The University during the Civil War and Reconstruction
On the eve of the Civil War, the university was flourishing with enrollment at 456, making it the largest institution,
after the University of Virginia, of higher learning in the South. But the advent of war had an immediate and dramatic
impact on enrollment, and by September 1861 only ninety-one students remained. Yet President Swain remained determined
to keep the university open.
When the Conscription Laws of 1862 threatened to deplete the remaining student body, Swain petitioned President
Jefferson Davis to create an exemption for students. Davis heeded Swain's plea, but in 1864 Secretary of War James
Seddon eliminated the exemption for freshmen and sophomores. Despite protests by Swain and the trustees, students were
taken by force to Raleigh and enrolled in the Confederate Army. On 16 April 1865 the town and university were occupied
by Union troops. That the soldiers spared them serious harm was due in large part to negotiations that Swain and
William A. Graham pursued with General Sherman as representatives from Governor Vance.
The adversities of war quickly paled before the challenges of Reconstruction. Ex-Confederates fought to retain control of the state and the university, and many of them actively opposed Swain's administration, viewing his role as peacemaker as a betrayal of the Confederate cause. Also, the university had invested heavily in Confederate
securities and bank stocks and found itself over $100,000 in debt at war's end. Students did not return in the
numbers expected, and without tuition receipts, the university was in serious financial trouble.
The trustees realized that, to regain support and attract students, they must reform the curriculum. To facilitate
this process, Swain and the faculty tendered their resignations and were asked by the trustees to remain until
the new curriculum was rolled out. Before this could be done, however, a new state constitution was adopted.
The Constitution of 1868 changed the method of selecting the trustees, necessitating the appointment of a new
board. The new, Republican-leaning Board of Trustees accepted the resignations previously tendered and appointed
a new president and five faculty members, all of whom were Republicans.
Yet President Solomon Pool and his faculty experienced many of the same difficulties that Swain had. With few
students, little financial support, and the increasing opposition of anti-Republicans, the university was forced
to close its doors on 1 February 1871. It remained closed until September 1875. In the interim, while the campus
stood empty and neglected, former faculty, trustees, and other friends of the university sought a means to revive
the institution.
Included in this section of the project are documents that reflect the experiences of the university, its
students, and the village of Chapel Hill during the Civil War and its aftermath.
The documents in this section are arranged chronologically within the subtopics.
- Armstrong, Edward Hall, 1841-1864
Letter from Edward H. Armstrong to Thomas G. Armstrong, April 20, 1861
4 pages, 4 page images
- Halliburton, John Wesley, b. 1840
Letter from John Halliburton to Juliet Halliburton, April 22, 1861
4 pages, 4 page images
- Price, Harry Hill, b. 1842; Peebles, Robert Bruce, 1841-1916; and Avery, Willoughby F., 1843-1876
Petition, April 27, [1861]
3 pages, 4 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). President, and Swain, David L. (David Lowry), 1801-1868
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, July 31, 1861: The Faculty Understand That in Various Sections of the Southwestern States, and in Some Parts of Our Own State, an Impression Prevails That the Regular Exercises of This Institution Have Been Suspended, July 31, 1861
1 page, 2 page images
- Sessoms, Preston Harrell, b. 1843
Letter from Preston H. Sessoms to Penelope E. White, September 27, 1861
4 pages, 4 page images
- Confederate States of America. Congress. House of Representatives. Committee on Military Affairs.
A Bill To Be Entitled an Act To Amend the Existing Acts for the Exemption of Persons from Military Service
[Richmond: , 1862]. p. 3
- Sessoms, Preston Harrell, b. 1843
Letter from Preston H. Sessoms to Penelope E. White, August 28, 1862
2 pages, 2 page images
- London, Henry Armand, 1846-1918
Excerpt from the Diary of Henry A. London, Fall 1862
2 pages, 2 page images
- Confederate States of America. Congress. House of Representatives
A Bill To Exempt Certain Persons from Military Duty, and To Repeal the Acts Heretofore Passed by Congress on the Same Subject
[Richmond]: , [1863]. p. 8
- Henderson, John, fl. 1863
Letter from John Henderson to his Mother, February 14, 1863
3 pages, 3 page images
- North-Carolina Mutual Fire Insurance Company
North Carolina Mutual Fire Insurance Company Policy, July 7, 1863
4 pages, 4 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Letter and Resolution from the Board of Trustees to Secretary of War James A. Seddon, [October 15, 1863]
5 pages, 5 page images
- Mallett, Peter, 1825-1906?
Letter from Peter Mallett to David L. Swain, November 6, 1863
2 pages, 2 page images
- No Author
Listing of Former Students in the 3rd Regiment ofd the North Carolina Cavalry, [December 19, 1863]
2 pages, 2 page images
- London, Henry Armand, 1846-1918
Letter from Henry A. London to Lilla London, February 16, 1864
4 pages, 4 page images
- London, Henry Armand, 1846-1918
Excerpt from the Diary of Henry A. London, Fall 1864
1 page, 2 page images
- Phillips, Charles, 1822-1889
Letter written by Charles Phillips, November 23, 1864
2 pages, 2 page images
- Martin, William James
Letter from Professor William J. Martin to Charles Phillips, December 12, 1864
4 pages, 4 page images
- Spencer, Cornelia Phillips, 1825-1908
The Last Ninety Days of the War in North-Carolina
New York: , 1866. p. 287, [4]
- Vance, Zebulon Baird, 1830-1894
The Duties of Defeat. An Address Delivered before the Two Literary Societies of the University of North Carolina, June 7th, 1866, by Ex-Gov. Zebulon Baird Vance
Raleigh: , 1866. p. 25
- Phillips, Charles, 1822-1889
Letter from Charles Phillips to Kemp P. Battle, September 20, 1865
2 pages, 2 page images
- Fries, John Williams, b. 1846
"Legend of Chapel Hill, 1866"
4 pages, 4 page images
- Spencer, Cornelia Phillips, 1825-1908
Letter from Cornelia Phillips Spencer [to Ellen Caldwell Summerell, September 30, 1866]
6 pages, 6 page images
- Mitchell, James Billingslea, 1844-1891
Letter from J.B. Mitchell to Ruffin H. Thomson, December 20, 1866
4 pages, 4 page images
- Stancell, Millard Fillmore, 1848-1907
Letter from Millard F. Stancell to Benjamin D. Stancell, March 16, 1867
4 pages, 4 page images
- Jones, Jim E.
Letter from Jim E. Jones to his Father Edmund W. Jones, July 29, 1867
4 pages, 4 page images
- Phillips, Charles, 1822-1889
Letter from Charles Phillips to Kemp P. Battle, August 12, 1867
10 pages, 10 page images
- Lewis, Catherine Ann, 1809-1879
Letter from Catherine Battle Lewis to William Figures Lewis, January 23, 1868
5 pages, 5 page images
- Pool, Solomon, 1832-1901
Letter from Solomon Pool to Charles C. Pool, January 23, 1868
3 pages, 3 page images
- Spencer, Cornelia Phillips, 1825-1908
Letter from Cornelia Phillips Spencer to Charles Phillips, April 26, 1869
7 pages, 7 page images
- Spencer, Cornelia Phillips, 1825-1908
Letter from Cornelia Phillips Spencer to Laura Caroline Phillips, May 26, 1869
4 pages, 6 page images
- Spencer, Cornelia Phillips, 1825-1908
Letter from Cornelia Phillips Spencer to Laura Caroline Phillips, June 14, 1869
12 pages, 12 page images
- Spencer, Cornelia Phillips, 1825-1908
Letter from Cornelia Phillips Spencer to Charles Phillips, September 8, 1869
8 pages, 11 page images
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina Annual Commencement, June 8-9, 1870
2 pages, 3 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). President, and Pool, Solomon, 1832-1901
Solomon Pool's Annual Report to the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina, November 15, 1870
3 pages, 3 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Excerpts from Board of Trustees Minutes, Including Solomon Pool's Plan for Continuing the University, December 1, 1870
3 pages, 3 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). General Faculty
Last Faculty Meeting Before the Closing of the University, January 16, 1871
2 pages, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Last Meeting of the Board of Trustees before the University Closed, February 13, 1873
1 page, 1 page image
- Mason, James B.
Letter from James B. Mason to R. W. Lassiter, September 3, 1873
4 pages, 4 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees Minutes, Containing the Report on the Condition of the University, April 9, 1874
13 pages, 13 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Reorganization of the University, Board of Trustees Minutes, May 4, 1875
8 pages, 8 page images
- Phillips, Charles, 1822-1889
Letter from Charles Phillips to John Kimberly, July 8, 1875
4 pages, 5 page images
- Winston, George Tayloe, 1852-1932
First Faculty Minutes After Reopening the University, September 4, 1875
1 page, 1 page image
- Winston, George Tayloe, 1852-1932
Philanthropic Society Minutes, September 15, 1875
4 pages, 4 page images