The Citadel - Sphinx Yearbook (Charleston, SC)

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Astronomical observatory, The Citadel. 1916. the alumni had reason to believe that sooner or later the bill would be approved, and it was with inspired determination that the small group continued their efforts. On December 22. 1879, the General Assembly of South Carolina authorized the Board of Visitors to take steps necessary for the return of the Citadel to the state — but. still the authority was not forth- coming. Finally, on January 29, 1882. the Secretary of War directed General Hunt, commanding officer of the military district in which Charleston was in- cluded, to evacuate the Citadel, and on the last day of the same month the State Legislature passed an act whereby the Academy was to be reopened. With the reactivation of the institution, another chapter in the life of the Citadel was concluded, and at this stage there was no doubt that had it not been for the loyal alumni and their traditional friends. The Wash- ington Light Infantry, the Citadel never would have been reopened. The alumni association paved the way for The Greater Citadel as we know it today. been completely destroyed, and the property had been neglected to such an extent that it was in bad need of repair. Nevertheless, the Academy opened its doors to the first post-war class on October 2. 1882, and on November 13. 1882, the new Board of Visitors met in Ch arleston. Colonel John P. Thomas in his capacity as superintendent guided the school during the first years, and it was largely because of his untir- ing efforts that the school lost none of the discipline for which it had become famous. Colonel Thomas remained in this position until September 15, 1885, when he was succeeded by General George D. John- son. On February 7. 1883. improved Springfield rifles of the cadet pattern were issued to the cadets through the Adjutant and Inspector General. A short time later the Corps of Cadets drilled on the Green, under arms, for the first time since the end of the war. New courses of instruction and a new code of regulations had been prescribed for the institution prior to the entry of the first post-war class, and from these it was evident that seventeen years had not dulled the disciplinary qualities or the high academic standards of other years. The first commencement exercises since the reopening of the Academy took place on July 28, 1886. That the Citadel made sub- stantial progress during the years immediately fol- lowing the reopening is evidenced by the statement of Colonel H. W. Lawton, Inspector General of the United States Army, who inspected the school on May 16, 1892. He said, This is one of the oldest and best known military institutions in the South, and as to drill exercises, characterized them as all being of the first order. On October 1 , 1 890, Colonel Asbury Coward assumed the duties of superintendent, a post which he was to hold for eighteen years. By the turn of the century the Citadel was once again a well-established institution in the educational system of South Carolina — and so ended Chapter V — a chapter which was a dominant part of the Citadel ' s history. Chapter V Chapter V closely resembles Chapter I, in that to reopen the school after seventeen years of hostile occupation was almost as tremendous a task as had been the actual initial movement in 1842. Equip- ment at the Citadel was either badly damaged or had Chapter VI Chapter VI deals with the steady development of the school during the period including the years 1900 to 1931. This particular period is not as spectacular as others, but. nevertheless, it was a period of growth that was to be the preface to the magnificent expan- [12:

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the nine streamers which were authorized by the Adjutant General of the State of South Carolina as recognition of the meritorious service rendered by the Corps of Cadets in the War Between the States. The participation of the Citadel cadets and Citadel gradu- ates in the war was outstanding, and it is impressive to note that Citadel cadets fired the first shot of the war from Cummings Point on Morris Island at the Star of the West, and that Citadel cadets were actively engaged in the last organized resistance of Confederate troops east of the Mississippi River, when a detachment of cadets engaged a unit of Federal cavalry at Williamston, South Carolina, on May 1, 1865. In all, forty-three graduates and seven cadets gave their lives for the Confederacy, and so closed the glorious Chapter III — indeed a noble story. Chapter IV Chapter IV is the revelation of the tragic era in the history of the Citadel Academy, and covers the period from 1865 to 1882. These years were the darkest in the institution ' s history, and had it not been for the small, but loyal. Alumni Association, the War Between the States would have caused the school to close permanently. Several months before the cadets had fought at Williamston, the victorious Union Army under General Sherman burned the Arsenal Academy at Columbia, and on February 18, 1865, Federal troops under the command of Lieutenant- Colonel Bennett entered Charleston, unopposed, and ran the Stars and Stripes up over the Citadel. For the next seventeen years the Academy ' s buildings housed a Federal garrison. In the interim, the fate of the Citadel ' s life was often in peril. But the fact that the buildings and grounds were occupied by Federal troops did not end the legal existence of the college, nor cause the alumni and friends of the Citadel to give up the hope that some day the gates again would be opened to receive cadets. These loyal friends of the institution never gave up in the battle for the preservation of the school, but the fact that the state was under military rule, and as the negroes and carpetbaggers consti- tuted the ruling element in the South Carolina legis- lature, the efforts of the alumni seemingly were vain. It was the contention of the alumni that the Citadel Academy was not a captured military post; but the Federal authorities would not grant permission to effect the reopening of the school. On October 30, 1869, the west wing of the Academy was destroyed by fire, and when this happened, many people thought that the institution could never be reopened. And, so, the Citadel lay dormant until August 20, 1877, when a committee of Alumni addressed to Governor Hamp- ton several documents, which he in turn was to present to the War Department and to President Hayes. These documents furnished conclusive proof that the Citadel was not a captured military post; but the Secretary of War was unfavorable to the idea of the committee of Alumni and the request was disap- proved. There was nothing that the Alumni could do other than to try again, and this they did the next year. The Alumni Association finally reorgan- ized on December 13, 1877, and on April 18, 1878. Governor Hampton appointed a new Board of Visi- tors, the chairman of which was General Johnson Hagood. This gave new life to the movement, and on June 4, 1878, a bill was introduced in the United States Senate which directed the Secretary of War to restore the Citadel buildings to the State of South Carolina. The movement gained further support when, on February 22, 1879, the Washington Light Infantry pledged support. In the light of these events, Cadet H. B. D ' Oyley, class of 1S57. [11]

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Laying of the cornerstone. New Citadel, Thanksgiving Day, 1920. sion that came about with the advent of General Charles P. Summerall in 1931. On October 1, 1908, Major O. J. Bond was appointed superintendent, and he served in this capacity until 1931. Two years after his appointment to the superintendency of the Acad- emy, the South Carolina Legislature aptly changed the name of the school from The South Carolina Mili- tary Academy to The Citadel, The Military Col- lege of South Carolina. Life at the military college was uneventful until 1917, when this nation was involved in the conflict later to be known as World War L As in the first major conflict to involve our nation, Citadel men answered the call to arms in this war, and once again there were those Citadel men who made the supreme sacrifice for their country and her cause. During the war the Students ' Army Train- ing Corps was installed at The Citadel, and although there were some changes in the physical form, these changes were not of such a nature as to interfere with the operation after the Armistice. Both at home and overseas The Citadel rendered distinctive service to the Allied cause. Marion Square, the traditional home of the Corps of Cadets, was found to have definite physical limi- tations that hindered the proper growth of The Citadel, and after the war there were hopes that the school might be enlarged. There were some who were quick to realize the potentialities of The Citadel in the near future, but they realized at the same time that the physical limitations of the location on Marion Square would not permit this logical expansion. It was thus concluded that a new location was a neces- sity, and a movement was activated to secure a new location. The Association of Graduates met on Janu- ary 21, 1920, to support the plans for a Greater Citadel. A large tract of land on the banks of the Ashley River was secured, and on November 25, 1920, the cornerstone of The Greater Citadel was laid in Hampton Park. By the fall of 1922 the new Citadel was ready for occupancy, and the last com- mencement exercises of the Old Citadel on Marion Square were held on June 13, 1922. The Citadel progressed beyond all expectations in the period sometimes referred to as the roaring twen- ties. In the new location there was great concen- tration of the development within, and almost every phase of cadet life was touched in this eff ort to pro- vide and maintain the high standards that had marked the institution in previous years. The military instruc- tion was now carried on in conjunction with the Reserve Officers ' Training Corps ' program as pre- scribed by the War Department, and in the annual inspections by the War Department, The Citadel was continually rated Excellent. The athletic program was stressed with a new vigor, and teams from The Citadel won outstanding recognition in the inter- collegiate competition. On December 5, 1924, The Citadel was accepted as a member of the Southern Association of Colleges, a signal distinction, in that this is a recognition of high academic standards. These and many other developments were in keeping with the progressive spirit of the nation. Everyone looked forward to periods hitherto unparalleled in our his- tory, and among the alumni there was great optimism concerning the future of their Alma Mater. This optimism was not without sound reasoning, and the alumni were not to be disappointed. Chapter VII Chapter VII in this story is one that tells of expan- sion, for The Citadel was expanded in both name and physical capacity to the extent that today the institution is recognized as one of the leading mili- [13]