I have a question that I hope you may be able to help with.

We have a flag in our museum inventory that was carried by the South Carolina Corps of Cadets from circa 1915 until 1937. It is made of white silk with gold fringe. The design is painted both sides. It consists of the Citadel emblem in the center (Palmetto Tree with the SC state seal, and a scroll labeled "The Citadel" and "1842". In a semi-circle across the top of the design are ten gold stars. This flag was apparently a gift from alumni in 1913 based on one sentence in a 1937 picture caption of the flag that replaced it.

In subsequent flags in which the design was embroidered these gold stars increased to 16 encircling the design. We have two flags bearing 16 stars in our collection, only one of which is suitable for display and which is on display in our museum.

The question is what might these stars represent?

My guess is that the 10 stars, The Citadel being a South Carolina institution, might perhaps represent the other ten states of the former Confederacy. The 16 stars might represent the eleven former Confederate states, the border states of Missouri and Kentucky, the Indian Territory, and the territories of New Mexico and Arizona claimed by the former Confederacy. The white silk represents perhaps stainless honor. I continue to search for the needle in the haystack for the scrap of information in our archives as well as scouring the Charleston newspapers but have not yet found anything definite.

C. Irvine Walker, an 1861 graduate of The Citadel, Adjutant of the 10th SC Infantry, was National Commander of the United Confederate Veterans 1912-1913 and instrumental in encouraging Confederate veterans to attend the Gettysburg 50th anniversary reunion. He and others may have had a hand in the presentation of this flag but, I have not yet found any solid evidence.

Gaines M. Foster in his book, Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, the Lost Cause, and the Emergence of the New South (Oxford University Press, 1987) argues that at this time, with the election of Woodrow Wilson, there was a rehabilitation or vindication of the South, and that "everyone realized the Confederates had 'made a bully-fite' of which "the whole American nation" felt proud."(194).

It was also during this time that the superintendent of The Citadel, Colonel Oliver Bond requested from Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, the return of a 15 inch hollow shot presented to The Citadel by General Beauregard in April 1863 which had made its way to West Point in 1865 at the close of the war. My guess is this flag and its symbolism was in keeping with the sentiments of the time with the national reconciliation.

Prior to this flag, the Corps carried as its regimental color a national color with "SC Corps of Cadets" embroidered on the fourth red stripe from the top.

Any assistance, insights, or leads you might be able to provide in this matter are greatly appreciated.

v/r

Steven Smith, MA
History Committee Chair
Citadel Alumni Association