Picture and text source – http://1.usa.gov/uSa0UW
337 Meeting Street Charleston, SC – 29403 843-723-6900 1.usa.gov/uSa0UW Now a hotel, the building is open to the public.’‘The S.C. State Arsenal, more commonly known as the Old Citadel, is associated with several aspects of Charlestons history.
The impetus for the Arsenals construction in the early 1830s was the 1822 slave revolt led by Denmark Vesey.
In 1842 the S.C. Military Academy, a liberal arts military college, was established by the state legislature.
The new Academy took over the arsenal the following year, and the school soon became know as The Citadel in reference to the fortress-like appearance of the building.
Many Citadel alumni fought in the Civil War.
Cadets remained at the school but were periodically ordered by the governor to support the Confederacy, and helped drill recruits, manufacture ammunition, protect arms depots, and guard Union prisoners.
Citadel cadets were responsible for firing the first shots of the Civil War, January 9, 1861, at the Union relief vessel approaching Fort Sumter.
From 1865 to 1881, during Reconstruction in Charleston, Federal troops occupied the Citadel and the school was closed.
Classes resumed at the Citadel in 1882, and continued here until the school was relocated to a campus on the banks of the Ashley River in 1922.’
For more information on the architecure, etc. visit the National Park Service Website.
Today the Old Citadel is home to Embassy Suites Hotel.