Villepigue (pronounced VIL-uh-PIG) was born in Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina, of French descent; one of no less than six Confederate generals who came from Kershaw County. Admitted to The South Carolina Military Academy at the Arsenal 1 Jan 1846, transferred The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina on 1 Jan 1847, a pay cadet and not eligible for a Beneficiary Cadet scholarship, he left to enter the United States Military Academy. He graduated from the United States Military Academy, in 1854, as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Dragoons. His initial service was out on the frontiers of Kansas and Nebraska and he was involved in the Sioux expedition of 1855, the march to Fort Lookout, Dakota in 1856, and the Utah campaign of 1857-58. By now a first lieutenant, Vi