Civil War
The role of the University of Missouri in the American military began in 1862, during the American Civil War. Missouri was a border state, and Columbia was a town that had many citizens of southern ancestry, so the university area fell under the eye of the federal government. During the war, a number of different Federal regiments were stationed in Columbia and billeted in University buildings. Academic Hall was used to house soldiers, and Union troops interned Confederate prisoners in the main library on the third floor of Academic Hall. Classes were suspended for 10 months because of the troop occupation and because of loss of staff due to the conflict. During the Union occupation of the library, 467 volumes were taken to construct fires. The Union troops caused other destruction on campus as well, and the Board of Curators, with Congressman James S. Rollins as their representative, sued for damages. The U.S. government settled the case in 1915, the award was used to build the Memorial Gateway.
Read more about this topic: Academic Hall
Famous quotes related to civil war:
“At Hayes’ General Store, west of the cemetery, hangs an old army rifle, used by a discouraged Civil War veteran to end his earthly troubles. The grocer took the rifle as payment ‘on account.’”
—Administration for the State of Con, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)