Drawing of the Wren Building by James Taylor August 17, 1862, Civil War Collection, Mss. 39.1 C76, Acc. 2011.012

This exhibit features letters, reports, and images relating to the 1862 fire in the Wren Building, the third fire to ravage the now-iconic campus building. In the early morning hours of September 9, 1862, a detachment of Confederate cavalry entered Williamsburg and drove off the Union garrison forces, the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry. By 11:00 the same morning, the Confederate raiders left Williamsburg, and the defeated, and now drunken, garrison returned. Agitated by their defeat and with proper military order not yet reestablished, the garrison set fire to the Wren Building. The fire left the structure gutted.

Images of the exhibit are available from Special Collections on Flickr.

Curator: Amy Schindler, University Archivist; Exhibit design and installation: Jennie Davy, Burger Archives Specialist; with installation assistance from James Tolj, History Graduate Student Apprentice.