America’s second oldest higher education institution experienced the full violence of the Civil War, with a wartime destiny of destruction compounded by its strategic location in Virginia’s Tidewater region between Union and Confederate lines. This book describes the fate of the College and also explores in-depth the war service of the College’s students, faculty, and alumni, ranging from little-known individuals to historically prominent figures such as Winfield Scott, John Tyler, and John J. Crittenden. The College’s many contributions to the Civil War and its role in shaping pre- and post-war higher education in the South are fully revealed.

Sean M. Heuvel is a faculty member with the Department of Leadership and American Studies at Christopher Newport University, where he specializes in military leadership, the American Revolution and the Civil War. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Lisa L. Heuvel is a museum administrator, teacher and consultant who specializes in higher education history and American studies. She has worked with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. She lives in Williamsburg.

Sean M. Heuvel and Lisa L. Heuvel
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 232
Bibliographic Info: 27 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7309-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0367-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments ix

Preface 1

Introduction 9

1. Memories of Grandeur 15

2. On the Eve of War 33

3. A Bitter Demise 49

4. The College’s Ambitious Sons 67

5. Warrior Scholars 85

6. The Old Guard at War 105

7. One Faithful Heart 133

Epilogue: The Old College Moves Forward 159

Military Service Table 169

Appendix A: The Civil War Service of William and Mary Students, 1861–1865 170

Appendix B: The Civil War Service of William and Mary Faculty, 1861–1865 173

Appendix C: The Civil War Service of William and Mary Alumni, 1861–1865 174

Chapter Notes 187

Bibliography 205

Index 215