THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS
When at last the colonies found themselves free, and realized that they
were in no immediate danger from any foe, the thoughts of the people,
so long occupied with war, eagerly turned toward the establishment of
their new government. It was only natural that the Army, weary of the
long struggle for independence, should gladly welcome their release
from service, and resume once again the peaceful pursuits of civil
life. For seven long years their days had been filled with arduous
marches through heat and through snow, with tedious vigils on outposts,
or with bloody encounters with the British, and the great mass of the
people joyfully hailed the piping times of peace, and without ado
they turned their battle-axes into billhooks, and their helmets into
beehives.
It could not be expected that during the reaction that followed the
Revolution much attention would be given to the subject of military
education. As a matter of fact, for seven years this question was
allowed to sleep; but Washington, ever on the alert for the welfare
of the new country, suggested in his annual message of 1790 to the
Congress the establishment of a National Military Academy. In spite of
the great prestige that he enjoyed both as President and as the man who
had successfully waged the Revolution, his words were not heeded by
Congress until some years afterwards.
The Congress of those days apparently was like our own and needed to
have a matter brought to its attention many times before any definite
action was taken. Washington undoubtedly appreciated this condition
for we find that on numerous occasions he spoke of his plan, telling
Congress that “it is an inquiry that cannot be too strongly pursued.”
His efforts were not without reward, for in 1794 the grade of Cadet
was created, and a military school was established at West Point. This
school was composed of the cadets who were by law attached to the
Engineer and Artillery Corps of the garrison. In each company there
were two of these young men styled “cadets of the Service,” whom the
Government aimed to train to become commissioned officers of the Army.
There was, however, no organization to the school, nor scientific
system of instruction, so that the cadets did about as they pleased,
pursuing their studies in a desultory manner.
It was not until the 16th of March, 1802, that the United States
Military Academy was definitely established by law. Congress then
authorized the President to organize the Corps of Engineers whose
cadre contained, in addition to the officers, ten cadets. West Point
was designated as the station of the Corps which was to constitute the
Military Academy. The next year forty cadets, to be appointed from the
artillery troops of the Army, were added and in 1808, 156 additional
men.
During the first ten years of its existence the Military Academy was
in a most chaotic condition. It was in reality “a foundling barely
existing among the mountains, out of sight of, and almost unknown to,
its legitimate parents.” It is greatly to be wondered at that the
Academy ever survived the terrible throes of its birth. Almost no
provisions for its existence were made by Congress. The cadets were
lodged in an old barrack of the Revolution, called the “Long Barrack,”
that occupied the site of the present hotel, and their instruction
was given in a wooden building called the “Academy” that stood on the
spot of the present Superintendent’s quarters. They were allowed to
board around promiscuously, really living from hand to mouth. Among
the student body there was very little discipline, but a great deal of
idleness and dissipation.
In 1812, a new law placed the school on a firm basis and furnished
the principles upon which the institution has been conducted to
this moment. Two hundred and fifty cadets were authorized and the
respectable sum of twenty-five thousand dollars appropriated for
buildings. To offset this good fortune, the Academy had to fight
against the hostility of Madison’s Secretary of War, Eustis, who tried
his utmost to strangle the new-born institution. But happily the
exigencies of the War of 1812 frustrated his hostile designs.
Despite insuperable difficulties, the Academy began to grow, not
scientifically, but in a muddling sort of way. Where the Superintendent
had heretofore been a rover up and down the Hudson Posts, he now
became permanently located at West Point. The professors began to work
together with more harmony, going so far as to recommend a broadly
planned course that included most of the subjects studied today. By
the Regulations of 1815, the cadets were required to mess at a common
table, instead of boarding at private houses, their age limit was fixed
at fourteen to twenty, and their uniform was definitely prescribed.
A little order was being brought out of chaos. Annual vacations were
granted, to commence immediately after the examination in July and to
end on the first day of August. Notwithstanding the excellence of the
above features, the general condition of this infant school was far
from satisfactory. A picture of its inner life is revealed in a letter
written in 1815 by Andrew Ellicott, the Professor of Mathematics, to
the Secretary of War, in which he states:
Until I came here the Academy was abandoned by the Professors and
a great part of the students from the first of December until, the
first of April following every year. This practice I immediately
put a stop to, and kept the Academy open two winters, not even
excluding Sundays, without the aid of any other Professor or
regular assistant. The winter before last, I kept together more
than twenty students, 16 of whom were commissioned last July, and
last winter more than 80, some of whom would do credit to any
country or nation, and will be found among our future rulers. These
extra services are not ideal--they are substantial.
Although Professor Ellicott rather emphasizes his assiduity in his
application for extra compensation we must be grateful, at least, for
the glimpse he gives us of the state of affairs in 1815.
Better days, however, were in store for West Point. That the War
Department was not entirely insensible to the handicap under which
those at West Point were working, is proven by the circumstance
that at this particular time there was in Europe an officer, Major
Sylvanus Thayer, who had been sent abroad “to prosecute inquiries and
examinations calculated for his improvement in the military art.” He
was given five thousand dollars for the collection of books, maps,
and instruments for the Military Academy. Shortly after his return,
he was made Superintendent, relieving Captain Alden Partridge whose
administration had not been popular nor very successful. Although
Captain Partridge was much criticized by the professors and cadets his
farewell address to the “Gentlemen Cadets of the Military Academy” was
so high-minded that I am tempted to quote it in full:
Before I take my leave of you, gentlemen, permit me to impress anew
upon your minds some precepts to which I have frequently before
this called your attention. Be attentive to your studies, and
correct and gentlemanly in your deportment. Pursue with undeviating
course the paths of virtue and true honor; and rest assured that
although the vicious and the vain may affect to ridicule and
despise, they will inwardly respect you, and that you will thereby
ensure the applause of the good and the great, and, which is of
more importance, the approbation of your consciences and of your
God.
With the advent of Major Thayer began the golden age of the Academy.
This officer was a veteran of the War of 1812 in which he had served
with great distinction; he had studied the military schools of France,
and had profited by his unusual opportunities to acquire a profound
knowledge concerning the conduct of an institution such as the military
school over which he was chief.
The great talents that Major Thayer possessed were well employed. For
sixteen years he shaped the destiny of the Academy, and with such
wisdom and foresight that the broad fundamental principles which he
laid down for the school’s guidance, govern the institution today.
[Illustration: Major Sylvanus Thayer
“The Father of the Military Academy”
From the Painting by Thomas Sully, Library U.S.M.A.]
To him, more than to any one man, is due the elevation of the Military
Academy to its high rank among schools of learning both in this country
and abroad.
Upon taking over the command, he immediately drew upon his genius for
organization, with the result that the cadets were organized into a
battalion of two companies, a “Commandant of Cadets” was created, the
classes were for study purposes divided into sections, transfers were
made between sections, and weekly reports, showing daily progress in
studies, were rendered. Moreover, the system and scale of daily marks,
the publication of the _Annual Register_, the introduction of the
Board of Visitors, the check-book system, the preponderating influence
of the blackboard, and the essential part of the modern Regulations
are proofs of his untiring efforts as an executive. The above changes
that he effected, and the reforms that he introduced, are a part of
the modern organization of West Point. Perhaps no one method has so
much influenced the quality of the instruction of the cadets as the
blackboard recitations. Major Thayer insisted on this form, although
old records show that it was introduced at West Point by Mr. George
Baron, a civilian teacher, who in the autumn of 1801 gave to Cadet
Swift “a specimen of his mode of teaching at the blackboard.” Today it
is the prominent feature in Academic instruction.
Major Thayer’s success in giving West Point an upward impetus had
attracted general attention and observation throughout the country so
that appointments were now sought after with avidity. The politicians
rejoiced at the Academy’s increased importance and the consequent
patronage that the appointments offered. Although the present law
did not obtain, whereby Congressmen appointed cadets, still it had
been the custom for the President to appoint men to West Point upon
the recommendation of a Representative. In 1843, a law was passed
that allowed one cadet for each congressional district. Major Thayer
was at his own request relieved as Superintendent, after a brilliant
administration whose results were so beneficial to the institution as
to gain for him from posterity the title of “Father of the Military
Academy.”
Could Major Thayer have only peered into the future he would have seen
Fame, years later, crowning three of his raw young cadets. One of the
lads at West Point under Major Thayer was Edgar Allan Poe, America’s
foremost literary genius. He entered West Point July 1, 1830, but
after a troublous stay of a little over eight months was dismissed
for repeated misconduct. Not a great deal is known of his brief cadet
days, but his classmates have stated that he was irritable and morose,
and addicted to excessive drinking. He would steal out of barracks
sometimes, long after taps, and “run it out” to “Old Benny Havens,” a
tavern kept by Benny Havens on the banks of the Hudson about a mile
below West Point. Benny Havens’ name is preserved in song and story at
West Point, and tales that surrounded the cadet reunions in ye olden
days at “Benny’s” are flavored with all the romance of a mythical
legend. Old Benny died in 1877 at the ripe age of eighty-nine years,
but his name survives in a stirring West Point song that I quote in
part:
Come fill your glasses, fellows, and stand up in a row,
For singing sentimentally we are going for to go,
In the Army there’s sobriety, promotion’s very slow,
So we’ll sing our reminiscences of Benny Havens, Oh!
* * * * *
To our comrades who have fallen, one cup before we go;
They poured their life-blood freely out _pro bono publico_.
No marble points the stranger to where they rest below!
They lie neglected far away from Benny Havens, Oh!
* * * * *
When you and I and Benny and all the others too,
Are called before the “final Board,” our course of life to view,
May we never “fess”[5] on any point, but straight be told to go
And join the Army of the blest at Benny Havens, Oh!
Poe, however, was only one of many who disobeyed the regulations, but
he did not care for military life and made no effort to conceal his
offenses. Finally he was tried by court-martial. For two weeks prior
to his trial he neglected almost all of his studies as a cadet. Two
of the specifications against him were for absences from parades and
roll calls and two for disobedience of orders, but at the trial, he
deliberately pleaded guilty to the latter and not guilty to the former,
the most patent and obvious of his offenses. Whether or not he did this
from a sense of humor, is not known, but his action was not calculated
to help him in the eyes of his superiors. He was dismissed March 6,
1831. Four days later he wrote Major Thayer the following letter:
_Letter of Edgar Allan Poe, Lately Cadet, U. S. M. A., to the
Superintendent: 1831._
(_Original in the library U. S. M. A._)
NEW YORK,
Mar. 10, 1831.
SIR:
Having no longer any ties to bind me to my country--no prospects--nor
friends--I intend by the first opportunity to proceed to Paris with
the view of obtaining through the interest of the Marquis De La
Fayette, an appointment (if possible) in the Polish Army. In the event
of the interference of France in behalf of Poland this may easily be
effected--in all events it will be my only feasible plan of procedure.
The object of this letter is respectfully to request that you will
give me such assistance as may be in your power in the furtherance of
my views.
A certificate of standing in my class is all that I may have a right to
expect.
Anything further--a letter to a friend in Paris--or to the
Marquis--would be a kindness which I would never forget.
Most respectfully,
Yr. obt. st.
EDGAR ALLAN POE.
Poe, however, abandoned the plan and little more was heard of his
whereabouts by his friends at West Point.
The two other cadets under Major Thayer, were Jefferson Davis and
Robert E. Lee, but their history is too well known to bear repetition
here. Suffice to say that Jefferson Davis was mischievous and human
enough as a cadet to be court-martialed for an escapade.
The prosperity of the Academy continued in spite of its opponents in
Congress who, just prior to the Mexican War, came near accomplishing
its overthrow, but the brilliant achievements of its graduates in that
conflict silenced for a while their mutterings. Many young officers
who served with distinction in this war were later to win greater
fame in the titanic Civil War. Grant (class of ’43); Sherman (’40);
Hancock (’44); Thomas (’40); Meade (’35); Hooker (’30); Sedgwick (’37)
participated in the campaigns against the Mexicans.
The nation was given ample proof of the wisdom of Washington, Hamilton,
and Knox in their efforts to establish a Military Academy wherein
officers might be educated and trained to organize and discipline
citizen soldiers, and lead them to victory. At West Point today there
are bronze cannon, tattered flags, and mutilated flagstaffs, trophies
of the Mexican War that were presented to the Academy by General
Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the Army, who stated, “as
under Providence it is mainly to the Military Academy that the United
States became indebted for those brilliant achievements and other
memorable victories in the same war, I have a lively pleasuring in
tendering the seven trophies (semi-national) to the mother of so many
accomplished soldiers and patriots.”
The close of the Mexican War found the Military Academy the pet
and idol of the National Legislature. All of its requirements were
solicitously studied and plenty of funds were forthcoming to supply its
wants. As time went on, however, and no foe appeared at our door, the
usual indifference on the part of some toward military affairs, and the
open hostilities of others, were manifested. As before in its history,
the Academy became the object of numerous attacks, but it ignored them,
continuing unobtrusively the preparation of her cadets for their future
work, little realizing how important this work was soon to be.
In 1852, Brevet-Colonel R. E. Lee, Corps of Engineers, class of 1829,
was appointed Superintendent. Under his administration the course
was extended to include five years, embracing more English studies
and Military Law. A new riding hall was completed in 1855 which
greatly increased the opportunity for cavalry exercises. Colonel Lee,
having transferred to the Cavalry arm of the Service, was relieved as
Superintendent, April, 1855, because according to law at that time,
only Engineer officers could serve as Superintendent.
The year before Lee’s administration began, there entered West Point
in July, 1851, a cadet, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, aged sixteen
years and eleven months, destined to become one of America’s greatest
artists. Whistler remained three years at West Point when he was
discharged for deficiency in chemistry. In speaking in after years of
his experiences with this study, he said, “Had silicon been a gas, I
would have been a Major-General.” He was called up for examination in
the subject of chemistry, which also covered the studies of mineralogy
and geology, and given silicon to discuss. When called upon to recite,
he stated: “I am required to discuss the subject of silicon. Silicon
is a gas.” “That will do, Mr. Whistler,” said the Professor, and the
artist soldier retired quickly to private life.
Another story was told of him in an examination in history. “What!”
said an officer who was his instructor, “you do not know the date of
the Battle of Buena Vista? Suppose you were to go out to dinner and
the company began to talk of the Mexican War, and you, a West Point
man, were asked the date of the battle. What would you do?”
“Do,” said Whistler, “why, I should refuse to associate with people who
would talk of such things at dinner.”
Although Whistler was not a success in defining silicon or remembering
dates, he excelled in drawing, standing at the head of his class.
The Professor of Drawing at the time was Robert W. Weir, an artist
of no mean ability himself and of generally recognized standing. For
Whistler, Professor Weir always had a high esteem on account of the
unusual talent he displayed in the drawing classes. Specimens of his
work as a cadet are still preserved at West Point.
* * * * *
In 1860, the rumblings of trouble over the slave question began to
be heard even in the secluded Highlands of the Hudson. At first the
Southern and Northern cadets ardently advocated the views of their
respective States, arguing with all of the warmth and enthusiasm of
their young natures but without any particular bitterness. Soon,
however, the gathering of the war clouds and the noise of the storm
that was brewing brought the Southern cadets face to face with a
problem that of its nature was most difficult to solve. Each one had
sworn allegiance to the Government and taken an oath to defend it
against all enemies. What should they do? To remain and support the
Federal Government meant to fight against their own flesh and blood,
yet to resign was to break one’s sworn word. As a Southerner myself, I
have often reflected upon the mental suffering that those fellow cadets
of “the long grey line” must have experienced, trying to decide upon
their duty. General Schaff, in _The Spirit of Old West Point_, gives us
a vivid picture of those days at the Academy. So much has been written
about the cadets who left West Point to fight with the Southern forces
that the following data may prove interesting.
At the outbreak of the Civil War there were from the Southern States
eighty-six cadets. Of this number sixty-three resigned, from various
causes connected with the war, leaving twenty-one who remained loyal
to the Government. In the Army, it is a remarkable fact that of the
officers of Southern blood appointed from civil life, one half went
with the Confederacy, whereas only one fifth of the West Pointers went
South. One hundred and sixty-two Southern graduates withstood the
terrible strain of fighting their own people, and remained true to the
flag.
Although up to the time of the Civil War no graduates of West Point
had been appointed to the rank of general officer, the war had not
been in progress a year before the country eagerly turned to men from
the Academy to lead its armies. In September, 1861, six of the eleven
generals in the Regular Army were graduates. At the conclusion of the
war sixteen of the seventeen Regular general officers of the line were
graduates. Sixty-six graduates rose during the war to the grade of
major-general and 112 to that of brigadier-general of volunteers, which
means that more than one third of the graduates engaged in the war rose
to the grade of general officer. Nine received the thanks of Congress
for conspicuous gallantry.
Turning to the Confederate forces, we find a similar state of affairs.
Of the West Pointers in the Confederate service, eighteen were made
full generals, fifteen lieutenant-generals, forty major-generals, and
eighty-eight brigadier-generals. In command of all was Jefferson Davis,
President of the Confederacy, and a West Pointer.
The most famous West Pointer on the Union side was Ulysses S. Grant,
class of 1843, but scarcely less noted were Sheridan (’53), and Sherman
(’45). Other graduates whose services were most conspicuous follow:
George H. Thomas (’40), Meade (’35), Hooker (’35), Sedgwick (’37),
McClellan (’46), Halleck (’39), McPherson (’53), Rosecrans (’42),
Warren (’50), Pleasanton (’44), and Gregg (’55).
On the Confederate side we find Lee (’29), Early (’37), Jackson (’46),
A. S. Johnston (’26), A. P. Hill (’47), Daniel H. Hill (’42), and
Longstreet (’42), Ewell (’40), and Stuart (’54).
At the conclusion of the Civil War, a struggle between three million
combatants, all of the armies in the field on both sides were
commanded by graduates; nearly all of the corps; a large majority
of the divisions; the staff corps or organization of supply of both
forces, and many of the brigades. Every important battle of the war was
commanded on one or both sides by a graduate--generally both. This was
the verdict of the end of the great conflict after a test to which no
other institution of learning has ever been put.
After the Civil War the Academy began to drop out of public notice
because the people were more interested in the commercial development
of the country. Apathy on the part of the public has never, however,
affected West Point’s attitude toward its duty, so that year after year
graduates were sent forth to fight the Indians upon the Plains where
they underwent great hardships of which the country was ignorant.
Then came the Spanish War to test again the product of the Academy, but
the work of the graduates in Cuba and the Philippines gave ample proof
that the metal was still good and well stamped.
With the advent of Colonel A. L. Mills as Superintendent, the Academy
received a fresh impetus and many important changes were effected.
The Corps in 1900 was increased by one hundred cadets, hazing in all
of its forms was practically abolished after a long bitter fight, and
elaborate plans were inaugurated for the enlargement and rebuilding
of West Point. In this connection the late Colonel Charles W. Larned,
Professor of Drawing, distinguished himself. It is largely due to his
indefatigable efforts and to the foresight and ability of the late
General Mills, and to the Secretary of War, Elihu Root, that West Point
has its magnificent new buildings. Their construction extended over
a long period, from 1904 to 1911, during which time the courses were
expanded and improved to meet the needs of our new Army.
Once again the country is at war, this time with the most powerful and
resourceful enemy that our citizens have been called upon to face.
The graduates of West Point will prove as true to their traditions in
this struggle as they have in the past, and West Point knows that they
will return in triumph to their Alma Mater who ever stands ready to
press the cup of greeting to the lips of all honorable and loyal sons.