The Citadel - Sphinx Yearbook (Charleston, SC)

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the legislature of the State of South Carolina enacted a law that established the Citadel Academy in Charles- ton, South Carolina, and the Arsenal Academy in Columbia, South Carolina, as institutions that would give to cadets who studied there an education that was at once practical and scientific, and would fit them for any station in life. A Board of Visitors was immediately appointed by Governor James H. Ham- mond, and this board met on February 24, 1843, to select the staff of the Citadel. On March 20, 1843, the Citadel Academy and her sister institution at Columbia, the Arsenal Academy, formally began their sessions. In such manner was the ground broken, and the foundation laid for what was to become in another chapter The Military College of South Carolina. The first class to graduate from the Citadel Academy received diplomas on November 20, 1846. The first honor graduate, and hence, the Citadel ' s proto-graduate, was Charles Courtenay Tew, who served his Alma Mater loyally and with distinction until his brilliant career was ended on the battle- field at Sharpsburg. Cha pter II Chapter II deals with the two decades before the War Between the States. Events of great importance were happening on Marion Square. These were the formative years when custom and tradition were being established with every new activity undertaken by the youthful Academy. Captain Richard Colcock having been elected Superintendent of the Citadel Academy on May 20, 1844, to succeed Captain W. F. Graham who had died while in office, was the guiding hand in these years that marked the end of the beginning. On the last day of November, 1849, the Corps was furloughed because of an epidemic of yellow fever which plagued the city of Charleston, the furlough order being revoked as soon as the epidemic subsided. In November of 1852, the Citadel Alumni, recog- nizing the benefits to be realized from an active Alumni organization, formed the Association of Graduates, and the alumni associations of few col- leges have played as important a part in the institu- tional history as has the Citadel association. The first president of this organization was Charles Courtenay Tew, and the first meetings of the Associa- tion were distinguished occasions. The Citadel, about 1857. At the close of 1852, Major F. W. Capers was named as the next superintendent, being the third in a period of ten years. There were unusual indi- cations of the strict discipline to be found in the rules and regulations of the Academy, and the high disciplinary standards find confirmation in the fact that the Board of Visitors, in its report to the General Assembly on December 3, 1853, reported that there would be no graduation that year as during the sum- mer of 1852 the Second Class had been dishonorably dismissed as a unit. In the spring of 1854 the cadets undertook a practice march throu gh the counties of the upper part of the state, and the Corps was warmly received by the up-state citizens, the reputation of the college having preceded it. In the meantime, the Citadel had worked in close collaboration with the Washington Light Infantry, a local military organ- ization which had gained considerable prominence, and on February 22, 1857, the famous Washington Light Infantry Flag was presented by Captain L. M. Hatch to the Citadel in recognition of the military qualities of the institution. In 1859 Major Capers tendered his resignation after long and faithful service, and Major P. F. Stevens was elected by the Board of Visitors to succeed him. By 1860 the Citadel Academy had become an inte- gral part of Charleston and South Carolina. The graduates of this institution were proving the fact that the Citadel was a school designed to prepare [9]

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DOlUn THROUGH THE YEHRS Introduction The year 1942 has been recorded in the annals of time as a year in which the world was witness to some of the most tragic events that have marred our modern civilized eflForts. The highlight of this particular year was the war, and all our efforts were directed toward the successful conclusion of that war. Events which had seemed to be of major importance were forced into the background; so all out was our effort. We were fighting for the survival of our democracy, our democratic institutions, and the belief that God had created man to be free in body and spirit rather than a slave to a demagogue. There were many indications that America was to be a potent power in the United Nations ' drive for victory, these indications taking the form of the many brave deeds of American soldiers, and the astronomical figures reached in the battle on the assembly lines. At first, there had been some doubt as to the possible performance of Ameri- can troops in battle; but time revealed that the Ameri- can soldier was equal to, or better than, any other in the world. Just as America was proud of the per- formances of her soldiers in the first year of war, so Citadel men everywhere had reason to be proud of their Alma Mater, for there were many reports on hand in which the valorous deeds of Citadel men were recounted. Because of the war, the plans for the proposed Centennial celebration had to be drastically curtailed, and this Centennial Edition of THE SPHINX will be the only tangible evidence that there had been plans for a magnificent celebration of The Citadel ' s one hundredth anniversary. Thus, the preparation of a Centennial history was pursued with unusual vigor. The chapter being written now cannot be concluded, of course, until the war is ended, for Citadel men are daily taking their places in this war of elimination, their roles not yet enacted. But all of the previous chapters in the glorious history of this century-old institution can attest to the valuable contributions that Citadel men have made to America ' s progressive efforts. Chapter I Chapter I in the story of The Citadel reveals the act of creation, the motive behind the act, and the immediate effects of the act. On December 20, 1 842, The Citadel. 1849. 18]

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a man for almost any station in life, and the gradu- ates were recognized as being capable men whose military training had disciplined well their thoughts and actions. In this manner had the Citadel become renowned for its high standards of discipline and academic instruction, and even at this early stage the worth of the school had been proven, but its true value to the state and nation was to be written in the next chapter — a chapter whose pages are splashed with the blood shed by sons of the Citadel in the fratricidal conflict that involved our nation in the years 1861- 1865. Chapter III Chapter III in the history of this institution tells of the salient part the Citadel took in the War Be- tween the States, and this particular period has its beginning in the days immediately following Decem- ber 20, 1860, when the State of South Carolina seceded from th e Union. This act of secession brought about the war. which, despite the tragic aftermath, gave to the Academy the greater portion of its price- less heritage, and a history shared by no other school in the nation. From the ninth day of January, 1861, when Cadet G. E. Haynsworth fired on the Union steamer, Star of the West, to the battle of Wil- liamston. May 1, 1865, the cadets of the Citadel and Arsenal Academies were involved inextricably Charleston Military Figures, I860. Citadel cadets show as numbers four and Hoc from the left end. in the war. The cadet participation in the war is one of the outstanding events in the entire history as the cadets conducted themselves in a most soldierly fashion, and rendered distinctive service to the South. On January 28, 1861, the State Legislature enacted a law whereby the cadets of the Citadel and the Arsenal Academies would be group ed together as the Battalion of State Cadets to be used as a military unit and to be called the South Carolina Military Academy. On August 8, 1861, Major Stevens resigned his post at the Citadel, and accepted an appointment as Colonel of the Holcombe Legion, and he was succeeded at the Citadel by Major J. B. White, who was the institution ' s war-time superintendent. Organized as a military unit with its own appointed officers, and with the authority of the Governor of South Carolina, the State Cadets took part in eight engagements in this epic struggle. But it was not only in this Battalion of State Cadets that Citadel men were displaying the results of their discipline and training, for on other battlefields the early graduates of the Citadel were actively engaged. Before the war ended, there were, serving the Confederacy, one Major General, E. M. Law, and three Brigadier Generals, Micah Jenkins, Johnson Hagood, and Ellison Capers, all of them graduates of the Citadel. Of these. General Micah Jenkins was killed in battle. Two other dis- tinguished graduates. Colonels Tew and Nance, were killed on the eve of their promotions to the rank of Brigadier General. Another group of cadets that fought with signal success was the famous Cadet Company of the 6th Regiment of South Carolina Cavalry. This regiment, the nucleus of which was the Cadet Company, fought at such battles as Louisa Court House, Trevillian Station, White House, Gravel Run, John ' s Island, and Riddle ' s Shop. When the war formally ended at Appomattox, the Citadel was not without a representative, for Major R. M. Sims, of the class of 1856, and a member of Longstreet ' s Staff, carried the flag of truce. At the Battle of Tulifinny, December 6-7, 1864, the Battalion of State Cadets conducted themselves in such a manner as to receive the praise of the veteran troops with whom they fought, and to merit the approval of the commanding general, as well as the colonel in command of the expedition. Today the regimental colors of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets bear [10]