The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. It was founded by eight young men. The leader of the group was Noble Lesile DeVotie. The other seven young men were: Nathan Elams Cockrell, Samuel Marion Dennis, John Barratt Rudulph, Abner Edwin Patton, Wade Foster, Thomas Chappell Cook, and John Webb Kerr. During the Civil War, six of the seven living founders enlisted in the Confederate Army. Three of the six men who served in the Civil War gave their lives to the Southern cause. By the outbreak of the Civil War the Alabama Mu, or the first chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, had initiated fourteen men. Every one of these fourteen initiates served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; ten of the fourteen men lost their lives in the Civil War. The original eight founders of Sigma Alpha Epsilon are pictured below.

Nathan Elams Cockrell	He was born in Livingston, Alabama on September 27, 1833. After graduating, from the University of Alabama, he went on to manage his father's plantation and later became the editor of the Livingston Messenger.
Thomas Chappell Cook	He was born in Fairfield, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in medicine. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a surgeon. He was later appointed to the medical examiner of the U.S. Army and Navy.
Samuel Marion Dennis	He was born in Richmond, Alabama. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined "Terry's Texas Rangers". He was captured by Union forces and send to a military prison where he later died.
Noble Lesile DeVotie	He was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was the valedictorian at the head of his entire class when he graduated on July 17, 1856. He enlisted as a chaplin in the Confederate States of America Army. On February 12, 1861, he died when trying to board a steamboat in Fort Morgan, AL.
Wade Foster	He was born in Fosters, Alabama. During the Civil War, he served under General Nathan Bedford Forrest. His company surrendered while escorting Jefferson Davis. After the war, he moved to Texas to engage in business where he later died.
John Webb Kerr	He was born in Greensboro, Alabama. After graduating from the University of Alabama, he entered the law department of Cumberland University at LeBanon, Tennessee. He left shortly after to attend Harvard Law School.
Abner Edwin Patton	He was born in Knoxville, Alabama. He serviced in the Civil War where he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Gaines Mill.
John Barratt Rudulph	He was born in Benton, Alabama. He enlisted as a captain in the Alabama regiment of the cavalry and he later rose to the rank of Major and then to Colonel. After the war, he became Justice of the Peace and Tax Assessor for Dallas County Alabama.