America’s second oldest higher education institution experienced the full violence of the Civil War, with a wartime destiny of destruction compounded by its strategic location in Virginia’s Tidewater region between Union and Confederate lines. For the first time in print, this book also explores in-depth the Civil War service of the College’s students, faculty, and alumni, ranging from little-known individuals to historically prominent figures such as Winfield Scott, John Tyler, and John J. Crittenden. Overall, this study commemorates The College of William and Mary’s many contributions to the Civil War along with its role in shaping pre- and post-war higher education in the South.