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.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Peterson Hartwell. Arnold, Student 1859-1862

Arnold, son of a Methodist minister in Mecklenburg County, VA, joined the Boydton Cavalry, Co. A of the 3rd VA Cavalry, as a private in Winchester,VA on August 20, 1862. He was listed as missing on July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg, PA and disappears from the historical record. The 1906 "Catalog of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Psi" lists him as killed at Gettysburg. He was the younger brother of Benjamin W. Arnold and Joseph D. Arnold, all sons of Methodist minister Hartwell Arnold.