Princeton in the Revolutionary War

The smallest class ever graduated from Princeton was that of 1778, when only five degrees were conferred, the student body being much depleted by the Revolutionary War then in progress. Even the first class, that of 1748, was larger by one member. The largest class ever graduated was that of 1904, when 275 degrees were conferred. 1777 was the only class that did not receive its degrees at its own Commencement, the war having prevented the holding of Commencement that year. There were seven members of the class, three of whom received their degrees in 1782, and four in 1790. Perhaps the most remarkable name in the General Catalogue is Marie Jean Paul Joseph Roche Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, upon whom President Witherspoon conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1790, and who received his Princeton diploma from President Carnahan when he visited America in 1824.