The Georgia Military Institute (GMI) was established on 110 acres (0.45 km2) in Marietta, Georgia, on July 1, 1851. GMI was the principal source of education for new engineers and teachers in the state during the decade prior to the Civil War (1861-65). Although the cadet battalion spent most of the Civil War serving as funeral details, provost guards, prisoner escorts, and drill instructors, the arrival of Union general William T. Sherman's troops in spring 1864 forced Georgia officials to reassign every available man to the active defense of the state, The cadets were formed into two companies and deployed to West Point, Georgia. As Sherman's army approached Dalton, GMI cadets were assigned to active duty. They first fought at Resaca, then were active in the March to the Sea and the Carolina's Campaign. Their last duty station was guarding the stores in Augusta. Students were from all across the state of Georgia and several were from other states.