The Men of Randolph-Macon College and the Civil War

In 1861, talk of secession transformed into armed conflict. Many of the men educated at Randolph-Macon College in the preceding 29 years immediately responded to the calls of their state militias to serve, while others later enlisted or were conscripted into the Confederate or Union armies. Others served in public office, or were ultimately drawn into the conflict in the last days in reserve units in local defense. These are their stories.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

James Land Hite, student 1842-1843

James L. Hite enlisted as a private in Company C of the 20th Virginia Infantry in May, 1861. He transferred to Company G of the 9th Virginia Cavalry on September 1, 1863. His two nephews, Robert M. and William O. Hite were in Company A of the 3rd VA Cavalry. He is listed as absent due to illness on July 7, 1864 and died of typhoid fever a month later on August 15, 1864. He is buried near his nephew William O. Hite, who died a few months earlier, in the Edmund Mitchell Hite family cemetery in Mecklenburg County.