Richard Woodward Colcock (June 6, 1806 in
Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...
– January 9, 1856 in
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
) was the second Superintendent of the
South Carolina Military Academy The South Carolina Military Academy was a predecessor, two-campus institution to The Citadel. It was established in 1842 by the South Carolina Legislature.
South Carolina had constructed a series of arsenals around the state after the Denmark Vesey ...
(now
The Citadel
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...
) from 1844 through 1852.
Early life
His father, Charles Jones Colcock, was a prominent South Carolina lawyer who graduated from
Princeton College
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
in 1787. As a little boy, Richard's mother Mary Woodward Colcock read the Bible and a book ''Living Christianity'' to her young children. There being no schools in the area, Richard W. Colcock was educated at home by two private tutors: John Gates Creagh (an 1813 graduate of South Carolina College) and Elijah Gilbert (an 1815 graduate of South Carolina College with first honors).
Career
Army
Richard W. Colcock was appointed to the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at West Point in 1822 and graduated in 1826. He was in the sixth class from the academy with the new four-year curriculum developed by Major Sylvanus Thayer. He was the 457th graduate of West Point and finished 26th of 41 graduates from his class. The SCMA Board of Visitors appointed Colcock to assume the duties of Superintendent after the death of Captain Graham in 1844.
Prior to becoming Superintendent, Colcock served for ten years as an
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
officer in the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. During eight of his ten years of active duty, he fought in the
Indian Wars
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
on the Western frontier and the
Seminole War
The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...
in Florida.
His first assignment after graduation was at
Fort Duval, near
Silver Springs, Florida
Silver Springs is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marion County, Florida, United States. It is the site of Silver Springs, a group of artesian springs and a historic tourist attraction that is now part of Sil ...
. The new territory of Florida, ceded to the United States from Spain in 1821, quickly became a battle ground for a guerrilla war with the
Native American tribes of the state. Lieutenant Colcock spent his first two years (1826-1828) at Fort Duval,
Fort King
Fort King (also known as Camp King or Cantonment King) was a United States military fort in north central Florida, near what later developed as the city of Ocala. It was named after Colonel William King, commander of Florida's Fourth Infantry and ...
, and Cantonment Clinch in Florida.
During his tour in the
Florida Territory
The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish te ...
he was assigned to protect settlers in the newly acquired land. He fought the
Seminole Indian Nation during several skirmishes which eventually led to the
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...
(1835-1842). Colcock was reassigned to the "Indian Frontier" in the
far west Far West may refer to:
Places
* Western Canada, or the West
** British Columbia Coast
* Western United States, or Far West
** West Coast of the United States
* American frontier, or Far West, Old West, or Wild West
* Far West (Taixi), a term used ...
at
Jefferson Barracks
The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation w ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
,
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
,
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
, and on Indian patrol on the
Missouri River from 1828-1830. He was assigned to fight the Native Americans in the far west and to protect settlers traveling west during this period. In 1831, Lt Colcock and his infantry company assisted in relocating the
Choctaw
The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
from their traditional home in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
to Indian Territory (now the state of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
) in accordance with the
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...
of 1830. This relocation of thousands of Native Americans was known as the “
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...
”, in which thousands died during the long, hard march to Indian Territory. After his short tour in the “mid-west” he was reassigned to the "north-west" in
Iowa Territory
The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remaind ...
.
He served at
Fort Atkinson, Iowa Territory and fought in the
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...
from 1831 to 1832 (until the war ended). During these two years, he spent most of his time in the field of battle or pursuing hostile Native Americans. When the Black Hawk War officially ended, he was reassigned to
Fort Towson
Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for United States Army, Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Army on the Frontier, Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles (3 km) northeast of the present community of Fort Towson, Oklahoma. Loc ...
, Indian Territory (Oklahoma) as
Quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...
.
In 1833, he was assigned to the south-west corner of the United States border with Texas at
Fort Jesup
Fort Jesup, also known as Fort Jesup State Historic Site or Fort Jesup or Fort Jesup State Monument, was built in 1822, west of Natchitoches, Louisiana, to protect the United States border with New Spain and to return order to the Neutral Strip ...
, Louisiana. From 1834 to 1836, First Lieutenant Colcock returned to West Point as an engineer and as an instructor. During his last year in the U.S. Army, he served as Instructor of Infantry Tactics at West Point. Colcock, spent a grueling 10 years in the U.S. Army with most of his time spent fighting Native Americans on the western frontier and in Florida. Colcock became gravely ill due to the hardships and exposure he endured on frontier duty. He resigned from the Army with effect from April 1, 1836 and returned to his home in Beaufort, South Carolina.
South Carolina Military Academy
From 1836-1842 he served as Superintendent of Public Works for the State of South Carolina. He was admitted to the Beaufort, South Carolina Bar in December 1842 and served as a lawyer with his brother William Colcock just prior to his appointment as Superintendent of the SCMA in 1844. Colonel John P. Thomas (class of 1851) described Colcock as a superintendent that "contributed largely to the development of its fortunes, especially as a school of arms." Colcock was known as a strict disciplinarian. "His disciplinary methods consisted in the steady application of law, carried out in military fashion."
Colcock continued the work that Captain Graham started in 1843-1844. In the first decade of the SCMA existence, the influence of the West Point model was clearly evident. The first two Superintendents were West Pointers and several key staff and professors were also educated at the national military academy. Both Captain Graham and Major Colcock were intimately familiar with West Point's "Thayer System" of instruction. (Major Thayer was known as the "Father of West Point" and established the four-year curriculum that was adapted for The South Carolina Military Academy by Graham and Colcock.)
Colcock succeeded in providing a military education tailored for the citizen soldier. In 1846, the first graduation exercises were held. Six men graduated with Cadet Charles C. Tew as the first honor graduate. Also in that year, the United States declared war on
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
following several border disputes in Texas. The SCMA trained the South Carolina volunteers of the
Palmetto Regiment
The Palmetto Regiment of Volunteers of South Carolina was an infantry regiment that participated in the Mexican–American War. It suffered heavy losses and was known for the first American colors over Mexico City, when it raised its regimental fla ...
headed for the
Mexican War.
An early supporter of the SCMA and former
Governor of South Carolina
The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the '' ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...
,
Pierce Mason Butler
Pierce Mason Butler (April 11, 1798August 20, 1847) was an American soldier and statesman who served as the 56th Governor of South Carolina from 1836 to 1838. He was killed while serving as colonel of the Palmetto Regiment at the Battle of ...
, requested that the Palmetto Regiment be trained at the Citadel Academy in
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
, one of the 2 schools that made up the SCMA, (the other being the Arsenal Academy in
Columbia). Butler, a veteran of the
Seminole War
The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...
in Florida, was appointed Colonel and Commander of the Palmetto Regiment. Major Colcock developed the "Drillmaster" concept to train troops in preparation for war. The faculty, staff, and cadets instructed the Palmetto Regiment in drill, infantry, and artillery tactics prior to their departure for Texas and Mexico. This new and innovative concept was to be used later by The Citadel, VMI, and other southern military colleges to train troops during the Civil War.
The Citadel training followed the Palmetto Regiment to Mexico City where they were the first to raise a U.S. flag over the capitol of Mexico City. The regiment fought side by side with a battalion of
U.S. Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...
through the "Halls of Montezuma" in
Chapultepec
Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...
and Mexico City. Cadets and graduates of The Citadel performed brilliantly in support of the Mexican War due in large part to the efforts of Colcock and his extensive experience as a combat infantry officer in the U.S. Army and a Military Tactics Instructor at West Point.
The SCMAs post Mexican War years were marked by several improvements in the curriculum and the buildings on the Citadel Academy campus, which were spearheaded by Colcock. In 1849, a third story was added to the barracks to accommodate more cadets. The last major celebration of victory in Mexico occurred on Friday, March 9, 1849 during the visit of President
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
to Charleston. The Citadel Academy also hosted a parade for President James K. Polk during his visit to Charleston. The Citadel and the Citadel Green also served as the site to honor
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...
, U.S. Senator, U.S. Vice President, and Secretary of War after his death in April 1850. The Citadel Academy and the Corps of Cadets served in the procession as his body was marched from the Citadel Green down King Street, other streets to the Battery, and finally to St Phillip's Church prior to his burial two days later.
In 1852, after more than 8 years as Superintendent, Colcock returned to practicing law and then briefly served in the U.S. Customs prior to his death January 9, 1856. A tough 10-year tour in the U.S. Army followed by eight years at SCMA took a toll. Three cadets that graduated during his administration would later become Superintendent of the South Carolina Military Academy. One of the original faculty officers under his administration (Maj Francis W. Capers) followed him as Superintendent. Colcock was buried with his wife who preceded him, in
St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Charleston, South Carolina)
St. Michael's Anglican Church (formerly St. Michael's Episcopal Church) is a historic church and the oldest surviving religious structure in Charleston, South Carolina. It is located at Broad and Meeting streets on one of the Four Corners of La ...
. He died at 49 years of age.
References
External links
Citadel History - Major Richard W. Colcock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colcock, Richard W
Presidents of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
1806 births
1856 deaths
People from Beaufort, South Carolina
United States Military Academy alumni
United States Army officers