The Arsenal Academy was a military academy in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, originally established in 1842 as an independent school by the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. In 1845, the academy became a component of the South Carolina Military Academy (now The Citadel), in which first year cadets underwent their initial year of training before completing their studies at the larger Citadel Academy in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. The school was burned by Sherman's forces in 1865 and never reopened.

History

At the outset of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in 1861, the South Carolina Military Academy consisted of two institutions, both built in the 1820s as state

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

s, specifically to have the state prepared in the event of a slave revolt like that planned by Denmark Vesey (who was from Charleston). This process consolidated a number of smaller arsenals around the state to two locations, which would in 1855 be converted to military academies. The Arsenal Academy, or Arsenal Military Academy, or The Arsenal, was in Columbia, and the Citadel Academy, or Citadel Military Academy, or The Citadel (due to the appearance of its building) in Charleston. The Arsenal in Columbia was burned by Union General William Sherman's troops in 1865; in fact, destroying it was one of his objectives. It was never rebuilt. The only surviving building from The Arsenal is the current Governor's Mansion. The Citadel suffered no damage and, after serving as housing for Federal forces during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, reopened as the South Carolina Military Academy or commonly The Citadel Academy in the 1880s.

References

{{authority control History of Columbia, South Carolina Defunct United States military academies Arsenals Education in Richland County, South Carolina Public universities and colleges in South Carolina The Citadel American Civil War forts 1842 establishments in South Carolina 1865 disestablishments in South Carolina Defunct universities and colleges in South Carolina