Even if Starr was reconstructed shortly after, it took long until it was to be used back at its fullest. By 1880 the student body got reduced to 38 because of disciplinary problems and because the Civil War had started. During the Civil War (between 1865-1879) the enrolment rate dropped to an averege of 55. In 1866 president Labaree resigned and Harvey D. Kitchel took his place.

Future president Ezra Brainerd entered the college in the class of '64. The enterence in the class was decided after an exam in Math, Latin and Greek, conducted by one of the faculty members. His class was formed of 28 menIn his article for the Middlebury College Newsletter he talks about the life at Middlebury, the way the war affected the people, the impression the faculty and other students had over him, etc. I have attached a copy of this article since it's most relevant to our discution about that period. Later on, there were several articles published in the Undergraduate about student's life during the war and their experiences. I have attached some articles about the war.