Louisiana acquired the land on this site as the location of the Seminary of Learning of the State of Louisiana in 1853. George Mason Graham from nearby Bayou Rapides chaired the Board of Trustees appointed to construct a building and determine the curriculum. Graham ensured that the project moved forward and is known as the "father of LSU." As construction neared completion in 1859, the board selected David Boyd, E. Berte St. Ange, Francis Smith, and Anthony Vallas as the original faculty. Graham's friend, Major Don Carlos Buell, recommended Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman to administer the school. Sherman arrived at the campus in November 1859 to serve as superintendent and professor of engineering. He immediately began to equip the building for students, added Bernard Jarreau and Dr. John W. Sevier to the faculty, wrote a promotional brochure, and opened the school on January 2, 1860. Sherman was superintendent of the institution for about 14 months. Louisiana's announcement that it had adopted an Ordinance of Secession on January 26, 1861, disrupted studies. Sherman resigned effective February 28, 1861. (Continued on other side) (Continued from other side)
He commented earlier that he would retain his "allegiance to the Constitution as long as a fragment of it survives." Sherman encountered several former cadets
and acquaintances from his as in Louisiana during the Civil War and provided assistance to them when he could do so, even though his service in the Union Army focused on subduing the Confederacy, sometimes in severe ways. David Boyd reopened the seminary after the war, and Sherman visited his former campus in 1867 before state officials moved it to Baton Rouge in 1869 and renamed it Louisiana State University in 1870. Sherman's legacy to the Louisiana Seminary of Learning includes adding the phrase "and Military Academy" to its name to acknowledge its primary mission of educating soldiers; obtaining furniture before the school opened; arranging for uniforms, clothing, text and library books, and additional equipment for its second year; and maintaining good relations with prominent politicians, who could provide assistance and support.
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