The Citadel Cadets

CSA Today

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Honored Fallen Comrade
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Location
Laurinburg NC
There were 224 living Citadel graduates when South Carolina announced it was seceding from the Union and 209 served in the confederate armed forces during the period referred to as The War Between the States (1861-1865). Of the 15 who did not serve 5 were ministers of the gospel, 2 were physicians, 2 civilian engineers for the confederate government, 1 railway official, 3 resided in California and one was studying in Germany. By proclamation, the South Carolina legislature declared that "all graduates of The South Carolina Military Academy (The Citadel) be qualified for officer status, up to Colonel," so most served as officers. Those alumni who did not graduate, but resigned in order to serve, were not necessarily granted officer rank.

On 9 January 1861 Citadel Cadets under the command of the college's Superintendent, Col. Peter Stevens, fired what many consider to be the first shots of the War Between the States when the battery at Morris Island opened fire on the federal ship Star of the West that had been ordered to re-supply the federal garrison manning Ft Sumter in Charleston harbor. The cadet battery was exceptionally accurate and by the 5/6th round the ship had turned about having been struck 3 times. South Carolina had already anounced its secession in December 1860 and this event served to accelerate other southern states to join the confederacy.

In June, 1862, 37 cadets resigned from The Citadel and enlisted, forming the famous "Cadet Rangers," later to participate in the largest cavalry battle of the war at Trevilian Station, Va. In that battle, two "Rangers" were killed-in-action and six were wounded-in-action. During the war, a total of 11 Cadet Rangers were wounded in action and 4 made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Battalion of State Cadets was formed by order of the Governor and was made up of the combined classes of Citadel and Arsenal cadets. Among their numerous engagements was the Battle of Tulifinney Creek, SC. This battle may be the only time in U.S. history that an entire student body participated in a combat engagement and fought as a unit...... suffering eight casualties in the fight. The Battalion never surrendered in battle and never retreated, in fact they were the last armed confederate force in SC, and they fought what is arguably the last skirmish of the war at Williamston, SC on May 1, 1865. They finally disbanded themselves at Newberry, SC Courthouse on May 9, 1865. It should be noted for historical purposes that a member of this unit, W. McKenzie Parker, 1868, was arguably the last battle casualty of The War east of the Mississippi River when killed by federal soldiers on May 12, 1865, also at Williamston.

The Citadel knows of 90 graduates and cadets ( those who resigned while a cadet to join the fight, and those called to serve in the Cadet battalion) who died in the war as a result of being combatants, to include those killed on the battlefield by hostile fire, those who died of wounds suffered on the battlefield, and those who died after contracting an illness on the battlefield. They are listed below to include the college's first graduate and first cadet combat deaths (KIA), as well as our first to be listed as Missing In Action (MIA). In total numbers, approximately 2275 students have been identified as having been enrolled as a cadet from 1842-1865 an estimated 325 were lost. There were 240 graduates (224 living at the time of hostilities) and 25% of those were lost. A known total of 31 cadets lost their lives serving in confederate forces during the war. Another result of the aftermath of this terrible conflict was that The Citadel was occupied by federal armed forces for 17 years reflecting the historical note that there were no graduating class's from 1865-1886.

As a result of actions on the battlefield by The Battalion of State Cadets, The Citadel earned the right to post nine "institutional" battle streamers for "significant participation in a battle of historical importance." Only VMI (one "institutional" streamer), Florida State, William & Mary and Univ. of Hawaii Army ROTC units (each with one) have also been authorized that right. The national service academies post the battle streamers of their respective services, but none for "institutional" participation by the cadet corps.

Much of Citadel record keeping was either lost, or intentionally destroyed, during the evacuation of the college in advance of Sherman's march into South Carolina in early 1865. Some records were transported to The Arsenal in Columbia as federal forces entered Charleston and physically occupied The Citadel for 17 years. Sherman's troops then marched on Columbia and many of the schools records that survived from Charleston were forever lost in the chaos that ensued. The data illustrated below is the result of referencing, and repeated cross-referencing, of SC state and local archives, family genealogy, books, Citadel record-keeping, on-line sources relating to Southern and South Carolina history of the period, even the engraving on various tombstones. Each name has been cross-referenced twice at a minimum, however one's unit and/or rank listed could be faulty due to eventual transfers/promotions. Research continues to uncover the identities of the other alumni who have made the ultimate sacrifice in answer to their state's call to arms and information from outside sources about alumni during this period is welcome. Dates, units, and rank can be erroneous due to record keeping, re-assignments, or promotions. On the list below, 'SOW' refers to one being a member of the battery on Morris Is. in 1861---a "Star of the West cadet".

Class Rank, Name, Unit Battle Death Date
1846 Col. Charles C. Tew (2nd NC) KIA, Sharpsburg September 17, 1862
1847 Lt. Col. Augustus J. Lythgoe (1st SC) KIA, Stones River, TN December 31, 1862
1849 Lt. Col. Franklin Gaillard (2nd SC) KIA, Wilderness, VA May 6, 1864
1850 Cpt. S. N. Kennerly (1st SC) KIA, Weldon RR, VA August 21, 1864
1851 Cpt. Thomas B. Colding (Ga. Volun.) KIA, Winchester, VA June 13, 1863
1851 Lt. Col. F. Gendron Palmer (Holcombe’s Legion) KIA, 2nd Manassas, VA September 14, 1862
1851 Col. Edward J. Walker (3rd Ga.) KIA, Atlanta August 21, 1864
1852 Cpt. W. S. Brewster (SCM 17th Reg) KIA, Fredericksburg, VA December 11, 1862
1852 Cpt. T. W. Fitzgerald (12th ALA) KIA, Chancellorsville, VA March 6, 1864
1852 Capt. George E. Gamble (SCM 3rd Reg) KIA, James Is., SC September 14, 1861
1852 Cpt. H. B. Housel (7th Fla.) Undetermined 1862
1852 Col. R. A. Palmer (2nd Miss.) KIA, 1st Manassas, VA (1st graduate KIA) July 21, 1861
1852 Lt. George Seabrook (1st SC) Battlefield Disease, Morris Is., SC April 2, 1861
1852 Maj. D. T. Williams (2nd SC) KIA, Gettysburg, PA July 2, 1863
1854 Col. D. G. Fleming (22nd SC) MIA, The Crater, VA July 30, 1864
1854 Cpt. C. T. Haskell (1st SC) KIA, Morris Is., SC July 10, 1863
1854 BG Micah Jenkins (Army of No. VA) KIA, Wilderness, VA May 6, 1864
1854 Cpt. J. S. Palmer (10th SC) KIA, Atlanta, GA July 22, 1864
1855 Cpt. J. M. Dean (7 ARK.) KIA, Shiloh, TN April 7, 1862
1856 Cpt. J. A. Evans KIA, Kinnesaw Mt., TN June 27, 1864
1856 Maj. J. A. Finch (6th SC) KIA, 2nd Manassas, VA August 30, 1862
1856 Cpt. J. H. Hart (12th SC) KIA, So. Mt., MD September 14, 1862
1856 Col. J. D. Nance (3rd SC) KIA, Wilderness, VA May 6, 1864
1856 Cpt. George A. Ross (Ark. Vol.) KIA 1861
1857 Col. C. W. McCreary (1st SC) KIA, Gravely Run, SC May 31, 1865
1857 Col. William D. Rutherford (3rd SC) KIA, Strasburg, VA October 13, 1864
1859 James E. Delorme Undetermined Undetermined 1859 Cpt. James L. Litchfield (7th SC) KIA, 2nd Manassas, VA September 13, 1862
1859 T. O. McCaslan (1st SC) KIA, 2nd Manassas, VA August 30, 1862
1859 Lt. G. M. McDowell (2nd SC) KIA, Gettysburg, PA July 3, 1863
1859 Col. William H. J. Mitchell (17th SC) MIA, Petersburg, VA (1st MIA) June 18, 1864
1859 Maj. W. P. Shooter (1st SC) KIA, Spotsylvania, PA May 12, 1864
1859 Col. O. J. Youmans (2nd SC) KIA, Wilderness, VA May 6, 1864
1860 Lt William Alisson (__) KIA, Unknown May 4, 1862
1860 Frank DeCardeuc (1st SC) Battlefield Disease, Staunton, VA November 3, 1863
1860 Maj. E. A. Erwin (1st SC) KIA, Morris Island, SC September 7, 1863
1860 Capt. Francis H. Harleston (1st SC) KIA, Ft. Sumter, SC November 24, 1863
1860 2/Lt. S. S. Kirby (Palmetto Light Artillery) KIA, Rivers Bridge, SC February 2, 1865
1860 2/Lt. Joshua Moses (3rd Palmetto) KIA, Ft. Blakely, Al. April 9, 1865
1860 Cpt. J. Nettles (10th SC) Died while POW January 14, 1863
1861 Lt Robert S. Bryce KIA, Chicamauga, GA September 22, 1863
1861 1/Lt. James H. Burns (6th NC ) KIA, Gettysburg, PA July 2, 1863
1861 D. P. Campbell (11th SC ) KIA, Pocataglio, SC October 22, 1862
1861 Lt. J. J. Coward (5th SC ) KIA, Seven Pines, VA June 1, 1862
1861 Capt. Randall Croft (16th SC SOW CADET) Battlefield disease, Aiken, SC July 26, 1862
1861 1/Lt James Horlbeck (3rd SC Arty SOW Cadet) WIA, Avasboro, NC died from wounds 13 Jan 1866
1861 1/Lt. John Dosier Lee (9th SCV ) KIA, Gaines Mill, VA June 30, 1862
1861 J. C. Palmer (24th SC ) KIA, Chicamauga, GA September 19, 1863
1861 Maj. John Marshall Whilden (23rd SC SOW Cadet) KIA, 2nd Manassas, VA August 30, 1862
1861 Nicholas Wilson (12th SC ) KIA, Sharpsburg, MD September 17, 1862
1861 T. H. Wylie (6th SC) WIA, Seven Pines, VA 1862-06-05 Died of wounds1865-11-17
1862 Lt Thomas B. Alisson (__) WIA 1865, In Virginia Died of wounds1866-10
1862 Cpt. G. B. Dyer (2nd SC ) KIA, Cold Harbor, VA June 1, 1864
1862 Capt. G. M. Lalane (25th SC ) KIA, James Island, SC July 30, 1863
1862 Cadet Ranger G. A McDowell (6th SC) KIA, Johns Island, SC February 9, 1864
1862 William McKewn (5th SC ) KIA, Fredericksburg, VA December 14, 1863
1862 Lt. J. T. Norris (19th SC) KIA, Stones River, TN January 10, 1863
1863 2/Lt. John A. Craig (21st SC) KIA, Drury's Bluff, VA May 16, 1864
1863 J. B. Dotterer (24th SC) KIA, New Hope Church, GA May 24, 1864
1863 Cadet Ranger John S. Dutart (6th SC Cavalry) KIA, Johns Island, SC February 9, 1864
1863 William Gregg (21st SC) KIA, Gaines Mill, VA June 29, 1863
1863 P. Hamilton (24th SC) KIA, Chickamauga, GA September 19, 1863
1863 Col. M. B. Humphrey (6th SC "Cadet Ranger") KIA, Bentonville, NC April 30, 1865
1863 John C. Neil (Palmetto Sharpshooters) KIA, 2nd Manassas, VA August 30, 1862
1863 "Cadet Ranger" W. J. Nettles (6th SC Cavalry) KIA, Franklin, TN October 27, 1864
1863 Maj. T.A. Quattlebaum (7th SC SOW Cadet) MIA, The Crater, VA July 30, 1864
1863 William Mason Smith (27th SC) KIA, Cold Harbor, VA June 1, 1864
1864 Cadet Ranger A.W. Dozier (6th SC) Died from POW wounds, POW Confinment June 2, 1869
1864 Cpt. A. F. Miller (1st SC) KIA, Petersburg, VA November 30, 1864
1864 "Cadet Ranger" James O. Sheppard (6th SC) KIA, Trevilian Station, VA June 12, 1864
1864 Cadet Ranger Joseph Willingham (__) KIA, Fayettville, NC Jan 1865
1865 "Cadet Ranger" Ross Davis (6th SC) KIA, Petersburg June 12, 1864
1865 George W. McKenzie (2nd SC) KIA, Mt. Jackson, VA January 4, 1864
1865 R. F. Nichols (add 7th SC) Battlefield Disease December 10, 1864
1865 W. J. B. Patterson (Battalion of State Cadets) KIA, Tulifinny Creek, SC (first cadet KIA) December 7, 1864 1866 John Culbreath (7th SC) Battlefield Disease April 17, 1865
1866 B. T. Gibbs (16th SC) Battlefield Disease March 12, 1864
1866 H. S. Morrison Battlefield Disease August 16, 1863
1866 William Ravenel Battlefield Disease August 23, 1863
1867 Brooks (6th SC Cavalry) June 12, 1864
1867 Joseph P. Huger (Manigaults Battalion) KIA, Ft. Sumter, SC April 13, 1864
1867 Joseph E. Sams (8th SC) Battlefield Disease March 22, 1865
1868 Albert O. Brown (26th SC) Battlefield Disease January 29, 1865
1868 George O. Buck (7th SC) Battlefield Disease January 22, 1865
1868 George Grant (18th SC) MIA, Bentonville, NC March 21, 1865
1868 Thomas Albert Johnson (7th SC) Battlefield Disease March 23, 1865
1868 Osma Knox Battlefield Disease November 28, 1864
1868 Johnnie C. Mangrum (26th SC) Battlefield Wounds 1866
1868 Robert E. Muldrow (25th SC) Battlefield Disease April 7, 1865
1868 Russell Noble (7th SC) Battlefield Disease January 12, 1865
1868 W. McKenzie Parker (Battalion of State Cadets) KIA, Williamston, SC (last confederate death) May 9, 1865

The Citadel flag posted here is believed to be the original 'Big Red,' the flag flown on Jan. 9, 1861, when Citadel cadets fired on the Star of the West.

1902933_699337256814398_7952471763714066097_n.jpg
 
One typo I noticed in looking at the list in the OP. Colonel C. W. McCreary (Class of 1857), 1st South Carolina, was killed in Virginia during the Battle of Gravelly Run, also called the Battle of White Oak Road, on March 31, 1865. This action occurred on the left (west) flank of Lee's Petersburg and was a lead-in to the disaster at Five Forks the following day.
 
The first on the list, Col. Charles C. Tew of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry, was killed in the Sunken Road at Antietam. John B. Gordon mentions in his memoirs that Tew was shot through the head in the first exchange of fire.

I was also wondering about Lt. Col. Augustus J. Lythgoe, since there wasn't a 1st South Carolina at Stones River. I looked him up and found that he was actually in command of the 19th South Carolina Infantry at the time, which was in Manigault's Brigade. Here he is on Find A Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=49043167
 
The location where Cpt. J. M. Dean was killed at Shiloh is where they decided to place the Arkansas monument. By the time of the battle he had been promoted to Lt. Col and was in command of the 7th Arkansas as the former commander, Colonel Robert Shaver had been elevated to brigade command. He went down with a shot through the neck roughly 20-30 yards in front of Munch's 1st Minnesota Battery. It's very likely that the fatal round came from someone in the 12th Iowa.
 
Here is a compiled list of alumni of the Citadel (or the South Carolina Military Academy as it was known then) who served at Gettysburg:

(One soldier as noted attended the Arsenal Military Academy in Columbia, South Carolina, which instructed first-year students before they completed their education at the Citadel.)

-Brigadier General Evander McIver Law, commanding division, graduated 1856
-Colonel Pinckney Downie Bowles, 4th Alabama, attended 1852-1854
-Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Gaillard, 2nd South Carolina, attended 1845–
-1st Lieutenant William R. Powell, Company B, 2nd South Carolina, graduated 1851
-Private Gerard B. Dyer, Company B, 2nd South Carolina, graduated 1862
-3rd Lieutenant Oliver Johnston Youmans, Company C, 2nd South Carolina, graduated 1859
-Captain George Marshall McDowell, Company F, 2nd South Carolina, graduated 1859, mortally wounded July 2
-2nd Lieutenant William Calvin Vance, Company F, 2nd South Carolina, graduated 1861
-Private Samuel Gourdin Pinckney, Company I, 2nd South Carolina, attended 1861-1862
-Colonel James Drayton Nance, 3rd South Carolina, graduated 1856
-Assistant Surgeon Richard Coleman Carlisle, 7th South Carolina, graduated 1855
-Private F. M. Farr, Company F, 15th South Carolina, graduated 1863, wounded, captured
-Colonel Samuel Bonneau Pickens, 12th Alabama, graduated 1861
-Captain James Hall Burns, Company E, 6th North Carolina, graduated 1861, killed July 1
-Lieutenant Colonel James Aiken, 13th Alabama, graduated 1851
-Major Charles W. McCreary, commanding 1st South Carolina, graduated 1857
-Captain W. P. Shooter, Company E, 1st South Carolina, graduated 1859
-Major Isaac Foster Hunt, 13th South Carolina, attended
-Major Edward Croft, 14th South Carolina, graduated 1856, wounded
-Captain James Boatwright, Company B, 14th South Carolina, (reportedly) attended
-Private Joseph O. Brunson, Company D, 14th South Carolina, attended Arsenal Military Academy, wounded
-Major Thomas Sumter Mills, Asst. Adj. Gen. to Maj. Gen. R. H. Anderson, (reportedly) attended
-Colonel Edward J. Walker, 3rd Georgia, graduated 1851
-Captain Henry Saxon Farley, staff of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, (reportedly) attended
-1st Lieutenant Robert S. Bryce, Company E, 4th North Carolina Cavalry, graduated 1861
-Captain James F. Hart, commanding an artillery battery, graduated 1857
 
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