The only enrolled 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 is of historic importance because it involved the deployment of the entire Battalion of 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.

1LT Frank Monroe (Skip) Murphy, USA, '65, was killed in action on December 7, 1966, in South Vietnam by a land mine while rescuing members of his platoon who were in a firefight after being jumped from behind by the Vietcong. Murphy is memorialized along with 2ndLt Joseph C. Missar, USMC, '65, with a bronze statue, located in Johnson Hagood Stadium, in the photograph here. Missar was killed in action by a mine in the Quan Nam Province of Vietnam on May 6, 1966. The statue honors all Citadel Alumni who died in the Vietnam War.

On the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, we share The Citadel Memorial in Europe's post, A Day That Will Live in Infamy. thecitadelmemorialeurope.org/a-day-that-will-live-in-infamy Thank you to Roger Long, '89, for his work remembering our alumni! Photo by U.S. Navy, Office of Public Relations – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID fsa.8e00810.

December 5, 2025

The Olde School Blazer Company offers a line of Citadel Tartan blazers, scarves, and caps, allowing you to show off your Bulldog pride in style. You will find their Citadel items at https://www.oldeschoolblazer.com/schools/citadel/. Olde School Blazer Co. offers beautiful hand crafted The Citadel gifts to share or keep for yourself this holiday season! From gift cards, to bespoke blazers, toiles, and cashmere, silk, or wool accessories, Olde School has a diverse selection of heirloom quality pieces at various price points. Wear Your Colors!

December 4, 2025

Johnson Hagood Stadium was officially dedicated on December 4, 1948, when the Bulldogs played host to Clemson in front of a then-stadium record estimated crowd of 16,000.

December 3, 2025

Our next Citadel holiday gift suggestion is Sword and Sash Bourbon from Ironclad Distillery in Newport News, Va. Distilled for The Citadel from Virginia corn, wheat, rye, and malted barley. Aged over two summers in new, charred oak barrels. You’ll find them at https://www.ironcladdistillery.com/store/sword-sash-small-batch-bourbon-whiskey