Citadel believes it has found the original ‘Big Red,' its Civil War-era flag

CHARLESTON -- In the days leading to the Civil War, a battery of Citadel cadets on Morris Island fired at the supply ship “Star of the West” as it approached Fort Sumter, forcing the ship to turn around.

A red palmetto flag flew over the cadets during the attack on Jan. 9, 1861, which marked a victory for them, and was a significant precursor to the war.

The war officially began on April 12, 1861, with the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter. But some Citadel alumni and others consider the shots fired at “Star of the West” to be the first shots of the Civil War.

The red palmetto flag, a symbol of victory in that battle, became a powerful symbol for the state's military college. The school adopted a replica of the red palmetto flag as its “spirit flag” in 1992 and called it “Big Red.” But nobody knew, until now, what happened to the original flag.

The school has found what almost certainly is the original, Civil War-era “Big Red” in a museum in Iowa. The flag was donated to the museum by a Civil War veteran from Iowa in 1919, and has been sitting in a storage closet for nearly a century.

The State Historical Society of Iowa, which owns the flag, and a history committee from The Citadel Alumni Association have determined through forensic and historical research that the flag in Iowa is very likely the one that flew on Morris Island on Jan. 9, 1861.

Finding the original flag is great news for The Citadel, said Ted “Tex” Curtis, chairman of the Citadel Historical Council and a 1964 graduate of the school. The flag is not only “a priceless, historic artifact,” he said. “It literally is The Citadel. It goes right to the beginning.”

After seeing a photograph of the original flag, Citadel leaders now know that the replica they have been using has historical inaccuracies, Curtis said.

A committee of the school's Board of Visitors voted Thursday to begin using the historically correct version of the flag as its “spirit flag,” and to assign intellectual property rights in “Big Red” to The Citadel Alumni Association. The full board will take a final vote on the matter today.

The flag in the Iowa museum has a red background with a large white palmetto tree in the center and an inward-facing white crescent in the upper-left corner. The replica the school has been using has a smaller white palmetto tree on a red background, with a white outward-facing crescent in the upper-left corner.

The direction of the crescent is important, Curtis said, because an inward-facing crescent was, at the time, a common symbol of secession in the Charleston area.

The fact that the flag in Iowa carries the secession symbol makes it more likely that it is the flag that flew on Morris Island, he said.

Ed Carter, president of The Citadel Alumni Association, said his group is now in discussions with the State Historical Society of Iowa about bringing the flag to The Citadel on long-term loan.

Michael O. Smith, director of Iowa's State Historical Museum, said the museum has a collection of Civil War battle flags. The red palmetto flag was donated to the museum by Willard Baker in 1919. Baker, a Civil War veteran, said only that he “got the flag in Mobile, Ala., at the end of the Civil War,” Smith said. Baker didn't say specifically how he got the flag, Smith said. Because museum officials have such limited information about how he acquired it, they can't guarantee the flag is original, he said, but added that it likely is.

A report from the Citadel Alumni Association's Historic Council, a four-member group that has been researching the flag for nearly two years, states that Baker was a private in a volunteer infantry unit involved in the capture of Fort Blakeley, which is near Mobile, Ala., in April 1865.

The report also states that according to historical records, Capt. James F. Culpepper, an 1854 graduate of the Citadel Academy, and his battery were at Fort Blakeley when it fell.

Culpepper had been a student of Maj. Peter F. Stevens, who was superintendent of The Citadel during the time “The Star of the West” was fired upon and commander of cadets on Morris Island.

According to the report, a news report in 1861 stated that the Hugh Vincent family designed a red palmetto flag and presented it to Stevens between Jan. 1 and 4, 1861, to be used by the Citadel battery at Fort Morris.

It's likely that Culpepper and his men had the flag when they arrived at Fort Blakeley, and that Baker got the flag from them, and brought it home to Iowa, Curtis said.

Curtis and Smith said The Citadel and the State Historical Society of Iowa shared research and came to the same conclusions about the flag's likely authenticity. Curtis said the important factors included: the inward-facing crescent; results of forensic tests; written historical accounts; and similarities between the red palmetto flag and the other flags known to have been made by flag-maker Hugh Vincent.

Smith said the flag has been in a storage closet since 1919. Officials knew it was from South Carolina because of the palmetto, but they didn't know the flag's significance.

Curtis said a woman, who wants to remain anonymous, posted information about the flag on the Internet in 2007. Some Citadel alumni saw it and began conducting research with the State Historic Society of Iowa. It took nearly two years to determine the huge 10-foot-by-7-foot flag was likely the original “Big Red,” Carter said.

“Until now, nobody knew what the real ‘Big Red' looked like,” he said. But soon, he said, “you'll see it on license plates, T-shirts, logos and decals.”

Civil War Use of "Big Red"

"Big Red" was not the flag raised over Fort Sumter. It was flown over a seacoast battery in early 1861 manned by Cadets from the South Carolina Military Institute, better known as The Citadel.
Devereaux Cannon, 9 June 1999

In early 1861, after South Carolina seceded from the United States, her military forces took possession of all military installations around Charleston harbor, except Fort Sumter. One of the smaller installations, or batteries, was manned by cadets from the South Carolina Military Institute (known as "The Citadel"). The flag flown over the battery manned by the Citadel cadets was a red field with the palmetto and crescent. These cadets had the distinction of having actually fired the first shots in what was to become the war. They fired warning shots at the steamer "Star of the West", which had been dispatched by U.S. President Buchanan to supply the garrison at Fort Sumter. The "Star of the West" turned back, avoided the opening of hostilities at that point in time.
Devereaux Cannon, 5 February 2000

I thought you might be interested in a fascinating development concerning this flag. Many alumni feel that a flag recently spotted in Iowa is the original, one and only Big Red. See: http://www.iowaflags.org/gallery/confederate.htm. It was captured in April 1865 at Mobile by the 20th Iowa. The only South Carolina unit involved was an Artillery unit commanded by a Citadel grad and included three brothers of Cadet Moses - a member of the Morris Island battery that fired on The Star of The West.
Don't know if absolute identity can be established. We hope to regain custody of it.
Burnam Taylor, Citadel 1961, 23 March 2007

As a follow-up on my notes from March about the discovery of what is believed to be the original Big Red in Iowa I find the following in the draft minutes of the Citadel Alumni Association (CAA) Fall Board Meeting , Saturday, Sept 8, 2007:
"Colonel Pohl ('76, CAA president) introduced BG Hugh B. Tant III, '71, who presented a report on the Red Palmetto Flag currently housed at the Iowa Historical Society Museum. He prefaced his remarks by commending members of The Citadel Historical Council, headed by Col. William H. Buckley, '71 for their efforts to research and rediscover some of the college's history. Reviewing the role of Citadel cadets in the events that took place 1861-1865, he proceeded to explain the origins of the Big Red Flag. He related the various sources documenting that the flag was flown at Morris Island and Fort Sumter when the shots were fired on the Star of the West. Research also has linked the flag to events that took place at Fort Blakely in Alabama in April 1865. The Union forces were led primarily by troops from Iowa, Indiana and other Northern states. The only South Carolina unit there - ultimately defeated by the Union forces - was the Palmetto Battery commanded by Captain Culpeper, Citadel Class of 1854. This unit also included former Citadel cadets who were brothers of Cadet Moses, Class of 1862, who took part in the firing on the Star of the West. The Big Red Flag currently held by the Iowa Historical Museum was presented to the Iowa Historical Society in 1919 by a former private in the 20th Iowa Infantry Volunteers, the same unit that fought at Fort Blakely in 1865. General Tant recently visited the Iowa Historical Society Museum to view the flag and is among several Citadel historians who believe that it is the flag carried by the Palmetto Battery in 1865. He also related the museum protocol for preserving flags and explained that the museum has taken particulate samples off their flags for future DNA testing to authenticate where the flags were originally flown.

Concluding his presentation, General Tant explained that the Iowa Historical Museum would loan the flag to The Citadel and that permanent acquisition would have to be approved by the Iowa State Senate. Glen S. Baldwin, '70, a member of The Citadel Historical Council, offered additional comments and supported action to secure the loan of the flag. He noted that the insurance required by the Historical Society loan application is most likely already in place for The Citadel's Museum. Hiram Hutchison, '57, made a motion, seconded by Mr. Croft, '64, and unanimously approved the following resolution: The CAA will recommend to the President of the college that The Citadel Archives and Museum submit, on behalf of The Citadel, the application for loan of the Red Palmetto Flag in the Iowa State Historical Museum in order to bring the flag to The Citadel for continued historical research. The CAA also will support related costs of transfer and insurance requirements. In addition, Col. Edward B. Carter, '66, suggested that the Historical Committee determine the cost of DNA testing on the flag."
Burnam Taylor
The Citadel 1961, 9 November 2007

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