined in the Masonic Lodge in Lexington. The masons inspired him to create a similar organization at VMI to preserve his friendships and create a long lasting brotherhood. Hopkins confided in both Quarles and Riley the idea of brotherhood. One night in October of 1868, the three came together on a limestone rock on the edge of the VMI parade ground to form the Legion of Honor. The three founders would go on to bring others into the Legion of Honor over the rest of the year. On January 1, 1869, the founders along with the rest of the members of the Legion of Honor held their first official meeting as Sigma Nu.

Facts about this beginning are confused because the founders left Lexington and lost touch with the fraternity. For many of the early years, John W. “Jack” Hopson, and Robert E. Semple were listed as founders of Sigma Nu. Jack Hopson was one of the founders of the Honduras Emigrant society and a friend of Hopkins. This though was corrected later when Hopkins came back into contact with the fraternity when he denied that there was any further connection between Sigma Nu and the Honduras Emigrant Society. Robert E. Semple was a different case. Semple was a part of the Legion of Honor when the organization was a local society. He was also a member of another National Fraternity. When Sigma Nu was established, he was given the option to leave either organization to stay with the other. Semple left for the other fraternity, and is not considered a traitor to Sigma Nu due to his unusual circumstances.

The first year of Sigma Nu also saw the creation of the Badge, the original Constitution and the Law. The Badge designed by Hopkins stands mostly unchanged from its original form. The badges were first introduced in the spring of 1869, and were worn with a sky-blue ribbon to notify that there was to be a secret meeting. This led some to think that it was one of the colors of the fraternity but it was nothing more than a marker. Early members Edward Arthur and Linton Buck both wrote the original Constitution and Law respectively. Some conflict arose because Edward Arthur had been a member of the Honduras Emigrant Society and had included some influences from that organization in the constitution. Linton Buck felt these influences should be removed. His revision became the first Law of Sigma Nu. This first chapter of Sigma Nu chose as its motto nulli secundus, a Latin phrase meaning “second to none.”