Generals Redoubt Purchases Fancy Hill
The Southmayd Center for American Ideals provided the funds to The Generals Redoubt for the purchase of Fancy Hill. Jeffrey Duke Southmayd was directly involved in negotiating with Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Vaughn for the acquisition on behalf of The Generals Redoubt.
The historic Fancy Hill mansion was purchased this past Friday by Generals Redoubt, an organization established by alumni of Washington and Lee University.
The property’s 22-acres, which includes barns and outbuildings, was sold to the group for $1 million and will be used as the Generals Redoubt headquarters.
Generals Redoubt came to fruition about five years ago, President Stephen Robinson (class of ’72, ’75L) told The News-Gazette this week.




17th Annual Freedom Conference & Festival 2025
August 22 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, CO
136 E Thomas Pl Beaver Creek, Colorado 81602
The Southmayd Center is sponsoring 7 W&L student leaders to attend The Steamboat Institute’s annual Freedom Conference a chance to hear from engaging speakers, network with like-minded individuals, and spend a weekend in beautiful Beaver Creek, Colorado!

Improving The Conversation
For too long, America has been riven by divisive public discourse creating fault-lines that can feel impossible to cross. The Southmayd Center seeks to address the discord by creating a place students, faculty, and community can go to share their thoughts and get support for initiatives that make our community stronger.
Mock Convention 2024
Special Thanks to Jeff Southmayd, Center for American Ideals, for your steadfast financial commitment to our organization and long-term desire to support students and free speech on campus.

Featured PAST Event
The conservative commentator will discuss traditional values during his on-campus speech.
The W&L Spectator, Southmayd Center for American Ideals and College Republicans are proud to present conservative commentator Michael Knowles in Evans Hall at 7:00 PM on September 16, 2024.

Building Bridges
All successful free societies champion the ideal of unity in diversity. At the Southmayd Center for American Ideals, we seek to highlight our commonalities and facilitate respectful dialogue and open debates between diverse points of view.
We’re creating an environment that respects the achievements of our founders while continuing to learn and grow into the future. But we’re not all talk. We actively build bridges between students, faculty and community at Washington & Lee University by supporting service-oriented student groups and community initiatives that benefit us all.

Past Events
The Southmayd Center for American Ideals works to ensure the accurate preservation of President Lee’s legacy, while providing student groups with funds needed for their activities and events that are otherwise not available.
