92. Princeton in the Civil War
The encampment shown here is that of the Union Army’s New Jersey
Brigade in Arlington, Virginia, made in July 1861 just before the Battle
of Bull Run. Camp Princeton was likely named by New Jersey Governor
Charles Olden, who had served as the College’s treasurer and a trustee
from 1844-1850. Though located in the North, Princeton deeply felt
the sectional division that brought about the Civil War because it was
unique among northern schools for attracting nearly one-third of its student
body from the southern states. In the years leading up to conflict,
political discussions and Whig-Clio debates frequently considered the
issues of slavery and secession, with defenders of the status quo often
winning such matches. When war erupted, most southern students withdrew
from Princeton to join the Confederate forces, even as their northern
classmates enlisted in the opposing army; there were many tearful good-byes
among classmates who feared their next meeting could be on the opposing
sides of a battlefield. Along with numerous officers and enlisted
men, the College contributed four generals to the Union and eight to the
Confederacy. The Civil War section of the Memorial Atrium in Nassau
Hall lists 70 Princetonian casualties. Recorded in alphabetical
order, the register makes no distinction between those on opposing sides,
though campus lore has it that exactly half fought for the North and half
for the South.
- To learn more about things named for Princeton,
see Café Vivian picture #28, 32,
36, 63, 64,
81, and 83.
- To learn more about Princeton in the nation’s
history, see quotation #11 and Café Vivian
picture #20, 33, 83,
95, and 113.
- To learn more about student life at Princeton,
see icon #1, quotation #7,
9, 18, and 22,
and Café Vivian picture #9, 12,
16, 18, 23,
24, 45, 53,
79, 82, 84,
89, 96, 97,
106, 109, 113,
115, 116, 117,
129, and 132.
- To learn more about Nassau Hall, see icon #1,
quotation #1 and 35,
and Café Vivian picture #4, 20,
33, 75, and 95.
- To learn more about Princeton trustees, see icon #5, quotation #7, 10, and 14, and Café Vivian picture #16, 18, 19, 27, 33, 101, 108, 111, and 123.