Original Date: 1861 Digital Date: 2004
Subject: Students
Description: A portrait of the class of 1861. This was the first class of students to graduate from Michigan Agricultural College. Students are: Top (L-R): L.V. Beebe; Gilbert Dickey; A. Bayley Front (L-R): Henry Benham; A.N. Prentiss; A.F. Allen; C.E. Hollister Commencement was scheduled for November 1861, but was not to be. The entire graduating class of seven seniors was excused from school in September 1861 in order to join the Union Army. This marked the first time members of the campus community stepped up to help our nation at a time of crisis. Two of the graduates died in service: Gilbert A. Dickey was killed on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 and Henry D. Benham died at Beaufort, South Carolina in the summer of 1864.
Format: jpg
Rights: Educational use only, no other permissions given. Copyright to this resource is held by Michigan State University and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission of the University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.
Contributing Institution: University Archives & Historical Collections