John Thompson Brown, student 1857-1861

John Thompson Brown enlisted on May 25, 1861 as a sergeant in Company A of the 20th Virginia Infantry. He was promoted and transferred on March 14, 1862, as 2nd lieutenant in Virginia's Parker's Light Artillery (Parker's Virginia Battery). He was taken prisoner at Marye's Heights (Fredericksburg, VA) on May 3, 1863 and wounded in the throat at Spotsylvania Court House (VA) on May 9, 1864.  he was promoted to captain, and was taken prisoner again at Sailor's Creek, VA, on April 5, 1865.

After the war he became prominent in Richmond real estate, served as president of an electric railway line, served in the sate legislature, and was active in the Army of Northern Virginia veteran's group, achieving the rank in the organization of "lieutenant general," with an honorific title "general' which all of his obituaries include.he died April 23, 1921 and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA.

James Ferguson Dowdell, Class of 1840

James Ferguson Dowdell, a strong proponent of states' rights, signed the Ordinance of Secession as a member of the Convention of 1861 in the state of Alabama. He was commissioned as a colonel in the spring of 1862 in the 37th Alabama Infantry, a regiment that he raised. Dowdell was taken prisoner of war in 1863 at the siege of Vicksburg, MS, and was paroled, returning home due to ill health.

Prior to the war, Dowdell practiced law, was president of Oak Bowery Female College, served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1853-1859, became a Methodist minister, and in 1860 was listed as a farmer in the census with personal and real estate wealth valued at $78,000. After the war, he served from 1866-1870 as professor of moral philosophy and president of East Alabama College, which later became Auburn University. By 1870, his wealth as listed in the census had diminished to only $7,000 and his profession is listed as teacher. Dowdell died September 6, 1871 and is buried in Auburn's City Cemetery.

Anthony Dibrell, Class of 1860

Anthony Dibrell, brother of Watson Soule Dibrell, enlisted in the 1st Co. VA, 1st Co. Howitzers Light Artillery, the Richmond Howitzers, on April 21, 1861. He was promoted to corporal and then to sergeant. He took the oath of Allegiance in Richmond on April 18, 1865.

He is listed as a bank clerk in Leesburg, VA in the 1880 census. He died April 3, 1893 and is buried in Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Watson Soule Dibrell, student 1860-1862

Watson Soule Dibrell, brother of Anthony Dibrell, was a student at the college during the early years of the war when the college instituted a military training regimen similar to that of Virginia Military Institute. He enlisted as a private on August 19, 1862 in  the Virginia 1st Co. Howitzers Light Artillery Battery, the Richmond Howitzers.  He surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

He was a mercantile agent in Norfolk, VA in  the 1870 census, and his occupation in the 1880 census is listed as "transportation" while the 1900 census lists him as a railroad clerk, also in Norfolk, where the 1888 city directory lists his employer as the Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia Air Line.

Howell A. Venable, student 1856-1857

Howell A. Venable was a civilian doctor who was contracted in May of 1862 to work at General Hospital No. 2 in Lynchburg, VA as Acting Assistant Surgeon for $80 per month. By January 1863, he was contracted at the fee of $100 per month. Venable was later appointed from Texas by the Confederate Congress as assistant surgeon in the Confederate Provisional Navy on September 6, 1864. Howell served on the CSS Sampson in 1864 and was attached to the 2nd Bridgade of Semmes' Naval Brigade in April of 1865. He was paroled at Greensboro, NC on April 26, 1865. Venable was one of the founding members of the Medical Society of Virginia in November, 1870.

Pittman R. Venable, Class of 1858

Pittman R. Venable enlisted on May 31, 1862 as a corporal in Company E of the Virginia 2nd Light Artillery. He later served as a corporal in Compnay E of the 22nd Virginia Infantry Battalion. He was hospitalized for unknown reasons in Farmville, VA in July of 1862. Venable was killed May 3, 1863 at Chancellorsville, VA.

Thomas Jefferson Koger, class of 1838 (A.B.) and 1851 (A.M.)

Thomas J. Koger was a prominent Methodist minister in Missippi at the outbreak of the war. He served as both chaplain and captain of Company D, 41st Missippi Infantry.  He was killed in battle at Perryville, KY on October 8, 1862.

John Bennett Merritt, student 1857-1861

John Bennett Merritt, brother of Henry Embrey Merritt and William Thomas Merritt, enlisted in the 6th VA Infantry, Company G as a private on April 15, 1862.  He was wounded at the Second Battle of Manassas on August 30, 1862. He died in a hospital in Warrenton, VA on September 21, 1862.

Alexander Mallory, Jr., Class of 1858

Alexander Mallory, son a wealthy farmer and merchant, was a school teacher in Brunswick County when he was conscripted into the army in 1862. He enlisted on February 22, 1862 as a sergeant in Company I of the 12th Virginia Infantry. He served only until October 7, 1862, when he provided a substitute, William Goode Talley, who was taken prisoner and died February 4,1865 at Elmira, NY.

After the war, Mallory again taught school, and was superintendent of the Brunswick County public schools in 1870-1871. Mallory didn't outlive his war substitute for long; he died of consumption on July 25, 1872 and is buried in Brunwick County, VA in the Raney-Mallory Family Cemetery.

Thomas B. Maclin, student 1859-1861

Thomas B. Maclin, brother of John Henry Maclin, originally enlisted as a private in the Brunswick Guards, Company A of the 5th Battalion VA Infantry on May 5, 1861, later moving to Company H of the 53rd VA Infantry. He was wounded on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg, PA. Maclin was wounded again during the retreat from Petersburg, and died in Dinwiddie County between April 5 and April 9, 1865.