Compelling Citadel Campus

The current Citadel campus dates to 1922, built along an Ashley River bluff that was once known as Indian Hill. During colonial times, the 76-acre area was a dueling ground and used for to train militia. Moved from its original location on Marion Square, where the first cadets attended classes in 1843, the new classrooms and barracks were built as copies of the old Romanesque castle style.
New traditions were quickly born, as the Avenue of Remembrance was created in 1928 with memorials honoring graduates killed in military service. The famed Summerall Guard was created in as a precision drill team, and by 1932, Charleston crowds would take trolleys to the campus to watch parade ground marches and exercises, and the Friday afternoon dress parade is still a great custom today.
During World War II, 10,000 Army recruits trained at the Citadel campus, and the corps of cadets boasted a higher percentage of graduates serving in the armed forces than any other college other than the federal service academies.
One of World War II’s most famous generals, Mark Clark, became president of the Citadel in 1953, and under his leadership, area marshes were filled, new barracks and halls were built, as well as an athletic field house, a new football stadium, and a 90-foot carillon bell tower. Gen. Clark died in 1984, and is buried on the campus today.
The Citadel is part of the South Carolina state education system today, and besides its corps of cadets, features a highly-regarded civilian graduate school program. Hoever, it is the corps that keeps the mystique of the Citadel intact, and a visit to the Citadel Museum on campus offers a great testimonial to the academy’s service to our nation.