The Citadel Museum

We went back to the Citadel this afternoon to visit the Museum. Neither John nor I could remember if the Citadel was a high school or a college. We remember the controversy when a woman tried to be admitted to this bastion of Southern male dominence, but not much else. (Today the student body is 10% women.) We talked to the young woman at the admission desk and learned that: 1) it is a college; 2) the graduates do not have any military obligation unless they are attending on a ROTC scholarship although they can get a commission on graduation; 3) the students do wear uniforms since they are a Corps of Cadets; and 4) we didn’t see much activity on campus because graduation was last week-end.


They’ve done a nice job with their museum and it focuses strictly on the institution’s history. Evidently a former museum had a lot of miscellaneous military “stuff” on display but it’s been pared down.

The Citadel has a long history since it was established in the early 1800s as a Military Guard in downtown Charleston, along with a similar facility known as the Arsenal in Columbia, South Carolina. In 1842 the Governor decided there should be education along with the guard duty and the South Carolina Military Academy was established encompassing both facilities. Students replaced troops and received education and military training. The cadets had an active role in the Civil War and the Citadel was closed in 1865 when Union troops took Charleston. General Sherman was expected to come and burn Charleston down so all of the Citadel's records were sent to the Arsenal for safekeeping. Unfortunately Sherman burnt Columbia instead and all the records were lost. The flag displayed here was captured by the Union Army and returned to the school many years later. The Citadel didn't reopen until 1882. The Arsenal never did.

In 1922 a new facility was built on the Ashley River. It was out of town then. Today, although it is out of the historic district, but I would consider it still in the main part of town.