Society, The Society, The Spades, W Society, and Wren Society.
Thomas R. Dew, professor of history, metaphysics, and political economy, and then president of William & Mary from 1836 until he died in 1846, was an influential academic defender of slavery.
In 1842, alumni of the college formed the Society of the Alumni which is now the sixth oldest alum organization in the United States. In 1859, a great fire destroyed the College Building. The Alumni House is one of the few original antebellum structures remaining on campus; notable others include the Wren Building, the President's House, the Brafferton, and Prince George House.
=== American Civil War ===
At the outset of the American Civil War (1861–1865), enlistments in the Confederate States Army depleted the student body. On May 10, 1861, the faculty voted to close the college for the duration of the conflict. General Charles A. Whittier reported that "thirty-two out of thirty-five professors and instructors abandoned the college work and joined the army …
