19th Century

1816-1824

David H. Maxwell, the Founding Father of Indiana University, was the son of a Revolutionary War veteran and was himself a veteran of the War of 1812. Dr. Maxwell served as a surgeon with a company of Indiana Rangers. That company was lead by his brother-in-law, Williamson Dunn.

In 1816, Dr. Maxwell, while serving as a representative at the state constitutional convention, wrote IU into the state constitution. In 1820, the first Board of Trustees were selected and Bloomington was chosen as the site for the institution.

Dr. Maxwell was elected President of the Board; a position he would hold for 30 of the next 32 years. To keep an eye on his beloved institution, Dr. Maxwell moved his family to Bloomington as did his brother-in-law Samuel Dunn.

Eventually, after the fire of 1883 destroyed much of the Seminary Square campus, Samuel Dunn’s grandson, Moses Dunn, would sell part of his farm to the university and it would move to it’s current location, known as Dunn’s Woods.

The Dunn family’s military service was already well known and dated back to the Revolutionary Army. By the Civil War, so many Dunns had served in the military that the family became known as “The Fighting Dunns.”

Dunn Cemetery, located next to the Indiana Memorial Union, has several veterans buried in it dating back to the Revolutionary War.

1840-1843

In 1839, the Trustees hired Jacob Ammen as Professor of Mathematics. Ammen had been educated at the US Military Academy at West Point and had served for six years in the US Army.

Before arriving on campus, Professor Ammen was asked if he would also teach a course on Military Science. By doing so, Indiana University became only the fourth collegiate- level institution in the country to offer such a course and the first non-military academy. The course was also optional, but once enrolled, students had to remain in it for the semester. This made it the first free elective course.

In 1843, due to severe budget cuts, Professor Ammen was hired away by another institution. His replacement taught only mathematics.

Professor Ammen would go on to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War and rise to the rank of Brigadier General. The IUB Army ROTC Cannon “Big Jake” is named after him.

1861-1865

During the Civil War, IU experienced a resurgence in interest in military instruction but had few options for formal integration into the curriculum. The university was just over a hundred and fifty students at that time. Out of the student body, there was a group known as the University Cadets, a company formed specifically for military tactics training. It is unclear who was responsible for leading the training. It may have been former soldiers recruited from among the local community. Their training seems to have been limited solely to tactics. 

“As appropriate physical exercise is essential to health, and some knowledge of military tactics is not only desirable, but necessary for the complete education of young men, the students of the University have the opportunity of regular Military Drill, under competent instructors, in a company composed of students, called the UNIVERSITY CADETS.” (Annual Report of 1860-1861)

The formation and necessity of this unit had three motivations. First, IU students were not exempt from being drafted into the Union Army. Second, it limited the flow of students running off to join the Army. And thirdly, the Copperhead (Southern sympathizer) presence was strong in Southern Indiana so “home guard” units were needed. Copperheads were even on campus.

Shortly after the fall of Fort Sumter, a South Carolina secession flag was placed at the highest point on the University Building causing a town-wide uproar and outrage. That continued fear led to a rumor in the winter of 1861 that Confederates had raided Southern Indiana.

Units were hastily rallied from across Southern Indiana including one from Bloomington that had many students in it. Armed with squirrel rifles and a few pistols, they made it to Mitchell, Indiana before they found out that it was a false rumor. This foreshadowed the actions that took place during an actual Confederate Raid into Southern Indiana in 1863.

IU students, alumni, and faculty would serve on both sides in the Civil War; in all major campaigns; in all theaters including at sea; in ranks ranging from Private to General. They would include Brevet Brigadier General Theodore Read (Class of 1854), the last Union General killed in the war just days before the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, and Colonel Charles Marshall (former faculty), who served as General Lee’s personal secretary.

1868-1874

The Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862 had created new opportunities for universities to teach agriculture, mechanical, and military science. This unfunded mandate put a new burden on a downsized Army to provide instructors to colleges.

Although IU was the original recipient of the federal land grant, it was eventually shifted to Purdue University. However, IU was one of ten non land grant institutions that the Army decided to support with military science instructors. Most early instructors were new lieutenants right out of West Point. But IU was given the senior most instructor out of all of the Army’s military science instructors.

Initially, IU received Major General Eli Long. And the next year, they received Lieutenant Colonel James Thompson. LTC Thompson would teach military science and mathematics through 1874.

The students had slowly “voted with their feet” and chose not to sign up for the military science elective. Times had changed and most students no longer saw military science as fitting in the classical education curriculum.

Rather than leave the university, LTC Thompson retired from the Army and remained at IU as Professor of Mathematics for several years. His son John would attend IU for one year before being admitted to West Point. John Thompson would be a career soldier and retired in 1918 as a Brigadier General. He is best known as inventor of the Thompson Submachine Gun or “Tommy Gun.”