Francis Withers Capers, student 1835-1836

Capers attended and graduated from the College of Charleston after leaving R-MC. He was a professor at The Citadel, Transylvania University, and then was appointed superintendent at The Citadel in 1853.  In September 1859, he became Superintendent of the new Georgia Military Academy in Marietta, GA.At the onset of the war, he was responsible for training GA troops. On November 11, 1861, he was appointed brigadier general, charged with guarding the coast. He returned to Georgia Military Academy a year later, but by 1863 was in charge of creating defensive works in Northern Georgia and was teaching military tactics and engineering. He commanded his cadets at the Battle of Atlanta and at other battles in Georgia.

The Georgia Military Institute had been destroyed in the war, so Capers opened his own school in 1865.  He went to the College of Charleston in 1869, where he was a professor of mathematics and civil engineering until 1889, also serving as president 1880-1882. He died January 12, 1891 and is buried in Charleston, SC in Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery.