In Glory's Shadow: Shannon Faulkner, The Citadel, and a Changing America

by Catherine S. Manegold

About half of Catherine S. Manegold's story in In Glory's Shadow deals with Shannon Faulkner's hard-fought legal battle to attend the Citadel, an all-male military academy in South Carolina that bills itself as the "South's West Point." (It is, most famously, the basis for the setting of Pat Conroy's bestselling novel The Lords of Discipline.) The other half, the "backstory" if you will, is a portrait of the Old South and old Southern masculinity, two venerated icons the Citadel has struggled to keep alive within its fortress-like walls. The Citadel was founded in the 1820s as a private training ground for an army intended to protect rich white landowners against insurrection by black slaves. The original recruits were mostly poor white men with no other chance to improve their class status. It became a school after the Civil War and settled into its role as a military college in the 20th century. The desire to ensure a successful future continues to draw students: Faulkner herself says she wanted to enroll for the discipline the academy provides, as well as the "brotherhood" she sees as a path to security. But what Manegold uncovers is less a family than a dysfunctional army, with a student-led tradition of physical and psychological abuse that seems to be supported by adult authority. (As one regimental commander's blackboard reads, "We are not hurting boys, we are disciplining men.") In Glory's Shadow is both a fascinating study of a changing South and a gripping account of an important legal battle. --Maria Dolan

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2000

Reviews

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very hard read but a necessary one. I originally picked up this book because of interest in the Citadel from Pat Conroy and living in South Carolina for most of my life. Very well researched on Shannon Faulkner’s case and a unique time period in SC. Would highly recommend to anyone who is interested.