University Grays

The University Greys (or "Grays") were Company A of the 11th Mississippi Infantry regiment in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Part of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Greys served in many of the most famous and bloody battles of the war.

The rifle company joined the 11th Infantry at its inception on May 4, 1861, after Mississippi seceded from the Union. Their name "University Greys" derived from the gray color of their uniforms and from the fact that almost all of the Greys were students at the University of Mississippi. Nearly the entire student body (135 students) enlisted; only four students reported for classes in fall 1861, so that the university closed temporarily.

The most famous engagement of the University Greys was at Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg, when the Confederates made a desperate frontal assault on the Union entrenchments atop Seminary Ridge. The Greys penetrated further into the Union position than any other unit, but at the terrible cost of sustaining 100% casualties -- every soldier was either killed or wounded.

After Gettysburg, the depleted Greys were merged with Company G (the "Lamar Rifles"). The unit continued to fight until the last days of the war.

In his novel "Absalom, Absalom!", William Faulkner placed two characters, Charles Bon and Henry Sutpen, in the University Greys.

ources

[http://faculty.swosu.edu/scott.long/11thmiss/homepage/history.htm 11th Mississippi Infantry: A Brief History] by Steven Davis - covers the history of the regiment

[http://hometown.aol.com/wgarbo/page/index.htm Company "A" "University Greys] - tribute website maintained by re-enactors of the Greys' participation in Pickett's Charge, with list of major engagements of the Grays

[http://members.cox.net/rb2307/content/11SUPth_SUP_Mississippi_Infantry_Company_A.htm 11th Mississippi Infantry - Company A] - roster of the Greys and other companies in the regiment, including status as killed, wounded, etc.

[http://www.senatobiams.info/unithistory.htm History of C Company, 2nd 198th CAB] - history of a modern unit from Oxford, Mississippi which claims descent from the Greys

[http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/engineering_school/about/history/page1.html History of the Ole Miss Engineering School] - includes information about the Greys, though its figure for the total killed appears to disagree with the roster linked above

[http://www.olemiss.edu/conf/welcometable/whyOM.html Why the University of Mississippi?] - Ole Miss webpage on racial history of the university, including facts on the Greys