Staff Report
Published Nov. 6, 2009

The historic flag that flew over Morris Island at the start of the Civil War has been found in a museum collection in Iowa, and The Citadel Alumni Association wants to bring it back next year.

The association has launched a fundraising campaign to bring “Big Red” to the college in time for Corps Day in March 2010 and in time for the 150th anniversary of the engagement on Morris Island where the first shots in the Civil War were fired in 1861.

The original “Big Red” flew over Morris Island during the firing upon the Union cargo ship Star of the West by Citadel cadets. The Civil War-era flag with an inward facing crescent was recently discovered in an Iowa museum collection.

“The good citizens of Iowa have agreed to loan the flag to The Citadel. The period of time for this recovery is short, and we must act quickly to borrow Big Red,” The Citadel Alumni Association said in a recent message to its members.

The $75,000 fundraising effort got a kick start in late October. As its parting gift to the college, the class of 2010 donated $5,000 to help bring “Big Red” back. The money will pay for the artifact’s transport and care.

“This is the spirit flag of the Corps of Cadets, and it is important that cadets have a part in bringing it back to campus,” said Cadet Richard Jordan, senior class president. “It was also important that as leaders in the Corps we do something now to give back to The Citadel which has given us so much.”

The new spirit flag, which replaces a similar flag with an outward facing crescent, eventually will be displayed at Citadel events and carried by the Corps of Cadets.