breakfast, a usually short chapel call, classes from 8:30 to 4:00, broken only by lunch, athletics from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m., dinner, and then study from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m., followed by the playing of taps at 10:30, and lights out at 10:40. While Middleton did not particularly savor the military atmosphere, he settled into the routine, and the year passed quickly. The highlight of his preparatory year came on 10 February 1905 when John Philip Sousa brought his band to A&M, attracting people from around the state, and packing the 2000-seat mess hall. The train that would take the band to its next stop was held up for over an hour as the concert was extended by repeated calls for encores. The student corps at A&M was organized into a battalion, with a size of about 350 cadets during Middleton's first year. He began as a cadet corporal, and by his junior year was appointed as the cadet sergeant major. As a senior he had the cadet rank of lieutenant colonel and was the student commander of more than 700 cadets, organized into two battalions. Working with the military officer in charge of the cadets, Middleton took on additional responsibilities for which he was paid $25 per month. Middleton was involved in numerous activities during his college days, and took leadership roles in most of them. He was the vice president of A&M's Collegian Club, and president of the school's Gun Club, being photographed on one occasion with his beloved shot gun, which he was allowed to keep in his dormitory room and use for hunting on weekends when campus activities did not fill his schedule. He was the president of his junior class and during his senior year was the commandant of the select Mississippi Sabre Company, which was a club restricted to seniors of good social, academic and military standing. Among his favorite activities were baseball and football, and he played both sports throughout college. Early in his tenure, however, he had to give up a season of baseball when he failed a chemistry course, and spent his afternoons back in the classroom and laboratory instead of on the athletic fields. Whether playing or spectating, the baseball and football games gave the students a chance to leave campus, and they took the train to play various teams around the state or region. Games were played wherever a