There were 139 male students enrolled at Ole Miss in 1861. When 135 of those men enlisted in the Confederate Army, the remaining 4 students showed up to class but were told the university had to close temporarily due to such low enrollment.
The 139 students joined Company A of the 11th Mississippi Infantry regiment in the Confederate Army. Unfortunately, they fought in some of the bloodiest battles in the war. They were dubbed the “University Grays” because of the gray uniform they wore and the fact that they were all students at Ole Miss.
The University Grays were all killed or wounded during the Battle of Gettysburg when the Confederates made a desperate charge against the Union at Cemetery Hill. After the devastating losses, the few remaining Grays merged with another company and fought until the end of the war. The story of the University Grays has inspired novels and even an opera that debuted in 1961 at the University of Mississippi.