The Washington College Phalanx was a military company organized by Thomas Church Brownell in 1826. The Archers, a more formal company, emerged from the Phalanx in 1834.

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 at West Point, in order to appoint him at Washington College. However, Partridge made plans to bring his military school and students to Middletown instead, founding the Literary, Scientific, and Military Institute in 1825 (today Norwich University).

Though his initial plans did not come to fruition, Brownell organized the Washington College Phalanx shortly after classes began. He 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.

A more formal company, the “Washington College Archers” came from the Phalanx in 1834 and comprised a greater number of students. The Archers had “striking uniforms… green turbans with black plumes and green frocks and white trousers.” Officers wore swords and cadets carried bows and arrows.

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

The Hartford Courant, 06/24/1833.