Collage of Pennsylvania Military College cadets and archived yearbooks documenting student life and traditions

Notable Cadets

  1. Cadet Legacies
  2. Notable Cadets

Distinguished Cadets & Their Legacies

The legacy of PMC is illuminated by the cadets whose lives reflect exceptional service, leadership, and achievement. Explore their stories by name, by military service and honors, or by the paths they forged after leaving the Corps—each narrative offering a window into the character and commitment that define PMC’s history. Together, these accounts honor the individuals who carried PMC’s values into the world and left a lasting mark on generations to come.

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clay robinett

Henry Clay Robinett: Union Artillery, Battle of Corinth

In 1861, Henry Clay Robinett, like others before him, Robinett distinguished himself by the defense of “Battery Robinett,” a Union artillery battery, during the Battle of Corinth in Mississippi. Unlike many who returned to civilian life after the Civil War, Robinett pursued a career in the regular Army. 

That career, however, was marred by ever increasingly erratic behavior that ended in his suicide just three years after the war while still on active duty – the result of complex psychological problems that still manifest themselves in our military today.

The PMC “Battery Robinett,” was named in Robinett’s honor. During each football game, the Battery fires its cannon.

battery robinett

Share Link: https://pmc.widener.edu/pmc/legacies/cadets/henry-clay-robinett-union-artillery-battle-corinth 

Zadoc Aydelotte's Gravestone
Class of 1861

Zadoc Aydelotte ’61: A Fallen Leader at Fredericksburg

Conceived by Cadet Roger A. Godin, ’61, the Corps of Cadets honored the sacrifice of Second Lieutenant Zadoc Aydelotte, a member of the Class of 1861, in January 1961. During the observance, Cadet Colonel Edward Bankowski, Battle Group Commander, stated that the actions of Lieutenant Aydelotte “has been so typical of the wearers of the proud gray of PMC through the years….”

Aydelotte joined the 81st Pennsylvania Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers and was promoted to Second Lieutenant in 1862. The Regiment left its winter quarters in December to engage the Confederate army at Fredericksburg. On the morning of December 13, the Regiment went into action. Aydelotte was leading Company F. In the face of a terrific storm of fire, a ball shattered his right arm. With sword in his left hand, Aydelotte continued to advance until struck by a shell, which broke his leg in three places and fractured a number of ribs. He fell bleeding from nine wounds, and died January 5, 1863, in Washington, D. C., at the age of nineteen. Among his last words were “I die for God and my country.”

The corps of cadets of the PMA were the guard of honor at the military funeral accorded the heroic Aydelotte at the Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery.

Share Link: https://pmc.widener.edu/pmc/legacies/cadets/zadoc-aydelotte-61-fallen-leader-fredericksburg 

John L. Sparks
Class of 1861

John L. Sparks ’61: Steady Leadership at Chancellorsville

Military Honors & Valor

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Company K, 1st Regiment, 1st Delaware Infantry Volunteers
Medal of Honor
Brigadier General Thomas A. Smyth of the 1st Regiment, Delaware Volunteers, wrote of the “bravery and conduct under heavy pressure” of Captain Sparks during the Battle of Chancellorsville. In October, after reorganizing a group of stragglers along Turkey Creek, near Bristoe Station, BG Smyth again wrote of the cool conduct and meritorious service of Captain Sparks.

The Medal of Honor was first authorized in 1861. It was the only medal awarded to soldiers for “gallantry and intrepidity” during the Civil War. Other acts of unmistaken gallantry were only recognized in the dispatches of unit commanders.

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