Courtesy of Dickinson College Chronicles
The Dickinson College Class of 1857
The year was 1857, an important presidential year and one of rising tensions between the Northern and Southern states and differing ideas regarding slavery, and state’s rights. The Civil War was only four short years away. Tensions could already be felt, dividing the nation in two, tearing family members apart, and pitting friend against friend.
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home to Dickinson College, attracted students from both the North and the South. The Class of 1857 was comprised of 60 students, the majority of who were from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Most students were loyal to their home states, dividing both the town and the campus in ideology.
Life on campus was relatively peaceful at this time despite the turbulence to come. Most students studied law, theology, clerical studies, or education. They had time to develop personal interests in singing, writing music, playing instruments, performing dramas, and engaging in social activities, such as carriage rides, picnics, sleigh rides to nearby towns and on occasion taking trips to as far as Harrisburg to hear prominent speakers of the day. Members of the class of 1857 participated in on campus activities, including three notable societies: the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity, a secret society (11 students) the Belles Lettres Society, a literary association (26 students) and the Union Philosophical Society, a rival literary association (23 students).
Joseph Franklin Culver and Thomas Nelson Conrad were two 1857 classmates who had opposing views regarding slavery and state's rights. While their opinions differed, they had common interests and shared similar experiences at Dickinson College. Both were well liked students, members of the Belles Lettres Society, prolific writers, Methodists, and enjoyed music. Each would go on to serve in opposing sides of the Civil War with Culver enlisting in the 129th Company A Illinois infantry Union volunteers and Conrad becoming a spy for the South, with the approval of Confederate President, Jefferson Davis.
Life on campus was relatively peaceful at this time despite the turbulence to come. Most students studied law, theology, clerical studies, or education. They had time to develop personal interests in singing, writing music, playing instruments, performing dramas, and engaging in social activities, such as carriage rides, picnics, sleigh rides to nearby towns and on occasion taking trips to as far as Harrisburg to hear prominent speakers of the day. Members of the class of 1857 participated in on campus activities, including three notable societies: the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity, a secret society (11 students) the Belles Lettres Society, a literary association (26 students) and the Union Philosophical Society, a rival literary association (23 students).
Joseph Franklin Culver and Thomas Nelson Conrad were two 1857 classmates who had opposing views regarding slavery and state's rights. While their opinions differed, they had common interests and shared similar experiences at Dickinson College. Both were well liked students, members of the Belles Lettres Society, prolific writers, Methodists, and enjoyed music. Each would go on to serve in opposing sides of the Civil War with Culver enlisting in the 129th Company A Illinois infantry Union volunteers and Conrad becoming a spy for the South, with the approval of Confederate President, Jefferson Davis.
Website Focus:
This website will focus on sharing with teachers and students insights into two Dickinson College Class of 1857 students, Joseph F. Culver and Thomas N. Conrad. Both were loyal to fighting in the Civil War – but on opposing sides. By comparing and contrasting these figures and their writings: a soldier’s letters to his wife and the memoirs of a spy, students can gain personal insights into the Civil War through the lens of two prominent Dickinson students and the value that the written word has in the lives of these students. Through various mediums and interactive exercises, students and teachers can experience the historical and personal accounts of two former Dickinson College classmates’ Civil War accounts.
This website was created by Alden Mohacsi, a student of Professor Matthew Pinsker's History 204 class as part of a multi-media exhibit assignment.
This website will focus on sharing with teachers and students insights into two Dickinson College Class of 1857 students, Joseph F. Culver and Thomas N. Conrad. Both were loyal to fighting in the Civil War – but on opposing sides. By comparing and contrasting these figures and their writings: a soldier’s letters to his wife and the memoirs of a spy, students can gain personal insights into the Civil War through the lens of two prominent Dickinson students and the value that the written word has in the lives of these students. Through various mediums and interactive exercises, students and teachers can experience the historical and personal accounts of two former Dickinson College classmates’ Civil War accounts.
This website was created by Alden Mohacsi, a student of Professor Matthew Pinsker's History 204 class as part of a multi-media exhibit assignment.