Kenyon Deke's and the Civil War: Key Players or Background Characters?

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        This last week in the archives was filled with multiple visits to perfect our display case about Kenyon’s involvement in the Civil War. We learned about Kenyon's four key players of the Civil War: Rutherford B Hayes, Lorin Andrews, David Davis, and Edwin Stanton. Part of what gave them such importance was their role in the war, government, and the relationships they shared with Abraham Lincoln. Through looking at their files, one can see the respect and power the Kenyon College community, and the Archives gave to the voices of these 4 men. As we searched for content to add to our display case, we came across a paper written in 1961 called “LAMDA and the Civil War.” This document explains the beginning of what we now refer to as the LAMDA DKE chapter on Kenyon’s campus, their member's involvement in the Civil War, and the commotion it caused on campus. When Lorin Andrews got word of a secret society on campus, he was enraged and said that they had to have a faculty representative if they wanted to exist on Kenyon’s campus. Luckily, a DKE alum had graduated the year before and was working as a Professor on Kenyon’s campus. So DKE continued to exist under the supervision of a faculty member, but they were not referred to as DKE, they were called “The Kenyon Light Guards.” 

When looking at the legacy of the Kenyon Dekes and their role in the Civil War I was reminded of concepts from chapter 6 of Struggling for People’s King (2023) by Hajar Yazdiha. She talks about how it is important to include processes of reconciliation and restoration into our definition of memory work. Restoration of a collective memory involves the “correction of the past,” and in the case of Yazdiha, she gives the example of how those use restoration to give a platform to the voices and stories that were once silenced (Yazdiha 2023: 162). Reconciliation of collective memory requires those to reframe memories in a way that accurately reflects the whole historical record. Furthermore, she also brings up the idea of reckoning, another process that is important in our construction of memory work. Reckoning involves giving a platform to marginalized communities to speak out and have their voices heard. This process allows for every voice to be listened to and regarded with the same respect. 

When thinking about Kenyon’s involvement in the Civil War, we turn to the key players like Stanton, Andrews, Hayes, and Davis. But when we do this, we are not acknowledging the roles that students took on. Though the Dekes did not hold positions like the key players, their role should be just as highly regarded as those who did take on greater responsibilities. Their stories, recollections, and contributions should be given a platform rather than just one document. We should engage in the processes mentioned by Yazdiha to correct the historical record and give value to the contributions made by Kenyon Dekes. Moreover, we should reframe Kenyon collective’s memory of the Civil War to paint these men, not as minor characters, but as key players. Even if they were not close with Lincoln, Secretary of War, or the first to serve in Ohio, the contributions and lives of the Kenyon Dekes are just as important as those “Key Players.”


Yazdiha, Hajar. 2023. The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement. Princeton: Princeton University Press.


"Brothers at West Wing." 1922. Photograph.

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