Maybe she will also talk to the Citadel and the Iowa Historical Society, that would be interesting.

From Citadel's web site "Knob Knowledge". I guess this is from the original research on the Citadel flag that they are referring to in their report.

(During the War, the Arsenal and Citadel continued to operate as military academies, however, classes were often disrupted when the governor called the cadets into military service. Even before January 28, however, the Citadel Academy, its officers and Cadets were called on to perform military duties. A laboratory at the Citadel was set aside for the manufacture of ammunition,26 and on January 9, 1861, Citadel Cadets manning an artillery battery on Morris Island fired the first hostile shots of the Civil War, repulsing the federal steamship Star of the West, carrying supplies and two hundred federal troops dispatched by President Buchanan to reinforce Union Forces garrisoned at Fort Sumter.27 During the Star of the West incident, the Cadets flew as their banner a unique flag, observed by eye witnesses on the federal steamer, and described in a dispatch by a Union Officer at Fort Sumter as "a flag with a red field, and a white palmetto tree."28 A depiction of this flag flying over the Cadet battery on Morris Island can be seen in the Star of the West mural in Daniel Library, and replicas of the flag are now used as the spirit flag of The Citadel Corps of Cadets, known affectionately as "Big Red".

This is reference note 28 (Harpers Weekly January 26, 1861 edition. This edition includes the eye witness account of a reporter on board the Star of the West that day, along with the eye witness account of John McGowan, Captain of the steamship. A fine illustration on P. 52, of the issue, depicts the Morris Island battery firing on the Star of the West. O.R., Series 1 / Vol. 1, Communication of Captain J.G. Foster, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to General Jos. G. Totten, Chief Engineer, U.S.A. Washington D.C. January 21, 1865.)

The flag they are referring to does not have a crescent moon on it and it is one of the four eyewitness statements we sent them on the Morris Island flag. I think the lack of eyewitness seeing a crescent moon on the flag, a very honored symbol in South Carolina history, is important.

The following is a list of battles the Corps of Cadets took part in, it would seem to me that these are the guys that would of had the Morris Island flag, rather then sending it off with Culpeper's Battery.

(During the Civil War, mounting and manning heavy guns, guard duty and escorting prisoners were among the military duties most frequently performed by Cadets. Early in the war, Cadets were called upon to train raw recruits in newly formed military units.33 Cadets traveled as far north as Virginia to conduct training of troops at the front lines.34 However, members of the Corps of Cadets and its officers actively participated in several campaigns and engagements in defense of Charleston and South Carolina during the War. The regimental colors of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets carries eight battle streamers and one service streamer for the following campaigns and engagements by the Corps of Cadets35:
Star of the West, January 9, 1861
Wappoo Cut, November 1861
James Island, June 1862
Charleston and Vicinity, July to October 1863
James Island, June 1864
Tulifinny, December 1864
James Island, December 1864 to February 1865
Williamston, May 1865)

Happy Trails!
Tom Martin