Q. What classes did not graduate?

Rebellion of 1852 (Class of 1853). In the summer of 1852, an altercation between a cadet in the Second Class and the adjutant, who was a member of the First Class, led to the Second Classman's suspension. All the other members of the Second Class resolved to resign in a body unless their classmate was reinstated. The Board of Visitors decided to dismiss all 37 cadets in the Second Class. They were supposed to have graduated in November 1853.

Class of 1858. Since 1699, Charleston had been plagued by yellow fever or "yellow jack" epidemics every two to three years. Since the establishment of the Corps, yellow fever had threatened the academy in 1843, 1849, 1852, 1854 and 1856. During the 1849 epidemic in which 125 people died, the Superintendant, Major Colcock, without consulting the Board, disbanded the Corps, an act which the board disapproved. During the outbreak of 1852 in which 310 people died, several cadets, either from panic or the opportunity presented by the outbreak, took unauthorized leave from the Citadel. The Board allowed them to return with only a reprimand. The outbreak in 1854, in which 627 people died, forced the Board to transfer the first class to the Arsenal in Columbia and disband the remainder of the Corps leaving a small contingent of cadets to act as a guard. The outbreak in 1856, which killed 211, again compelled the Board to transfer the Corps to the Arsenal. In response to the nearly yearly outbreak of yellow fever and the subsequent disruption of the military and academic instruction the Board, in their December 1857 meeting, changed the period of examinations and commencement at the Citadel from November to April extending the period of instruction to four years and three months. As a result of this change the class that would have graduated in November 1858 received their diplomas in April 1859. Consequently no names for the year 1858 appear on the roll of graduates.

Rebellion of 1858 (Class of 1860). In September 1858, eleven cadets were suspended for refusing to follow an order by a professor "to rise and march out of the section room in a more orderly manner..." The Board of Visitors upheld dismissal of the 11 plus 13 other cadets who supported them. 23 cadets were dismissed. Ten others were not involved. One, de Caradeuc, expressed regret to the Board and was permitted to graduate with his class in 1860.

1866-1885. Federal troops occupied The Citadel.

Rebellion of 1898. In the 1898 incident, most of the upperclassmen were expelled, but there were still five graduates.

Class of 1944 There were only two members of the class of 1944 that graduated. The others were drafted.

(Sources: Samuel Morris, A Tale That is Told; Stories Incidents Sketches of Carolina Life, pp. 13-15. F273.M6; Oliver J. Bond, The Story of The Citadel, pp. 38-39, 42-43, 146-48.U430 .C5 S57 1989;Report of the Committee of City Council of Charleston upon the Epedemic Yellow Fever of 1858, (Walker, Evans and Co., 1859); Richard Marshall, "The Class That Did Not Graduate." Shako, Graduation, 1966, pp. 6-12; John P. Thomas, History of the South Carolina Military Academy, p. 415. U430 .S51 T55 1991; Alexander S. Macaulay, Jr., "Discipline and Rebellion: The Citadel Rebellion of 1898," South Carolina Historical Magazine, vol. 103, no. 1 (January 2002) pp. 30-47)