The Washington College Phalanx, or Archers, was a military company organized by Thomas Church Brownell in 1826.

When Trinity (then-Washington) College was founded in 1823, Bishop Brownell intended for students to engage in “considerable outdoor activity,” and “hoped that military exercises and drill would find an important place in the curriculum.” Brownell had also hoped to engage Captain Alden Partridge, a graduate of the United States Military Academy and professor and superintendent (1815-1817) at West Point, in order to appoint him at Washington College. However, Partridge made plans instead to bring his military school – and students – to Middletown instead, founding the Literary, Scientific, and Military Institute in 1825 (today Norwich University).

While things with Partridge never quite worked out, Brownell went ahead and organized the Washington College Phalanx shortly after classes began, and wrote of the importance of military drill and “esprit de corps” in the 1826 Washington College Prospectus. Similar to a contemporary drill team, the Phalanx wore uniforms, carried pikes and marched in parades to escort dignitaries, such as the Fourth of July in 1826 and President Andrew Jackson's visit to Hartford on June 24, 1833.

The History of Trinity College (1967) by Glenn Weaver, pp. 53-54.

Title of Website.

The Hartford Courant, 06/24/1833.