In April 1861 South Carolina seceded from the Union and tensions were running high. The Federals, still in possession of Fort Sumter in the harbor at Charleston, were determined to not to give up the sea fort without a fight.
Stationed on nearby Morris Island was a small military post, Fort Morris, manned by cadets from The Citadel, the South Carolina Military Institute. As the ship “Star of the West“, sent by President Buchanan to supply the garrison at Fort Sumter, cruised into the harbor, the group of student military officers blasted the very first shots of the Civil War. The “Star of the West” took heed of the warning, turned around, and hightailed it out of the harbor.
The Citadel cadets had a special red flag presented to them by the daughters of the man who owned the island. This flag was known as “Big Red.” It had a white palmetto and crescent on a field of red.
Later on in April of 1865, one of the Citadel cadets who had fired the first shot at Fort Sumter was serving as the commander of an artillery unit in Mobile Bay, and had possession of that original flag. But the banner fell into the hands of the Union’s 20th Iowa.
Although “Big Red” disappeared after the capture, it grew as a symbol of pride for the Citadel’s Corps of Cadets who were using reproductions of the original prized banner. Miraculously in 2007, the original “Big Red” reappeared in Iowa. The flag had been in storage and remained in surprisingly good condition. Experts were able to determine that it was in fact the original.
The flag went back to South Carolina to it’s rightful place – in the hands of the cadets at The Citadel where it remains on display for all to see.
More about the Citadel:
Of the six Senior Military Colleges that train the branches of the U. S. Armed Forces with the highest of standards, five are in the South. One of them is the Citadel, established in 1842.
Graduates of the this college have served in every war since that time, beginning with the Mexican-American War of 1846. Many have had outstanding careers including generals, astronauts, and FBI agents. Who brought to justice John Dillinger, the infamous gangster during the Depression? The FBI agent and Citadel grad Melvin Purvis.
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