Centenary College suspended operations after October 7, 1861, when its minutes recorded, "Students have all gone to war. College suspended and God help the right." The college remained closed from 1861 to 1866, and both Union and Confederate troops used and misused its buildings and equipment. Many students lost their lives during the fighting, but it is unlikely that any Centenary students are buried here. Instead, those buried here were soldiers who died at the Confederate hospital established in Centenary's buildings. More than 6,000 soldiers garrisoned the Confederate fortifications at Port Hudson, and more than 2,500 of them were sent to five hospitals in Jackson, Louisiana, Clinton, Louisiana, Woodville, Mississippi, and Magnolia, Mississippi. Some were sent to Centenary because the campus had a healthy atmosphere, a nearby clean water source, and plenty of rooms. Archaeology places the number of graves at 75 to 100, and most of the men buried here died from malnutrition or infectious diseases. The dead came from across the South, and although the Farris brothers of the 41st Tennessee Infantry survived the Siege of Port Hudson, other members of the 41st Tennessee are buried in this cemetery.