By 11 a.m. Tuesday about 100 peace activists had gathered on the Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Maury River to protest the policies of U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in town to speak at Virginia Military Institute's graduation.

The crowd protested everything from the Iraq war to the Bush administration's intelligence programs by carrying signs blaring slogans such as "How many lives per gallon?" and "Don't spy on me." Organizers asked protesters not to make comments on VMI or its cadets.

Most of the Lexington activists know someone connected to the school, said Nell Lancaster, who helped organize the event and whose father taught at the school.

"That's part of growing up in a small community," she said. "It's harder to see people as 'the other.' "

Bradford Worthington, who came with a group from Richmond, graduated from VMI in 1969. He argued that the secretary of defense makes an appropriate speaker choice for the military school.

He came out to voice his personal disapproval of Rumsfeld's performance. "Rumsfeld is a military moron," he said.

James Ford of Nelson County carried a folded copy of an article about his cousin, John Robert Teal, VMI Class of 1994, who was killed in Iraq. "It happened to be my blood in a war I don't agree with."

Philip Hyre came to the bridge wearing a witch's pointed hat and an orange jumpsuit.

"Literally, it doesn't make any sense," he explained of his ensemble. "Partly, it's to grab people's attention."

Kathy Fox wore a similar jumpsuit with a Bush mask and chains around her wrists, and was much in demand for photos. "This is what Bush and Rumsfeld both need to be in," she said of her shackles.

The garb was a departure from Fox's usual subdued wardrobe. "I'm a Quaker," she said. "We are very practical."

No negative reactions were evident from passing drivers Tuesday; instead, protesters received a continual stream of approving honks.

One driver, whose horn honked to the tune of "Dixie," had the protesters unsure about whether they were being supported or not. They decided to be optimistic and waved back.

The protest meant a financial sacrifice for some participants, who had to take off from work to attend.

Margaret Breslau closed her Blacksburg shop Homebody to come to Lexington. She hung a sign on the door that said, "I'm protesting. Unless I'm arrested I'll be back at 3 p.m."

No one was arrested.

"Everybody behaved themselves," said Lexington police Lt. Steve Crowder.

After the event, protesters gathered to eat and mingle at Country Cookin'.

The day, as much as anything else, let war opponents know they're not alone, said Lancaster.