The only enrolled Citadel cadet to be killed in action during the Civil War was W.J.B. Patterson, Class of 1865, who died on December 7, 1864 as a result of injuries at the Battle of Tulifinny. He was buried in his family's plot in an unmarked grave in Magnolia Cemetery on December 17, 1864. The Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table obtained a marker from the Veterans Administration, dedicated on November 14, 2021.
The engagement at Tulifinny Creek in Jasper County, S. C. is of historic importance because it involved the deployment of the entire Battalion of South Carolina State Cadets from The Citadel and Arsenal Academies as an independent military unit engaged in armed combat with Union forces. In December of 1864, the Governor of South Carolina ordered the Battalion of State Cadets from The Citadel and Arsenal to deploy to Tulifinny Creek south of Charleston to reinforce Confederate troops defending a key railroad bridge against a much larger advancing Union force. On December 7, the Battalion of State Cadets, along with Confederate militia units from North and South Carolina and Georgia, engaged a much larger Union force in pitched battle for several hours, advancing against rifle and cannon fire and forcing the federal troops back to their entrenchments. On December 9, the battalion of cadets successfully repulsed a Union counter-attack on their defensive position by the railroad trestle with their disciplined rifle fire. The Battalion of State Cadets suffered eight casualties in the engagement, including one killed, and were commended by Major General Samuel Jones, CSA, Commanding General of South Carolina and Georgia Departments, for their gallantry under fire. A mural depicting the December 9th engagement at the Tulifinny Creek railroad trestle is on display in the Daniel Library at The Citadel in Charleston, S. C.
The engagement at Tulifinny Creek in Jasper County, S. C. is of historic importance because it involved the deployment of the entire Battalion of South Carolina State Cadets from The Citadel and Arsenal Academies as an independent military unit engaged in armed combat with Union forces. In December of 1864, the Governor of South Carolina ordered the Battalion of State Cadets from The Citadel and Arsenal to deploy to Tulifinny Creek south of Charleston to reinforce Confederate troops defending a key railroad bridge against a much larger advancing Union force. On December 7, the Battalion of State Cadets, along with Confederate militia units from North and South Carolina and Georgia, engaged a much larger Union force in pitched battle for several hours, advancing against rifle and cannon fire and forcing the federal troops back to their entrenchments. On December 9, the battalion of cadets successfully repulsed a Union counter-attack on their defensive position by the railroad trestle with their disciplined rifle fire. The Battalion of State Cadets suffered eight casualties in the engagement, including one killed, and were commended by Major General Samuel Jones, CSA, Commanding General of South Carolina and Georgia Departments, for their gallantry under fire. A mural depicting the December 9th engagement at the Tulifinny Creek railroad trestle is on display in the Daniel Library at The Citadel in Charleston, S. C.
The only enrolled Citadel cadet to be killed in action during the Civil War was W.J.B. Patterson, Class of 1865, who died on December 7, 1864 as a result of injuries at the Battle of Tulifinny. He was buried in his family's plot in an unmarked grave in Magnolia Cemetery on December 17, 1864. The Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table obtained a marker from the Veterans Administration, dedicated on November 14, 2021.
The engagement at Tulifinny Creek in Jasper County, S. C. is of historic importance because it involved the deployment of the entire Battalion of South Carolina State Cadets from The Citadel and Arsenal Academies as an independent military unit engaged in armed combat with Union forces. In December of 1864, the Governor of South Carolina ordered the Battalion of State Cadets from The Citadel and Arsenal to deploy to Tulifinny Creek south of Charleston to reinforce Confederate troops defending a key railroad bridge against a much larger advancing Union force. On December 7, the Battalion of State Cadets, along with Confederate militia units from North and South Carolina and Georgia, engaged a much larger Union force in pitched battle for several hours, advancing against rifle and cannon fire and forcing the federal troops back to their entrenchments. On December 9, the battalion of cadets successfully repulsed a Union counter-attack on their defensive position by the railroad trestle with their disciplined rifle fire. The Battalion of State Cadets suffered eight casualties in the engagement, including one killed, and were commended by Major General Samuel Jones, CSA, Commanding General of South Carolina and Georgia Departments, for their gallantry under fire. A mural depicting the December 9th engagement at the Tulifinny Creek railroad trestle is on display in the Daniel Library at The Citadel in Charleston, S. C.
The engagement at Tulifinny Creek in Jasper County, S. C. is of historic importance because it involved the deployment of the entire Battalion of South Carolina State Cadets from The Citadel and Arsenal Academies as an independent military unit engaged in armed combat with Union forces. In December of 1864, the Governor of South Carolina ordered the Battalion of State Cadets from The Citadel and Arsenal to deploy to Tulifinny Creek south of Charleston to reinforce Confederate troops defending a key railroad bridge against a much larger advancing Union force. On December 7, the Battalion of State Cadets, along with Confederate militia units from North and South Carolina and Georgia, engaged a much larger Union force in pitched battle for several hours, advancing against rifle and cannon fire and forcing the federal troops back to their entrenchments. On December 9, the battalion of cadets successfully repulsed a Union counter-attack on their defensive position by the railroad trestle with their disciplined rifle fire. The Battalion of State Cadets suffered eight casualties in the engagement, including one killed, and were commended by Major General Samuel Jones, CSA, Commanding General of South Carolina and Georgia Departments, for their gallantry under fire. A mural depicting the December 9th engagement at the Tulifinny Creek railroad trestle is on display in the Daniel Library at The Citadel in Charleston, S. C.
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