HISTORICAL NOTES:

The Cadets of the Citadel were ordered to Morris Island on January 1, 1861 to construct and man a site on Morris Island in Charleston Harbor to command the channel to prevent reinforcement of Fort Sumter. On January 9, 1861, the Cadets fired on a Federal steamer, the Star of the West, as it approached Fort Sumter with 200 infantry troops. The Star of the West retraced its route and proceeded out of the harbor and back to New York.

History would date the beginning of the conflict from the bombardment of Fort Sumter, rather than the earlier firing three months before on the Star of the West. Thus, the Cadets were relieved of the burden of responsibility for the devastating conflict which was about to unfold.

In preparation for war efforts, on January 28,1861, the South Carolina General Assembly passed an act combining the Arsenal and Citadel into one institution:

I. That the Arsenal Academy and the Citadel Academy shall retain the same distinctive titles, but they shall together constitute and be entitled, "The South Carolina Military Academy."

II. That the officers and students thereof, organized as "a Public Guard," into one or more companies at each Academy, shall constitute a military corps, entitled "the Battalion of State Cadets. That said battalion shall be part of the military organization of the State, under the separate and immediate control of the Board of Visitors, and shall not be subject to the command of the militia officers, except when specially ordered for parade, review, or service by the commander-in-chief; that the officers of said battalion shall be commissioned by the Governor, with such rank and titles (the highest not exceeding that of Major) as the Board of Visitors may determine; provided nevertheless, that the officers of said battalion may be removed by the Board of Visitors and their commissions thereby vacated, in like manner as is now provided for in the second Section of the said Act, for the removal of professors of the Academy; that the said battalion of State Cadets, while habitually maneuvering as infantry, may yet maneuver in any arm of the service, and shall take the right of all troops of the same arm in which it may at any time parade.

III. That all graduates of the South Carolina Military Academy, in consideration of their four years service at the said Academy, shall be eligible to any commissioned office, not above the grade of colonel, in the military organization of the State.

Throughout the war, the Cadets of each school provided services to the state and Confederate governments. On December 18, 1942, in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of the Citadel, Gov. Richard M. Jefferies presented to the Corps of Cadets of The Citadel nine battle streamers denoting as many operations participated in by the Cadets during the war. All nine streamers are gray with blue inscriptions, with the exception of the "Confederate States Army" streamer which is inscribed in white. The streamers were presented for service at:
Star of the West January 9,1861
Wappoo Cut November 1861
James Island June 1862
Charleston and Vicinity July to October 1863
James Island June 1864
Tulifinny December 1864
James Island December 1864 to February 1865
Williamston May 1865
Confederate States Army

Field and Staff
Company A
Company B
Company A & B Arsenal Cadets

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

REFERENCE:

Information from Cadets in Gray, the Story of the Cadets of the South Carolina Military Academy and the Cadet Rangers in the Civil War by Gary R. Baker.