After LaGrange College moved to Florence in January 1855, LaGrange citizens organized a college in the vacant buildings under the old name, with Rev. Felix Johnson as president. In 1857, to increase patronage, the school added a military feature, Major J. W. Robertson became superintendent, classes were suspended, and a third major building was erected for cadets. The college reopened in February 1858 as LaGrange College and Military Academy. Its finances were poor until the State of Alabama provided military equipment and scholarships, after which it flourished and became known as the “West Point of the South.” In 1860, it was renamed LaGrange Military Academy, and by 1861 enrollment was almost 200 cadets; during its existence, 259 cadets from nine states attended. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, many cadets left to join the Confederate Army, forcing the academy to suspend classes on March 1, 1862, after only two cadets had graduated. Major Robertson was authorized to organize the 35th Alabama Infantry Regiment C. S. A., was elected colonel, and the remaining cadets formed part of one company. The regiment was mustered into the Confederate on March 12, 1862, for three years. After the Battle of Town Creek on April 28, 1863, the Union Army’s 10th Missouri Cavalry, known as the “Destroying Angels” and commanded by Col. Florence M. Cornyn, burned the military academy, the nearby LaFayette Female Academy, many businesses, and homes, and the village of LaGrange then dwindled away. In 1995, LaGrange Park was transformed from the Alabama Historical Commission to the LaGrange Living Historical College was enhances and stands today as a historical landmark. It was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1976.