Slavery and The University

Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. “Official Registers of Officers and Cadets, 1849-1864; 1883-1930.” Archival Collection. Charleston, SC, 1849-1930. The Citadel Archives Digital Collections. https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/collections/show/2.

This collection of directories provides yearly information on students, officers, faculty, and staff at the Citadel and the Arsenal Academy. The order and scope of the information changes from year to year, but in general each register contains a list of names associated with the institution along with  ranks, subjects taught, where they were from, and assorted other comments as applicable.  These records help identify who was associated with the institution during the antebellum period and in what capacity or capacities, which is important foundational research for checking against records identifying slaveholders. Other details, including home towns, which school they were associated with, and what years they were active at the Citadel, can also help to crosscheck information found in other records where names might be common or incomplete. At least fourteen faculty members listed in these records have been tentatively identified as enslavers including Professor of History, Belles-Lettres and Ethics Captain A. H. Brisbane, who in 1850 owned more than fifty individuals on his plantation outside of Charleston. The Citadel Archives holds these records from 1849 through 1930, excluding 1866-1881 when the school closed following the Civil War. They are all digitized and available online with transcriptions.

Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Register of Graduates of The Citadel, 1846-1922. Charleston, SC: The Citadel Archives and Museum, 1922. https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/1387.

This pamphlet gives information on all Citadel graduates as of its publication in 1922. As applicable, it gives each student's graduation year, profession(s), any military affiliation(s), and year of death. For many it also includes information on participation in or significant injuries during important battles. Before the end of the Civil War the Citadel matriculated around 260 students, many of whom had post-graduation careers as planters or in the Confederate military, providing evidence for potential slaveholding activity. This resource is digitized and transcribed online through the Citadel Archives.

Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. “Board of Visitor Meeting Minutes of the Citadel, 1842-1864; 1883-1930.” Archival Collection. Charleston, SC, 1842-1930. The Citadel Archives Digital Collections. https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/collections/show/1.

These handwritten meeting minutes contain detailed information about administrative decisions made regarding the Citadel and the Arsenal Academy in Columbia. Notably this includes budgetary information, which often mentions servant expenses, and the names of all admitted students. In the Antebellum period alone this includes over two thousand individuals associated with these institutions. These names provide important foundational information that can be used to identify potential slaveholding among early cadets, showing the scope of the practice within the institutional hierarchy. Details like home town and years of admittance and graduation, can also help to crosscheck information in other records where names might be common or incomplete. The Citadel Archives holds these records from 1842 through 1930, excluding 1866-1881 when the school closed following the Civil War. They are all digitized and available online with transcriptions.

South Carolina Department of Archives and History. “South Carolina, U.S., Death Records, 1821-1969.” Archival Collection. South Carolina, 1821-1969. Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/8741/.

These city health department records contain a chronological list of all deaths that occurred within the city of Charleston. Prior to emancipation, the entries for enslaved people in these records often contained the name of the people or institutions that enslaved them. They also contain information on where they lived, place of burial, their age, race, cause of death, physician's name, and for children sometimes the name of their parents. While these records are likely incomplete due to the nature of nineteenth century record keeping, particularly for enslaved people, they contain valuable information given that many other sources like slave schedules lack personal details about enslaved people. In preliminary research at least six Citadel faculty and Board of Visitors members have been identified in these records as slaveholders, including six individuals enslaved by Quartermaster and Bursar A. H. Mazyck at the time of their deaths. These are digitized online by Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, and while "enslaver" is not an available search criteria itself, the name of the enslaver is usually included with the name of the deceased. For example, an entry for an enslaved person name Robert owned by John Smith might be hand written in the records as "Robert - John Smith" or "Robert/John Smith," they are often transcribed in these databases as "Robert John Smith."

United States Census Bureau. “1850 US Federal Census- Slave Schedules.” Archival Collection. Washington, DC, 1850, National Archives and Records Administration, via FamilySearch.com. 

The 1850 United States Federal Census Slave Schedule is an index of the name of enslavers, the number of individuals they enslaved, and what county or district the enslaver owned enslaved individuals. The index typically does not include the names of the enslaved, but it frequently identifies their age, sex, birth year, and color. The data in the 1850 Slave Schedule is useful to researchers seeking to uncover the extent of slaveholding among Citadel Faculty, Staff, and Board members. Preliminary research indicates that 26 Faculty, Staff, and Board members enslaved a total of 1,062 individuals in the year 1850. Additional research may uncover additional data.

United States Census Bureau. “1860 US Federal Census- Slave Schedules.” Archival Collection. Washington, DC, 1860, National Archives and Records Administration, via FamilySearch.com. 

The 1860 United States Federal Census Slave Schedule is an index of the name of enslavers, the number of individuals they enslaved, and what county or district the enslaver owned enslaved individuals. The index typically does not include the names of the enslaved, but it frequently identifies their age, sex, birth year, and color. The data in the 1860 Slave Schedule is useful to researchers seeking to uncover the extent of slaveholding among Citadel Faculty, Staff, and Board members. Preliminary research indicates that 19 Faculty, Staff, and Board members enslaved a total of 826 individuals in the year 1860. Additional research may uncover additional data.

The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Patrick, John B. Civil War Journals, 1861-1865. Charleston, SC: The Citadel Archives and Museum. https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/collections/show/25.

John B. Patrick was a member of The Citadel's Class of 1855. From 1859 to 1865, Patrick taught at the Arsenal Academy in Columbia as a Professor of Mathematics. He served as Secretary for the Board of Visitors from 1862-1865, and was Lieutenant in charge of the Battalion of State Cadets during the Civil War. His Civil War journals from 1861-1865 provide insight for researchers interested in slaveholding among a student, faculty, and board member at The Citadel. Preliminary research reveals that he frequently references enslaved "servants" in his journal entries, and additional research may reveal additional information. 

The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Capers, Ellison Collection, 1861-1865. Charleston, SC: The Citadel Archives and Museum. https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/collections/show/4.

Ellison Capers (1837-1908) was a part of The Citadel’s class of 1857. After he graduated, he taught at The Citadel before joining the Confederacy. During the Civil War, he was appointed Brigadier General. After the war, Capers entered the ministry, and became consecrated assistant bishop of South Carolina in 1887. The Ellison Capers Collection at The Citadel Archives includes a diary and letters written from 1861 to 1865, mostly to Capers’ wife. Researchers will find this accessible digital collection useful in identifying slaveholding in a Citadel student and faculty member. Preliminary research reveals that Capers references enslaved “servants” in his household in his diary entries, and additional research may uncover additional information.

Coward, Asbury Collection. The Citadel Archives & Museum, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/collections/show/21.

 The Asbury Coward Collection consists of diary entries and letters written by Coward that serve as a biography of Coward’s life from his birth in 1835 until his death in 1925. Coward was a graduate of the Citadel, who fought as a General for the Confederacy during the Civil War and went on to serve as President of the Citadel for 19 years. 

 Detailed in “Memoirs of Asbury Coward Part Two, Circa 1835-1855,” (Pg.3) is how Coward manifested the funds to pay for his admittance into the Citadel as a cadet. Described is the transaction involving enslaved persons between Asbury and his uncle James Coward. This section of the Coward Collection will prove useful to researchers due to its relevance indicating that Coward was an active slave holder during his time at the Citadel.  

In "My Dear Children...Third Decade” (Note 31, Box 4, Folder 3, P. 19) Coward’s state of affairs after the Civil War is described. Emancipation and the end of the war brought with it an economic downfall for Coward and planters like him. The information provided here will be helpful to researchers due to the context given indicating Coward’s attitude surrounding the freeing of slaves as well as the general perspective of other White men in his position. Furthermore, these details will prove useful to researchers in that they give critical insight as to how White planters leveraged the institution of slavery over antebellum society. 

 Entailed in “My Dear Children” (note 22, Box 4, Folder 1, p. 5) is an account of Coward’s childhood living on the plantations his father, Jesse Coward, managed around Charleston. The particulars produced in this text will prove useful to researchers due to it giving an idea as to how Coward and other boys like him were expected to act in the social climate of prominent White planters and slaveholders. Moreover, this source gives insight into the experiences that influenced Coward’s decision to attend the Citadel and serves as a critical reflection to the attitudes youth in Coward’s position held. 

 Portrayed in the “Letter from Asbury Coward to his wife Elise, January 22, 1863,” Coward discuss a theft that took place in Elise’s house, pinning the theft on their servants and advising Elise to be more guarded with her possessions around untrustworthy servants. Researchers will find this information beneficial due to the diction used by Coward that directly alludes to his thoughts and actions toward unsatisfactory slaves.