In early September, 1860, in Charlestown, Virginia, a school known as the Charlestown Male Academy was founded. Its founder was Captain William Hartman Kable, a graduate of the Univesity of Virginia, and a Captain in the 10th Virginia Cavalary Southern Army, during the Civil War. The school was dedicated to teaching and training the youth of America to become good and servicable citizens.

After the Civil War that part of the state of Virginia where the town of Charlestown was situated, Jefferson County, became a part of the new state of West Virginia. Captain Kable stood the new state of affairs as long as he was able, but finally his longing for the South became too strong and in 1883 the school was moved to Staunton to the site which it now occupies. Due to the change of location the name was altered to that of Staunton Male Academy.

The school was not military while situated at Charlestown, nor was it military after being moved to Staunton until the year 1886. With the addition of the military system the name was once again changed. Since that time the school has been called Staunton Military Academy.

When Captain Kable first moved his school to Staunton he bought the site it then occupied from a Mr. Alby, a prominent business man of the decade following the Civil War. The original grounds were much smaller than the present campus. Acquisition of other large areas of land near the Alby estate continued until 1910.

The old Junior School Principal's residence, which is now Col. Moon's home, and was originally the school hospital, was owned by a Commodore Skinner of the Confederate Navy. Upon his death it was willed to a maiden sister of his who was to will the home to the University of Virginia upon her death. In 1912 the University sold the property to the Academy. The home is the oldest building on the hill being about 145 years old. The frame structure which extended from the rear of the house, and which was used as the Junior School Barracks until 1966, was built around 1912. This structure, which had served its usefulness, was dismantled last spring.

In its early years at Staunton the founder of the school lived in the building now occupied by the offices of the Superintendent, or President as he was then called, and the Headmaster. The boys lived upstairs in the building over the home of Captain Kable. This area is presently occupied by Col. Richters and his family. Other cadets lived in a frame building which stood on the site now occupied by the Southeast corner of South Barracks. In addition to these two buildings there was another which contained classrooms and a study hall.

The Academy grew quickly. In 1893 it was incorporated. The original charter was written by Judge J.L.S. Kirby, a brother-in-law of Captain Kable, who, along with Robert E. Lee, left the United States Military Academy at the outbreak of the Civil War to fight for the South. For many years Judge Kirby was in charge of all legal business of the Academy.

In 1900, due to the fact that he was getting along in years, Captain Kable turned the administration of the school over to his son, Colonel W.G. Kable. The school then jumped ahead, making rapid strides forward. Its new president was a firm believer in advertising and used this medium extensively to bring the attention of the school to the public.

In 1904 disaster struck SMA. This was the fire which destroyed the entire establishment, except for the founder's home and the old school hospital. Both barracks were burned to the ground. The fire broke out at two in the morning. Colonel T.H. Russell, who had just come to the institution as a teacher the year before, had a room in a wing leading off from the main building itself. He awoke, distubed by the heat, and on looking up saw the flames eating their way through his ceiling. On going to his door he found the hallway a mass of flames. His window was thirty or forty feet from the ground, a dangerous jump. As he was deliberating what he was going to do, a cadet dashed into his room, having come through the passageway, flames and all. With the knowledge that the floor was still sound they forced their way back the same way, not without losing their hair in the fire.

Then with several assistants they went through the rooms of the barracks. Knowing there was no time to lose by talking, they took the occupants of each room and dumped them out of bed onto the floor. Thus awakened they would soon hear the cries of fire raised by the bystanders and lose no time in getting to safety. In the morning, just as the sun was rising, revielle was held on the hill where the flagpole now stands. Every man answered to his name and the authorities had the relief of knowing that the school had passed through such a fire as that without the loss of a single life.

With the entire establishment burned down, the Corps had to he furloughed from the twenty-fourth of November until the tenth of next January. During this time a frame structure was erected on the site of the present South Barracks. In this building school was held from January 10, 1905, until June 15th of the same year.

Construction of the present South Barracks was begun on March 1,1905, and the building was completed on October 1, only 214 days in construction. This was remarkably great speed, and in order to accomplish the task over one hundred workmen were kept busy day and night, working with the aid of large lights.

From this point on the development of SMA was rapid. The Mess Hall was constructed in 1913 on the site of the original mess hall, a frame building commonly known as "The Wing." In 1918 North Barracks was erected. By the 1930's SMA's campus also boasted Kable and Memorial Halls, West Barracks, and the Superintendent's Home.