Last updated on 01/22/2020
From the Encyclopedia of Virginia:
The University of Virginia Riot of 1836 occurred on November 12–13 of that year when members of the student drilling company, the University Volunteers, commandeered the Rotunda and marched through the university’s grounds, destroying property. In some respects, the violence was the culmination of a decade of misbehavior among students who hailed from elite backgrounds, were bound by an honor culture, and were unchecked by a university founded on the belief that its charges could police themselves. The University Volunteers were allowed to drill with muskets only during specially sanctioned exercises, but in 1836 the company began ignoring the rules.When the faculty chairman, John A. G. Davis, threatened to disband the group, the Volunteers defied authority, each pledging an oath of solidarity to one another. That promise bound members of the group even when some wavered in the face of violence and expulsion. Students rioted for two nights, focusing much of their ire on Davis, who called in civilian law enforcement to restore order. After debating how to handle punishments, the faculty voted to allow members of the Volunteers to remain at the university if they made “proper atonement” for the participation in the riots.
Riots continued to occur in subsequent years, and the anniversary of the 1836 disturbance was marked with mischief, revelry, and, in 1840, murder, when Davis was shot dead.
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