Academic Hall and Civil War
On January 2, 1862, the 2nd Missouri Cavalry Regiment, commonly known as “Merrill's Horse” arrived in Columbia and pitched their tents on the University of Missouri campus. This Union military unit fought widely in Missouri and Arkansas during the American Civil War. It was commanded by Colonel Lewis Merrill, and upon entering Columbia consisted of around three hundred men. Merrill established a permanent Union headquarters, including officers’ quarters and a military prison, in Academic Hall, whose six columns famously survive in the middle of Francis Quadrangle, a National Historic District. The regiment would occupy Academic Hall until July 1st, making holding class at the University difficult, as soldiers marched up and down the halls and drilled on the lawn.
Academic Hall and other University of Missouri buildings circa 1860
From the University Archives, University of Missouri: C:0/3/8 as seen at MU in Brick and Mortar
Sources
Switzler, William F. (1882). History of Boone County. St. Louis, Missouri: Western Historical Company. p.417. OCLC 2881554.
Stephens, Frank Fletcher (1962). A History of the University of Missouri. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press. p.156. ISBN 9781258386566.
Breme, Nancy B. (1973). National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Francis Quadrangle Historic District (Red Campus). Missouri State Park Board, State Historical Survey and Planning Office. Accessed on January 3, 2023.
Keller, Rudi (2013). Life During Wartime 1862 Vol. 2: The Rise of the Guerrillas. Columbia, Missouri: Columbia Daily Tribune. p.15. ISBN 9780989017602.
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