Barnard Photo Part of the J.D. Williams Library Archives

Photo courtesy of J.D. Williams Archives

This portrait of University of Mississippi professor and president Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard comes from the university’s 1861 classbook. In 1861, political events interrupted campus activities at the University of Mississippi; many students withdrew before the end of the school term to enlist in the Confederate Army.

Most joined a company called the “University Greys”, C.S.A. Army of Northern Virginia, 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, Company A, while others joined the Lamar Rifles, C.S.A. Army of Northern Virginia, 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, Company G, or returned home to enlist in local units. With only four students registered for fall classes, the university closed until 1865. Many members of the class of 1861 lost their lives fighting for the Confederacy.

In 1866 the University of Mississippi awarded the class of 1861 diplomas; only one member of the University Greys could attend the ceremony.

Since 1975, the primary purpose of the the University of Mississippi’s Department of Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library. has been to acquire, conserve, and make accessible rare books, manuscripts, maps, visual and audio materials, and ephemera related to the University of Mississippi, the state of Mississippi, and the Blues. The Department of Archives and Special Collections invites patron visits during its regular hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, from Monday through Friday, except during selected University holidays. HottyToddy.com wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Kathryn Michaelis, Special Collections Digital Initiatives Librarian, and Head of Special Collections Jennifer Ford in the research and compilation of this new reader content.