Early History of Chinese Cadets at The Citadel

Laura M. Bragg was born in 1881 to Lyman Daniel Bragg and Sarah Klotz Bragg. A native New Englander, she graduated from Simmons College in Boston in 1906 with a degree in library science, and worked as a librarian at the New York Public Library. In 1909, Ms. Bragg moved to Charleston from Massachusetts to be curator of books and public instruction at the Charleston Museum. Twelve years later she became director of the museum, a post she held from 1921 to 1931.

In addition to her role at the Charleston Museum, Ms. Bragg was also a co-founder of the Poetry Society of South Carolina and a founder of the Charleston Free Library. In the 1920s and '30s, when cadets from China attended The Citadel, Ms. Bragg befriended these cadets and introduced them to Charleston society. A collection in The Citadel Archives donated through Ms. Bragg's estate contains letters written to her by cadets from China while they were students in Charleston and in later years. A finding aid to this collection is available here. To learn more about Laura Bragg, we recommend the book A Bluestocking in Charleston: The Life and Career of Laura Bragg by Louise Anderson Allen.