Slavery and The University

https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/collections/show/9

The Guidon is a yearly manual provided to incoming Citadel cadets. These manuals cover just about every piece of general information one might anticipate that a cadet might need, including a broad history of the Citadel as an institution. The first guidon was published with the help of a local YMCA chapter, and was initially called The Palmetto. The earliest guidon available on the Citadel Digital archives site is the third volume for the school year 1919-1920.

In this volume the “Historical Sketch” starting on page 36 discusses the foundation of the Citadel as an entity which existed to protect the State of South Carolina, and begins its discussion of the Civil War by declaring that “Between January 9, 1861 and May 9 1865, what a tragic history was enacted!” (37). The Historical Sketch discusses the role of Citadel cadets in the Civil War, and then elaborates that the school would remain closed from the end of the war until 1861. In discussion of the earlier years of the Citadel, the Historical Sketch would remain generally unchanged in its text going into the 1950’s.

In the guidon of 1960-1961, the guidon’s historical sketch had changed. Instead of underscoring the actions of the Citadel’s cadets in general and individually, 1960-1961 would make a specific point to address that “The Citadel is the only college in America that can claim it fought as an organized unit in eight battles of the War Between the States” (37). 

The Historical Sketch of the guidon had changed once again by 1970-1971. Like the Guidons before it, this guidon’s narrative lent discussion to the Citadel’s hand in the Civil War. It actively describes “To the Citadel belongs the honor of firing the first shots of the War Between the States” (31). By 1990-1991, the Historical Sketch remained completely identical to that of 1970-1971, with only the single sentence of the prior quote being changed to the following: “It was the Citadel cadets who manned the cannon which fired the first shot of the War Between the States" (32).

By 2000-2001, the Historical Sketch was completely redone, with the Nullification crisis and rising tensions with the Northern states being credited as the impetus for the school’s foundation. It also lends a more in depth description of the Civil War spanning four pages on its own, discussing the battles, and some of the graduates and the cadets involved. The Historical Sketch would see minor changes by 2010-2011, while utilizing generally the same Sketch, however, now referring to the ‘War Between the States’ the “Civil War Period” (26)

By 2020-2021, the Guidon’s historical sketch was proactive in elaborating the discussion of slave insurrection and slavery as a whole in connection to the Citadel. It adds the Denmark Vessey Conspiracy is a seminal influence to the schools foundation, and also reduces the discussion of the Citadel in the Civil War to scarcely more than two pages.

The Sphinx is a yearbook publication that is released by the Citadel annually. With the first volume of the Sphinx being released with the turn of the 19th into the 20th Century, The Sphinx offers a section of the year book, which is committed to telling the story of the Citadel up to the date of its publication. In the discussion of the foundation of the Citadel, it lends discussion to the Nullification crisis, 'State’s Rights', and the Citadel’s role as a defender of the state. No future volumes of the sphinx carried this History segment, which was likely added to begin with in celebration of the school’s transition into the new century.

Over the years student newspapers have taken several forms. The first newspaper was named The Citadel News and followed a traditional newspaper style with students and faculty writing articles and op-ed pieces. It was renamed The Bulldog in 1924.The school's founders drew inspiration from Virginia Military Institute, and the Citadel News includes several mentions of the early relationship between the two schools. Memories of the Civil War were still fresh in the early 1900s, and as such students often wrote about the Citadel's role in the war. Notably, some articles were published excerpts from historical documents. Mentions of the college’s origins dwindle during World War II, as attention focused on the current war and the whereabouts of alumni in the armed forces. As students returned after 1945, the newspaper began to look more towards the future than the past. Thus, when the name changed to The Brigadier in the late 1950s, the newspaper mainly focused on school sports and news which meant there was little attention on school history. Starting with the centennial of the Civil War in 1961, more articles looked back at the school's role at the start of the war. Newspaper articles from1980's to the 2000's have followed the same trend, drawing on institutional histories and tradition in telling the Citadel's story with an emphasis on the school's participation in the Civil War.

The student newspaper in all its iterations can be found in the microfilm collections on the first floor of the Daniel Library. A sampling of newspaper articles is featured below.

"Changes vs. Fundamentals,” The Bull Dog (Charleston, SC), Nov. 24, 1942.

Deas, Alston. “Aspects of Charleston: Odds and Ends” The Citadel News (Charleston, SC), Dec. 19, 1929.

Dozier, Jas. C. “The Citadel to Get Battle Streamers for Part Played by Cadets in the War Between the States,” The Bull Dog (Charleston, SC), Nov. 10, 1942.

Kuneze, W. E. “Centennial Notes,” The Bull Dog (Charleston, SC), Oct. 6, 1942.

Neville, Larry. “Citadel Corps Launches Civil War Centennial,” The Brigadier (Charleston, SC), Jan. 14, 1961.

"R Company to Reenact Confederate Firing,” The Brigadier (Charleston, SC), Oct. 29, 1960.

"The Origins of the Citadel,” The Citadel News (Charleston, SC), April 1920.

     In the section of the Library that includes the Institutional histories of the Citadel there are two small volumes detailing the histories of two specific classes of the Citadel, the class of 1907 and the class of 1919.  These were produced by the respective classes and deal primarily with their time at the school. However, researchers can use these and any other that may exist to get an idea of what the Cadet classes thought of themselves, their history, and the world they lived in.

Hamond, James H. History of the Class of 1907 Edited by Joan Reynolds Faunt. State Printing Company, Columbia SC 1965

Library Call number: U-430.S6-1907c.3 

   This history provides a view of the Citadel during the early 20th Century and the decades immediately after its reopening and during the tenure of General Charles P. Summerall as Superintendent, when the student body of the school expanded to include cadets from outside of South Carolina and into other parts of the Country. Page 20 speaks about the founding narratives of the College, and with the efforts to move the campus from Marion Square to the current campus next to Hampton Park. 

Hart, JB et. al History of the Class of 1919 Edited by J.B. Hart et. al. Citadel Print Shop, Charleston SC 1969 

Library Call number: U-430.S6-1919c.4

     This history was created for the school by the first class to graduate after the First World War. Also written while the college was located in Marion Square, the descriptions in it are far more focused on the experiences of the cadets of that time than it is on the larger narrative of the school.  However, the text also displays a sense of place and is largely retrospective on the experiences of both the cadets and the world they existed in.