Banner back at Citadel

A Civil War-era battle flag believed to be the one that flew over Morris Island when Citadel cadets fired on the supply ship Star of the West arrived back at the school Friday morning after nearly 150 years.

The red palmetto flag, known as "Big Red," took a 1,200-mile journey aboard a special climate-controlled 18-wheeler from Iowa, where it has been stored in a museum.

More than 750 people donated $61,000 to bring the flag home and build a special display room in the school's Holliday Alumni Center, where it will be displayed soon after the official unveiling March 19.

The room has floor-to-ceiling glass through which people can see the flag. The space is temperature- and humidity-controlled and is equipped with a security system and monitored by three cameras.

The flag is on a four-year loan from the State Historical Society of Iowa. Museum staff can check the condition of the flag anytime from a computer through the monitoring cameras. And the flag is insured for $500,000.

Ed Carter, a 1966 graduate of The Citadel and chairman of the Big Red Recovery Committee, said, "I'm standing next to a piece of history. It gives me chills."

The flag, which is about 10 by 7 feet, is mounted on a white mat and framed. It shows its age a bit, with some frayed edges, a few small holes and some stains. But it's in remarkable condition, historians and school leaders said.

It drew applause, followed by stares when the crate was opened for a sneak peek for the media and some officials soon after it arrived.

The historic flag is significant to The Citadel, which adopted a model of it as its spirit flag in 1992, but nobody knew until recently what had happened to the original.

A committee from the school's alumni association first heard about a flag that might be the original Big Red about five years ago, Carter said. Another alumni group researched the flag and released a report in October making the case that it is likely the original.

Michael O. Smith, director of Iowa's State Historical Museum, has said the red flag, which has a white palmetto tree in the center and a white, inward-facing crescent in the upper-left corner, 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."

Because museum officials have such limited information about how Baker acquired it, they can't guarantee that the flag is The Citadel's Big Red. But after extensive research and testing, Smith has said, he thinks it likely is.

The Civil War officially began on April 12, 1861, with the Confederate bombardment of the Union garrison at Fort Sumter.

But some Citadel alumni and others consider the shots fired on Jan. 9, 1861, at the Star of the West, which forced the supply ship to turn around, to be the first shots of the Civil War. The Star of the West was a merchant vessel that was supplying the federal troops at Fort Sumter.

Richard Jordan, president of the school's senior class, said there's "a buzz" about the flag on campus. "It's eerie to know that flag flew over cadets just like us so long ago," he said.

Jordan's class donated $5,000 to the effort to bring the flag home, and he thinks many cadets will rush to see it as soon as it is open for viewing. "The alumni center is definitely going to get more foot action," he said.

Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.