In 1862 while in the midst of the Civil War, the Board of Curators suspended operations for the university. Academic Hall was occupied by Union troops, the president's house was used by Federal officers and the normal school, forerunner to the College of Education, became an army hospital. It was during this time that the residents of Columbia and defenders of the city became notoriously known as the "fighting tigers of Columbia" due to their insistent fighting to keep the Confederate bushwackers away from the city and university.