General History

The story of how Kappa Alpha Order came into being revolves around James Ward Wood's life and his experiences. He was indeed, the driving force and impetus that sparked life into our Order.

Even though he was from what is now West Virginia, his family was sympathetic to the Confederate cause as his family's home was actually about fifteen miles from the newly created border. In 1861, at the age of fifteen, Wood joined a local cavalry regiment to fight with the Confederacy in the Civil War. Since he was familiar with the area, he spent most of his time patrolling the Virginia/West Virginia border on the lookout for a westward advance by the Union. Near the end of the war, he was at home on a furlough when he decided to visit an old girlfriend. Heeding the dangers that could lurk on mountain roads during war time, he stuck his cavalry pistol in his bootleg. As he mounted his horse, the pistol accidentally discharged, sending the ball ripping through his foot, severely wounding him. Tragic as this event was, it was a blessing in disguise for the future Kappa Alpha Order.

While he recuperated, he spent his time at a local country store awaiting news of the war's end and listening to the owner of the store, a gentleman by the name of Van Arsdale, tell stories about the mysteries of freemasonry. (Freemasonry is a secret men's fraternal organization that has existed for over a thousand years. Members are known as masons and belong to various chapters called lodges.) Fascinated and captivated by Van Arsdale's stories, Wood searched for more information about Masonic work and found books that continued to whet his appetite for the mysterious.

That fall, Wood carried this appetite for fraternity with him to Washington College. Once enrolled, he investigated the fraternities that existed on campus at the time: Beta Theta Pi, Phi Kappa Psi and Alpha Tau Omega. Not pleased, he simply decided that he would form his own secret organization.

Wood somehow managed to procure a ritual from a small fraternity, Epsilon Alpha, which had faltered during the war, and with Will Scott's assistance, used it to write a modest ritual that satisfied both their taste and impatience. Finally, on December 21, 1865, these two men met with Stanhope Scott and Walsh and bound their friendship by "mutual pledge of faith and loyalty," and formed Phi Kappa Chi fraternity. The name of their fraternity was probably chosen in parody of Phi Kappa Psi. Will Scott was chosen as Number I; Walsh, Number II; and Wood, Number III.

The other fraternities looked scornfully upon the appearance of a new secret society on campus, and members of Phi Kappa Psi were especially perturbed at Wood's use of the name Phi Kappa Chi, because it was so similar to their own. Consequently, Wood was asked by a Phi Kappa Psi member to change the name, to which he obliged. The organization remerged as the K.A. fraternity. At that time, the letters did not stand for Kappa Alpha. It is believed that Wood used the letters "K.A." to attract members and attention. (The popular old K.A. fraternity "Kuklos Adelphon," that was founded in 1812 and that had died during the war, was still commonly known.) By the end of the spring 1866 semester, the four founders had initiated seven additional members.

The new school year brought promise. Due to Lee's association with the college, the enrollment more than doubled to nearly 400 students. The K.A.'s, who held many of their meetings at the Ann Smith Academy for girls, where the Scott brothers' father was headmaster, initiated seven more men into their fold that fall. Among these was Samuel Zenas Ammen. Standing 5'6", Ammen was immaculate and precise in his manner. Will Scott, who began the tradition of bestowing nicknames, dubbed him "Lord."

Before attending Washington College, Ammen had become a Master Mason; so to him, Wood's modest ritual was "mere verbal pyrotechnics in florid sophomoric style with nothing to touch the imagination of initiates nor stir their fancy." Inspired by its possibilities, however, he urged the young fraternity to amend and enhance the ritual.

In Wood's room at Sunnyside, an estate on the edge of town, Ammen and Wood discussed possibilities for a new ritual, and it was agreed that Ammen should continue the work. In order to gather material, he read books, watched the chapter's activities, listened to their ideals and beliefs and conferred with Wood and Will Scott late into the night on many occasions. Little by little, the old ritual was chiseled away, and the new one was constructed in its place. Nearly two decades later, Will Scott would write to Ammen, "The ritual was all so altered, changed and improved upon, mainly by you, that we can say it underwent a complete regeneration, or new birth." His development of the ritual, constitution, bylaws, grip and symbols and his enduring commitment, ultimately earned Ammen the title of Practical Founder of Kappa Alpha Order.

Ammen later insisted, "The present ritual, in fact, was not made, it grew." However, the new ritual transformed the K.A. fraternity into Kappa Alpha Order, an order of Christian knights pledged to the highest ideals of character and achievement. Ammen and his contemporaries sought to preserve the masculine virtues of chivalry, respect for others, honor and reverence for God and woman. Thus, they emulated their college's president - Robert E. Lee. Ammen would later recall, "We likened him to Agamemnon and we were his Achoi battling on the fields of Troy."

Despite the milestone of establishing its refined identity on campus, the brothers of Kappa Alpha stood at a crossroads. The chapter had recently expelled five members for violations of their obligations and Will Scott was preparing to leave his position as Number I. The brothers had to decide whether or not to keep up the fight. One moonlit night in May 1867, Ammen and a recent initiate, Jo Lane Stern, took a walk to discuss the future of their young fraternity. As they sat on the steps of Whites General Store, on the corner of Lexington's Main and Nelson Streets, they contemplated the viability of Kappa Alpha Order and whether or not the chapter could survive. "Shall we let the lodge die," they asked. Ammen later recalled, "The outcome was a decision to keep up the fight, and from that time on our prospects improved."

With the fortitude to forge ahead, the chapter began the 1867-1868 school year with Ammen as the new Number I. They began looking beyond Washington College to establish KA's second chapter; their first prospect was naturally the school's neighbor, VMI An invitation for membership was extended to John Eliphalet Hollingsworth, a VMI cadet, and by Spring 1868, three more cadets were initiated. Subsequently, Beta chapter was formed March 8, 1868.

Transfers from Washington College established chapters at the University of Georgia (Gamma) in 1868 and at Wofford College (Delta) in Spartanburg, S.C., in 1869. Epsilon was also established in 1869 at Emory University in Atlanta by members of Gamma. One account of early expansion efforts tells of Stern's claim that Lee permitted him to miss class and travel to Ashland, Va. in 1869 to found Zeta at Randolph-Macon College. Although Lee was known for only permitting absences because of illness, legend has it that he approved Stern's journey to Randolph-Macon and then again to Richmond College in 1870.

Stern stated that he arrived in Richmond amid little enthusiasm for fraternities, but that he brought with him a letter of introduction from Lee to J.L.M. Curry, an influential law professor, that explained his mission. Allegedly, Curry called a faculty meeting and announced, "If General Lee will let a man come away to establish a chapter, I vote for it. If he thinks a fraternity is a good thing, I think so too" hence, Eta was born. Theta (prime) was also established in 1870 at Atlanta's Oglethorpe University by members of Gamma and Epsilon chapters. By the close of 1870, five years after KA's founding, the Order's ranks had grown to eight chapters.

Founding Fathers

Beset by the war's legacy of poverty, only 50 students were enrolled at the time of Lee's inauguration. As word of his presence spread, others arrived, until finally, 146 young men had registered for the college's first post-war session. Among those first students were three of KA's four founders, James Ward Wood, William Nelson Scott, and William Archibald Walsh. Founder Stanhope McClelland Scott, brother of William Nelson Scott, entered the college's second post-war session, the spring semester of 1866.

James Ward Wood was born December 26, 1845 in rural Hardy County, Va., (which is now in West Virginia). It was in part Lee's acceptance of the presidency of Washington College, and a new job as head master of the Ann Smith Academy for girls, that caused the Reverend John A. Scott to move his family from Hardy County to Lexington. The Scott and Wood families were friendly acquaintances, so Wood's father sent his son to Washington College, not only to study under Lee, but also to have him profit under the conservative influence of Reverend Scott. The Reverend's influence must have been strong as Wood soon became known as the 'College Bard' on campus by reason of his poems and essays that appeared in the campus paper and by the fact that he was known to enrich his conversation with biblical quotations. An 1866 essay that he wrote gives insight into his thoughts on the young K.A. fraternity. "Let us be just, charitable and good; let us be great by the prayers of widows and orphans rather than by their tears and lamentations," he wrote. "Let us be of one mind and faith, let us banish all that is evil and cling to all that is good. Let us pull together and pull hard; but above all things let there be no doubt that we are pulling right." In January, 1867, Wood was sent home by President Lee for failing to keep up with his studies. After a brief stint of traveling in the West, he returned to Hardy County to farm, where he eventually became a notary, magistrate, judge and representative in the West Virginia State Assembly. He died January 7, 1926 and is buried in the Ivanhoe Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Lost City, W. Va.

William Nelson Scott was born in Houston, Va., on September 25, 1848 and entered Washington College in the fall of 1865 at the age of seventeen. Since he had known Wood in Hardy County, it was natural for him to pal around with him and become involved in Wood's venture of forming a new fraternity on campus. At the founding, Scott was elected president of the group and saw the fledgling fraternity through its first trying year. It was Scott who asked Samuel Zenas Ammen, who would later transform the K.A. fraternity into Kappa Alpha Order, to join. Ammen said of Scott, "I have never seen any in equal to him in charm of voice, in solemnity of manner, in dignity of demeanor, or in general impressiveness in the initiatory customs." After graduation, Scott entered Union Theological Seminary and completed his course of study there, and in 1872, became a Presbyterian minister. After presiding over a parish in Richmond, Va., for a few short years, he moved to Galveston, Texas where he was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church for 19 years. After surviving the Great Hurricane of 1900, that decimated the island and killed thousands, he returned to Staunton, Va., where he remained pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church until his death, June 3, 1919. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Va.

William Archibald Walsh, of Richmond, Va. was born Sept. 11, 1849. He was the third man to join Wood's enterprise of founding a fraternity and it was in his dorm room that Wood and Scott passed time between classes. The friendship that sprung from these meetings led Scott and Wood to ask Walsh to help them found their organization. After just one year at Washington College, Walsh left in June 1866 to take up his family's business as a merchant. In 1874 he spent time traveling in Africa on safari. Returning home to Richmond in impaired health, he died two years later in 1876 and is also buried in Hollywood Cemetery. Wood later wrote, "The principal work the first year (December 1865 - June 1866) was done in Walsh's room. Walsh was bright and capable, and he helped me a great deal, especially in connection (designing) with the badge." It is likely that Walsh financed the first seven badges from a Lexington jeweler named D.M. Riley.

Stanhope McClelland Scott, the younger brother of William, was 15 years old at the time of Kappa Alpha's founding, making him the youngest founder. Even though he did not enter Washington College until January 1866, as the brother of Will Scott, he was involved in the early meetings and is considered a founder. Graduating in 1871 from Washington College, Scott went on to study medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. After receiving his medical license, he returned to the land he knew as a boy and established a medical practice. Dr. Scott practiced medicine in Western Maryland and Northern West Virginia for over 50 years. The last surviving founder, he died September 4, 1933, and is buried in the  Terra Alta, W. Va. cemetery.

The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly, the forbearing or inoffensive use of all of this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light.

The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled when he cannot help humbling others.

-Robert E. Lee

Kappa Alpha Order and its members are widely known for our association with Robert E. Lee. Kappa Alphas have never claimed that Lee was an initiated member of the Order, but we do rejoice that KA was born under the white light of his noble life. We are immensely proud and honored that his ideals were woven into KA's soul, and that he is, in a profoundly real sense, our spiritual founder.

It is difficult to define greatness, but a great man is easily recognizable. Kappa Alphas have no trouble seeing that Lee was indeed a great man. He was great in heart, mind, will and character. Just as he once trained and educated men at the United States Military Academy, in the U.S. Army and at Washington College, his legacy continues this work today. Death has only added to his stature; he molds men now more than ever. The fingerprints are on our motto, his ethics are the focus of our service and his ideals are in our blood. He is forever woven into the fabric of our conduct and conscience.

Robert Edward Lee, born January 19, 1807, at his family's plantation (Stratford Hall) in Westmoreland County, Va., was destined for greatness. Through his father, General Henry Lee, the celebrated "Light Horse Harry Lee" of Revolutionary War fame, and his mother, Ann Hill Carter, he was a member of two of the most distinguished families of early America.

The Lees and Carters belonged to the politically and socially influential planter aristocracy of the South. Lee counted among his ancestors members of Virginia's colonial House of Burgesses, two signers of the Declaration of Independence, members of Congress, a cabinet official, several governors of Virginia, diplomats and military officers. Lee's family background presented him a strong tradition of patriotism, service and duty.

As a child, Lee moved from Stratford Hall to Alexandria, Va., which is located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. In Alexandria, he matured quickly as he was forced to accept obligations brought on by his mother's poor health and his father's frequent absences from home and subsequent death in 1818.

Wishing not to become a burden upon his family, Lee sought a commission to West Point and entered the academy in 1825. From the beginning, he demonstrated the qualities of leadership and command that would characterize his long service as a soldier. When he graduated four years later, he was cadet corp adjutant, head of his class in tactics and artillery and second in general standing.

In 1831, he married Mary Ann Randolph Custis, daughter of George Washington's adopted son, George Washington Parke Custis. Mary, an heiress to extensive properties, owned Arlington House, a massive white columned home dominating a hill overlooking Washington from the Virginia side of the Potomac. For the next 30 years, Arlington was their beloved home.

His career as a U.S. Army officer began with his commission as lieutenant upon his graduation and his first assignment was with the Army Corp of Engineers at Fortress Monroe, Va. In 1834, he was transferred to Washington to assist the Army's chief engineer. Three years later, he was sent to the midwest where he helped establish the border between Ohio and Michigan and in 1837, he travelled south to Missouri to make a study of the Mississippi River, which was beginning to meander. If not corrected, the river would form a new channel which would leave St. Louis without water facilities. After Lee mapped the Mississippi, from the mouth of the Missouri River to a point several miles below St. Louis, his plans for controlling the river were approved by Congress and the completed work now stands as a monument to his endeavor.

In 1846, when the Mexican War broke out, Lee was transferred to Northern Mexico. When the northern campaign ended, he joined General Winfield Scott at Veracruz, where he received favorable mention for his first combat under fire. Later, at Contreras, Scott wrote of him, "The gallant and indefatigable Captain Lee performed the greatest feat of physical and moral courage performed by any individual in my knowledge pending the campaign." Lee had won his military spurs in Mexico. Entering the Mexican campaign as a captain, Lee exited as a colonel and as General Scott's chief aide.

After the war was over and the U.S. Army had defeated General Santa Anna, Lee returned to Virginia and, soon after, resumed his engineering duties by assisting in the construction of Fort Carroll in Baltimore. In 1852, he became superintendent of Westpoint and conducted a successful administration of the institution's affairs. After a three-year stint at the Point, Lee returned to the West and was assigned to a cavalry unit in Texas. While in Texas, Lee spent most of his time protecting settlers from Mexican bandits, renegade Indians and outlaws. He was also able to assist in the building of an Episcopal church in San Antonio.

In 1859, while home on furlough, he was ordered to Harper's Ferry, Va., to free the hostages of abolitionist John Brown. On October 17, Lee's marines arrived at the small town and, at sunrise the next day, they stormed the facility and released the prisoners unharmed. A number of Brown's party were either killed or injured and Brown himself was captured and later hanged. Little did Lee realize it, but this incident was a tremendous factor in speeding the impending war.

After his furlough ended, Lee returned to Texas, but was there only a short while. With the impending crisis of succession looming on the horizon, he was recalled to Washington in 1861.

Before leaving Texas, he wrote to his son, Custis, "As an American citizen I take great pride in my country, her prosperity and her institutions, and would defend any state if her rights were invaded. But, I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union." He also wrote, "Secession is nothing but revolution . . . I shall return to my native state and share the miseries of my people, and save in defense will draw my sword on none."

Upon arriving in Washington, President Lincoln appointed him colonel of the U.S. Army's First Cavalry, and two weeks later, Lee accepted. During this time, Virginia was standing by the Union, but the relationship was tenuous at best. Shortly after Lincoln's appointment, Lee was interviewed by General Scott and Mr. Francis Blair and was offered command of the entire Union Army. As Virginia's secession became eminent, Lee wrote Scott and resigned his commission. It read in part, "Since my interview with you on the 18th I have felt that I ought not longer retain my commission in the Army . . . It would have been presented at once, but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted all the best years of my life, and all the ability I possessed . . . I shall carry with me to the grave the most grateful recollections of your kind consideration and your name and fame will always be dear to me. Save for defense of my native state, I never desire again to draw my sword."

Two days after resigning from the U.S. Army, Lee journeyed to Richmond and, on April 23, 1861, he was publicly made commander of the troops of the state of Virginia. Virginians were his people Ð their war was also his war. For Virginia, he became Robert Edward Lee, Major General, C.S.A. For the Confederacy, he later became the commanding general of all Confederate troops.

To the Confederacy, Lee contributed his considerable talent as a military leader. His skill as a strategist and his capacity to analyze a combat situation, combined with his ability to arouse intense devotion in troops, furthered the Confederate cause. Even though the tactics and maneuvers Lee employed will forever be studied in war colleges, his bold leadership could not overcome the overwhelming odds the South faced. The numerical superiority, production capabilities and unlimited supply sources of the Union were too much for the talented Lee to overcome.

The struggle of the Civil War was a tragic American epic with heroism, sacrifice and anguish on both sides of the conflict. Through four years of war, Lee moved down the long, bloody road that led from the Seven Days' Battle and Second Manassas, past Antietam and Fredericksburg, to Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg and Richmond, and ended at Appomattox Courthouse. Most battles were victories and few were defeats. However, all wars produce their dead and maimed, glories and agonies, politicians and martyrs, anecdotes and drama, poverty and wealth, and infamy and immortality. To Lee, war meant one thing - duty.

Of course, Lee was not happy with the outcome of the war, but he knew that man must progress and move forward. He bore malice towards none. The example he set was that the war was over, and that Americans must reunite and become the best citizens they could be. Lee often said, "Let the past be but the past. Let us move forward and bear no malice."

Even so, the end of the war brought a dramatic change to Lee's life. The Custis-Lee fortune was greatly reduced and Arlington House was lost. His military career terminated, he lost the right to vote and he was barred from serving in public office for which he was eminently qualified. However, Lee held no bitterness or animosity, nor did he indulge in self-pity.

Determined to set an example for fellow Southerners, he hoped the emotions of the war years would soon be forgotten and the work of rebuilding Virginia, the South and the United States into a great, unified America could be accomplished. The day after the surrender he told General U. S. Grant that, "he (Lee) should devote his whole efforts to pacifying the country and bringing the people back to the Union." Lee was at once criticized by fellow Confederate generals and politicians for taking a reconciliatory stance. Lee replied, "I need not tell you that true patriotism sometimes requires a man to act exactly contrary at one period to that which he does at another, and the motive which impels him, the desire to do right, is precisely the same." His superb dignity, courage, and noble character in the difficult post-war years intensified admiration for him, earning him the respect of even his former enemies. In defeat, Lee achieved his highest level of greatness.

Even though he was broken physically and financially, he turned down numerous offers that would have brought immediate fortune to his family for little or no work. He refused offers of stock in return for endorsements. He even turned down an estate in England that an English lord had offered to give him for his family's private use. Instead, he hoped for the opportunity to earn a respectable wage for his family and to do all that he could to rebuild America.

That opportunity came in the summer of 1865, when the Board of Trustees of Washington College voted unanimously to offer the college presidency to Lee. Although he could have accepted many other lucrative positions, the college presidency most appealed to him. The offer combined the opportunity to serve others, to guide young men in rebuilding the South, and to educate them for the purpose, as he said, "of being good Americans." Accepting the trustees' offer, Lee and his family moved to the small hamlet of Lexington in October 1865. Thus, the final phase of his career began - that of a gifted and innovative educator and inspirational leader of youth.

In this capacity, Lee became an academic revolutionary. He looked ahead to see what the needs of the nation were going to be. He knew that a new era had arrived, one that dictated a new person. So, he trained his students for the needs of rebuilding and reconstruction. He did this not only in the classroom, but also through personal example.

Lee preserved the traditional style of education, but he also added a liberal arts curriculum and technical subjects such as agriculture and mechanical and civil engineering. In fact, his was the first college to establish a School of Journalism and a School of Commerce and Business Administration. In addition, he established scholarships and began the practice of offering summer courses. But, most important of all, was Lee's ability to inspire his faculty and students to excel. "Excellence" applied not only to academics, but also to general conduct, as illustrated by Lee's statement, "We have but one rule here and that is that every student must be a gentleman."

Not only did Lee bring new ideas to the field of education and insist on excellence, but he also used his position to practice what he preached Ð reconciliation and the healing of old wounds. Lee knew that the futures of Virginia and the South, if they were to grow and succeed, were tied with the North. So, the spirit of unity and the enrollment of northern students was a must if Washington College was to accomplish its mission of training young men to rebuild the Union. Lee knew the healing process would begin with the students' interaction and he knew that they would teach and learn from each other.

Not wishing to be the sole example, Lee also insisted that his professors be proper role models for his students. One well-documented story tells of two professors discussing a recent reconstruction act handed down from Congress. It was clearly evident that one of the professors was still extremely bitter towards the North. Lee, after listening, turned to his desk for a manuscript and read a poem from the Muslim poet Hafiz that talked of forgiving one's enemies. Lee then said, "Ought not we, who profess to be governed by the principles of Christ, be able to rise at least to the standard of the Muslim poet and be able to forgive our former enemies." The professors argued no more.

There are numbers of similar stories and accounts that persist about Lee's character. This is but one example of why countless books and speeches are written about him and why he is still revered and honored for what he did for our nation.

On a cold, dreary and wet September 29, 1870 Lee left his office for a vestry meeting at Grace Episcopal Church, which is now Robert E. Lee Episcopal Church. After the meeting, he walked across the campus to the President's House to find his family waiting for him at the dinner table. As he was standing to say grace, he grew silent and sank back into his chair. It was determined that he had suffered a stroke and, although he was given good medical attention, he did not rally and died several days later.

On October 12, 1870, his body was entombed below Lee Chapel. The rector of Grace Episcopal Church, who was once his artillery chief during the war, read the burial service. Moved to the Lee family crypt 13-years later, Lee now rests on the campus of Washington and Lee University at the rear of Lee Chapel - the chapel he erected in preference to having the money spent upon a home for himself. Unknowingly, he had built a shrine for himself and a monument to his character.

Each student at Washington College was greatly influenced by this man. His sense of duty and honor and his hope of rebuilding the nation were overwhelming. It is then easy to understand why Ammen and our founders were so affected by Lee and his lessons of life. Our founders Ð all attracted by the presence of Lee Ð were inspired by the greatness of Lee to found Kappa Alpha Order and to perpetuate his values. To them, he personified the heroic knights of the past, representing their noblest ideals and traditions of chivalrous behavior. Indeed, even before his death, Lee was referred to as the "Knight of America" and "The Last Gentle Knight." It is this legacy which was adopted as the moving force of Kappa Alpha Order.

Former Knight Commander John Temple Graves, a famous orator of his time, stood at the podium of the 1923 Convention to make one of his highly romanticized banquet toasts. In a few moments, his eloquence had not only raised the glass of every man in the room, but also captured the attention of the entire Order. Graves' Convention toast heralded Robert E. Lee, and first designated him as the "spiritual founder" of Kappa Alpha Order. Since then, KAs have referred to Lee as such.

The designation that Graves coined in 1923 expressed the feeling that KAs had held for Lee for almost six decades. The four students who founded KA, and a fifth who authored our ritual, were profoundly influenced by Lee. He exemplified for them the highest standards, the most chivalrous conduct and the finest traits of manliness.

Annually, on the anniversary of Lee's birthday, active and alumni chapters gather for Convivium, a celebration commemorating the founding of KA and Lee's spiritual ties to the Order.

The toast that Graves made examined his influence and noted that it was indeed Lee's example that was the driving force behind the formation of our philosophy and ideals. "The spirit of Lee inspired the spirit of Ammen; the life of Lee had fired the heart of Ammen," said Graves. "For when Lee was born, the creed was born, or the inspiration of the creed."

It is in our philosophy that Lee is so apparent, and that is why Graves was able to state that Lee was, "the proof and indication" of something that is higher. Lee, in his daily actions, letters and conversations, represented the perfect example of what the best in man can attain. He was a living example of what the founders and the first Kappa Alphas were aspiring to emulate. Ammen wrote that the ideal of the gentleman, "is that of the chivalrous warrior of Christ, the knight who loves God and country, honors and protects pure womanhood, practices self-respect to ill-gotten wealth." To Ammen and others, Lee in his daily walk, was this perfect gentleman. Therefore, we can look to Lee and examine his philosophy and characteristics to learn more about our own set of ideals.