East View of West Point from the Hudson River

West Point
An Intimate Picture of the National
Military Academy and of the
Life of the Cadet
By
Robert Charlwood Richardson, Jr.
Captain, 2nd Cavalry, U. S. Army
Late Assistant Professor of English, U. S. M. A.
Foreword by
Major-General Hugh L. Scott
Chief of Staff, U. S. Army
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
New York and London
The Knickerbocker Press
1917

Copyright, 1917
BY
ROBERT CHARLWOOD RICHARDSON Jr.

Second Impression
The Knickerbocker Press, New York

To
THE CORPS OF CADETS
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BEST AMERICAN MANHOOD, HEIRS TO
A CENTURY OF UNSURPASSED ACHIEVEMENT AND HONORABLE
TRADITION—THE MOST HIGHMINDED, LOYAL, AND
DISCIPLINED BODY OF STUDENT OFFICERS IN
THE WORLD—I AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATE THIS VOLUME

FOREWORD

West Point played a great part in the gaining of American independence. It was strongly fortified as the key of the Hudson, and as long as it was held by the patriots of the Revolution the New England colonies could not be cut off from the others and conquered one at a time.

The lack of educated officers was greatly felt by the Generals of the Revolution, and this lack was but feebly supplied by trained officers from abroad.

It was mainly through the foresight and patriotism of Washington, Hamilton, and Knox that the Military Academy at West Point was founded, and their memory is still enshrined there.

The Academy had its inception in very small beginnings, first by the assignment of students to an Engineer regiment until the organic act of 1802 created an Academy with ten cadets. A firm establishment was not made, however, until the detail of Colonel Sylvanus Thayer in command in 1817, who laid down the fundamental principles which govern the Academy to this day.

The early graduates of the Academy suffered much from the jealousy of the old veterans of the Revolution who had no use for the educated soldier. These graduates were too few to make themselves felt in the War of 1812, and it was not until General Winfield Scott eulogized their services in the Mexican War that they began to be appreciated by the nation.

Their services in the Civil War were inestimable and are known to all who read history. After the Spanish-American War of 1898, the then Secretary of War, Mr. Elihu Root, reported that the services of the graduates of the Military Academy in that war alone had far more than repaid the cost of the Academy since its foundation in 1802.

For many years the Military Academy was what its name implies, an Academy, but it has expanded from time to time until it is a military university, giving instruction for all branches of the service except the Medical Corps, and securing for each graduate a broad foundation which enables him to specialize in any direction by means of the various special schools for each branch. The glory of West Point, however, is in the West Point character, now well known in every civilized country in the world, with its reputation for fidelity, efficiency, discipline, and general uprightness. The standing army of the United States has always been too small for the tasks that have been laid upon it, and at every crisis it has had to train large forces of citizen soldiers summoned from civil life for the emergency. These citizen-soldiers, as well as the Regular Army itself, rely upon the scientific education and high character of the West Point graduate to keep the art of war abreast, if not a little ahead, of the times, and for the initiative and informing leaven to permeate the mass and to cause the firm progress of discipline and uprightness throughout the whole.

Shortly after the Mexican War a verse was added to the old West Point song of Benny Havens:

“Their [graduates] blood has watered western plains
And northern wilds of snow,
Has dyed deep red the Everglades,
And walls of Mexico.”

Since that time they have shed it copiously in Cuba, China, and the Philippines, and they are now about to take their places with comrades from civil life fighting for liberty and democracy on the battlefields of France.

Hugh L. Scott.

Washington, D. C.,
May, 1917.

PREFACE

This book is intended to give, aside from a brief historical sketch of West Point, something of the feelings of the cadet from the moment that he reports for duty until he graduates four years later. Perhaps some of my fellow West Pointers will disagree with me in regard to my interpretation of their feelings, but what I have written thereon is drawn from my own experience and from many conversations with cadets of to-day. The customs, traditions, methods of training of the Academy are, I believe, unique, and they make an unforgettable impression upon the cadet. Especially does he become imbued with an almost indefinable influence that we of the Academy call the Spirit of West Point, and in the pages that follow I have tried to seize and translate into words this spirit of the institution. I have greatly enjoyed writing these pages about West Point, a subject very dear to my heart, and I offer this book to the public in the hope that my fellow countrymen may become better acquainted with the aims and ideals of their National Military Academy.

It gives me the greatest pleasure to acknowledge here my appreciation and thanks to Lieutenant Colonel L. H. Holt, U. S. A., Professor of English and History U. S. M. A., not only for his helpful suggestions and criticisms, but for his encouragement and unselfish interest in the preparation of this book.

I also wish to acknowledge the courtesy of the Reverend Herbert Shipman of New York, formerly Chaplain at the Military Academy, in allowing me to use his poem The Corps, with which I close the volume.

Since this book has gone to press, Colonel John Biddle, the Superintendent, has been promoted to the grade of Brigadier-General and relieved from the command of West Point. He has been succeeded by Colonel Samuel E. Tillman, Retired, who until 1910 was the Professor of Chemistry and Electricity at the Military Academy. Colonel Tillman perhaps more than any officer in the Army is better qualified for this important position. He is a graduate of West Point, to whose advancement he has devoted most of his life and he has made an exhaustive study of its needs. His appointment by the President seems to be particularly felicitous for he possesses a most intimate knowledge of the Military Academy. All West Pointers rejoice that West Point is in such good hands.

Robert Charlwood Richardson, Jr.

West Point, N. Y.,
May, 1917.

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Spirit of West Point

WEST POINT

CHAPTER I
IN THE DAYS OF THE REVOLUTION

Despite the successful attempts of the architect to give to the magnificent new buildings at West Point a mediæval character, there is nothing about them to suggest a feeling of oldness, a feeling that they are linked with the history of the place. Not until one wanders among the ruins of old Fort Putnam, explores the crumbling works of the chain of Redoubts on the surrounding hills, or rambles over the débris of Fort Constitution on Constitution Island, does he feel the flavor of age, the romance of West Point of the past. It is only then that the imagination races back over the years to the days of the Revolution where it pauses to rebuild the stirring events that filled the daily lives of our ancestors in their desperate struggle for our independence. Looking backward through the vista of more than a century the most commonplace happenings seem powdered with the golden dust of romance. Interwoven with each event are the names of the men who helped to make possible these free United States: Washington, Hamilton, Knox; and of him who was almost successful in thwarting their efforts, the traitor Benedict Arnold.

As far back as the time of the French and Indian Wars both the Americans and British recognized the great value of the control of the Hudson River. It would seem, therefore, that when the Revolution broke out both sides would take every means to seize and fortify the most strategic points along its banks. Strange to say, the Americans were as indifferent about its control as the British, so that the Revolution was in progress for three years before West Point, the natural key to the river’s defense, was fortified.

During the Revolution the British were operating from Manhattan on the south and Canada on the north as bases. Had they controlled the Hudson, they could have separated the eastern from the middle colonies, which division would have prevented the patriots from military combination and from interchanging the necessary commodities for both sections.

Immediately after the battles of Concord and Lexington, the Congress of New York, acting upon a suggestion from the Continental Congress, sent a commission to the Highlands to select “the most proper place for erecting one or more fortifications.” Constitution Island, and the sites where Forts Montgomery and Clinton[1] were afterwards built, were chosen. Nothing much was accomplished, however, in the way of fortifications despite the appointment of another commission that recommended the absolute necessity for works at West Point opposite Constitution Island.

Washington, accompanied by General Heath, finally sailed up the river in 1776, and General Heath tells us that “a glance at West Point without going on shore evinced that this post was not to be neglected.” Meanwhile the Revolution dragged on into its third year, 1778, but still no fortifications at West Point. Due to Washington’s persistence, work was begun there early in January, 1778. General Parsons with his brigade arrived at West Point on the 20th of January and began the erection of defenses. The weather was extremely cold, provisions were scarce, the men inadequately clothed, and the troops poorly supplied with the proper implements to carry on their labor. Altogether, a very depressing and discouraging situation confronted Parsons’s men as they debouched upon the Plain and surveyed their surroundings. If any thought could have given them courage it must have been the reflection that at least they were somewhat better off than their comrades in arms down at Valley Forge, who, despite their wretched condition, were bravely keeping alive the patriotic fires of the Revolution.

What a contrast was that first sight of West Point to Parsons’s troops to that offered today! Instead of the beautiful level parade ground surrounded by fine granite buildings they found an undulating plain covered by a growth of yellow pines ten or fifteen feet high, without house or habitation. The only point of similarity was the snow, waist high. After strenuous efforts to get logs from the neighboring hills, a few rude huts were hastily thrown together, and then, at the end of three weeks, the soldiers fell to work with a will, building Fort Clinton under the direction of a splendid young French engineer by the name of de la Radière. The cold was most intense, but the men went up the river, cut the timber for the Fort, and assembled it so that when the river was open, it might be floated down to the Point. Their hard daily toil was not relieved by any diversions in the evening, for West Point was a veritable wilderness. General Parsons, in writing to Colonel Wadsworth, said of West Point, “to a contemplative mind that delights in a lonely retreat from the world ’tis as beautiful as Sharon, but affords to the man who loves the society of the world a prospect nearly allied to the shades of death.... News arrives here by accident only.” The poor soldiers had to repair night after night to their little log huts and get what pleasure they could from one another’s society.

The rigors of the winter and the hardships to which the Revolutionary soldiers were accustomed overwhelmed the delicate constitution of the brilliant young de la Radière. Unhappily, he contracted a severe cold that culminated in consumption from which he died the following mid-summer. Another European, attracted by the justice of the Revolutionary cause, succeeded de la Radière. Thaddeus Kosciusko, a Pole of education and culture, joined Parsons’s officers, with whom he became a great favorite, not only on account of his engineering ability but by reason of his charming manners, soft and conciliating, and by the elevation of his mind. One officer wrote that he took much pleasure in accompanying Kosciusko with his theodolite measuring the heights of the surrounding mountains.

Today Kosciusko’s name is more familiar to West Pointers than de la Radière’s, for an enchanting little garden, a tiny retreat hanging on to the cliff near the river, bears his name, and a monument, in the northeast corner of the Plain near Port Clinton that he helped build, commemorates his devotion to the Revolutionary cause.

Kosciusko’s presence and energy put new life into the work of construction. Shortly afterwards, when orders came from Washington to expedite the completion of all of the forts, Parsons and Kosciusko, under the direction of Colonel Rufus Putnam, immediately commenced excavations for Fort Putnam.[2] The men now daily trudged up the small hill back of the Plain and began making clearings for the fort’s foundation. It was hard laborious work, extremely fatiguing, and, to add to the men’s discomfiture, they were greatly annoyed by large rattlesnakes with which the hill top seemed to swarm.

While the land defenses were being so well prepared, steps were taken to prevent enemy ships from passing up the Hudson. The topography of West Point and the adjacent country lent itself most admirably to the plan of obstructing the river.

The Hudson, as it comes down from Newburgh a straight course of nine miles, strikes West Point, where it is deflected eastward for a quarter of a mile, flowing between Constitution Island and the steep cliffs of the Point before again turning south. Any British sailing vessel coming up the river from New York would, upon rounding Gee’s Point, lose a great deal of its speed on account of the swift current, and if stopped by some obstruction could be held under the fire of the batteries on both shores. General Putnam, therefore, through his Quartermaster-General, contracted with the Sterling Iron Works of Noble, Townsend and Co., for an iron chain 500 feet long, each link about two feet long, to be made of the best Sterling iron 2¼ inches square, with a swivel to every hundred feet and a clevis to every thousand feet, for which the government was to pay $440 for every ton weight of chain and anchors.[3]

Photo White Studio

Artillery Target Practice

The chain was to obstruct the navigation of the river. It was stretched across the narrowest part on April 30, 1778, and fastened at West Point in the second small cove west of Gee’s Point, and on Constitution Island where the present small boathouse and landing-place stand. Very large logs, sixteen or more feet long, a little pointed at the ends to lessen opposition to the force of the water on flood and ebb, were used to buoy up the great weight of the obstruction. During the winter it was taken up, because the ice in the river was an effective blockade, but when spring came the work of 280 men was needed to lay it across the stream.

Meanwhile, Kosciusko labored strenuously on the forts, so that by June, 1778, the work on the fort in the northeast corner of the Plain begun by de la Radière in the January past, was completed and given the name of Fort Arnold. Later, when Benedict Arnold turned traitor, its name became Fort Clinton. A small portion of the wall stands today. Washington, on a visit to West Point in September, 1778, paid Kosciusko a great compliment, stating to General Duportail, his chief engineer, that he need have no uneasiness as to Kosciusko’s ability.

Additional troops were at this time sent to West Point because Washington feared an attack by the British. In the spring of 1779, General McDougall was at West Point with three brigades; there was one on Constitution Island, and the main body of the Army was near Haverstraw under General Putnam. Washington, ever watchful, viewed with great concern the presence of the British in the strong position of Stony Point because he considered this post a serious menace to West Point. Wishing to be rid of them he sent for Anthony Wayne, gave him a corps of light infantry, and directed him to capture the British fort. A better man than Wayne could not have been selected for the job. On the 15th of July, Wayne paraded his troops for a minute inspection, after which, instead of dismissing them, he marched upon Stony Point, which at midnight he successfully assaulted with the bayonet. The news of his brilliant exploit was conveyed to Washington in the following refreshing message:

West Point, 16 July 1779.
2 o’clock a. m.

Dear Gen’l:

The fort and garrison with Colonel Johnston are ours. Our officers and men behaved like men who are determined to be free.

Yours most sincerely,
Ant’y Wayne.

To supervise better the defenses of the Hudson River, Washington moved his headquarters to West Point, in July, 1779, where he remained until November of that year, occupying “Moore’s House,” a structure that stood in Washington valley near the shore of the Hudson, a short distance from the northeast corner of the present cemetery. It was built by John Moore prior to 1749, and called by all the people in the vicinity “Moore’s Folly” on account of its pretentiousness.

General Clinton tried to draw Washington out into the open country for a campaign, but the American Commander was too astute and Clinton dared not attack the Revolutionary forces at bay at West Point because of the dangers of a campaign in the Highlands.

Spurred on by Washington’s presence and by his orders, Kosciusko and the troops completed Fort Putnam and Redoubts Webb and Wyllys in the summer. This work necessitated for fatigue duty each day 2500 men, a large percentage of the garrison. Even at this early period, West Point was the Mecca for distinguished Americans and foreigners. Nearly every Revolutionary commander visited the Post at one time or another during the war, and while Washington was here, Count de Luzerne, the French minister, was his guest.

Before Washington left the Post in late November, the troops in the Highlands were distributed to their winter stations. Little money was available to equip properly the soldiers but they struggled on bearing their burdens and hardships that we of today might be free. That they were not fighting for the present alone, without a thought as to those who would come after them, is revealed to us by an entry in a diary of General Heath who was then in command of all the troops and Posts on the Hudson:

25th Nov. 1779. The troops were moving to their different places of cantonment; many of the soldiers (as fine men as ever stood in shoes) were marched barefooted over the hard frozen ground, and with an astonishing patience.

Remember these things, ye Americans in future times!

In the spring of 1780, Washington sent Baron Steuben to West Point to drill the troops, for he feared an attack by the British. This accomplished officer, a Major-General in the American Army, had seen seven campaigns in the service of Frederick the Great, so that he brought to his task a ripe experience. With Prussian thoroughness he commenced drilling both the old soldiers and recruits of the command, with the result that by summer he was able to write to Washington that he had formed a corps of light infantry “that I dare flatter myself will be the admiration of our allies as much as the terror of our enemies.”

Notwithstanding the patriotic work of the officers and men of the Army, Washington was aware that America as well as Great Britain was getting tired of the war. “There never has been a stage of the war,” he said, “in which dissatisfaction has been so general and so alarming.” Governor Reed of Pennsylvania said in August, 1780: “It is obvious that the bulk of the people are weary of the war.”

The stage was therefore set for the most dramatic event of the Revolution, the treason of Benedict Arnold. Had Arnold succeeded at this period of the Revolution, the hour of darkness and depression, in selling West Point to the British, we would probably still be English colonies. The loss of the Post would have shaken the morale of the American commanders, not to speak of the paralysis of any movement upon which Washington’s army might have been engaged at that particular time.

For more than a year previous to his assumption of the command of West Point, Arnold had been hatching nefarious schemes to betray the Americans. He needed money badly, due to his extravagances while in Philadelphia. His conduct had not been entirely satisfactory while in that city and open resentment was expressed on account of his preference for the British faction, but because of his military capacity he was held in high esteem by Washington. His abilities led Washington to offer him the command of the left wing of the army then in the field, but he pleaded that he was unfit for field duty by reason of the wound that he had received at Saratoga, and requested the command of West Point. His desires were respected and on August 5, 1780, he assumed command of his new post with headquarters at the Robinson House.[4]

Once at West Point, Arnold saw his chance to gain rank and pay from the British. He immediately entered into a lively correspondence with Major André, the Adjutant-General of the British forces in America, who was addressed as “Mr. John Anderson, Merchant.” Arnold’s communications were all signed “Gustavus.” When negotiations for the betrayal of West Point had reached a crisis, Arnold requested a personal interview with a representative of the British. General Clinton then sent Major André up the river on the sloop Vulture which anchored near Haverstraw. An agent of Arnold’s, one Joshua Hett Smith, returned at midnight, September 21, with Major André in full uniform, a landing being made a short distance north of the West Shore Railroad tunnel south of Haverstraw. Arnold and André then went to Smith’s house in West Haverstraw. They were challenged by an American sentinel and it was here that André entered the American lines.

While the two officers were in consultation, the American commander across the river brought a four-pounder within range of the Vulture, and opened a heavy fire upon her, causing her commander to shift his anchorage downstream. Great was André’s dismay at seeing his vessel forced away, for now he was in the American lines and far from New York. He had been assured of a safe return to his own lines, and disliked the idea of traveling alone by land to New York. Moreover, he was very reluctant to take off his uniform but at Arnold’s advice he changed into civilian clothing, thereby foolishly placing himself in the light of a spy, if caught within the American lines. Arnold also gave André important papers regarding the strength of West Point defenses.

It is not difficult to imagine the state of André’s mind at finding himself in a false position and at the same time disobeying General Clinton’s orders, which were not to change his uniform under any circumstances nor receive any papers from Arnold. Under the guidance of Joshua Smith, he crossed the river at King’s Ferry (near Stony Point of today) and proceeded south toward New York.

Although furnished with a pass by Arnold, he was detained by three American patriots near Tarrytown, searched, and turned over to Colonel Jameson at North Castle.

Meanwhile, Arnold was at his Headquarters at the Robinson House awaiting events, and Washington was on his way from Hartford to West Point. Had Arnold succeeded it is probable that Washington would have fallen into the enemy’s hands at this time, an accident that would have ruined the Revolution. When Washington was opposite West Point he sent two aides to inform Arnold of his arrival. They proceeded to the Robinson House and were enjoying Arnold’s hospitality at breakfast when Jameson’s messenger arrived with a note announcing André’s capture. The news must have fallen upon Arnold like a thunderbolt, but with perfect sangfroid he excused himself, rushed upstairs to tell his wife of the danger, ordered his horse, sent for the coxswain of his barge, and then calmly returned to his guests whom he told it was necessary for him to cross to West Point to prepare for the reception of General Washington. Instead, he rapidly made his way down the river and boarded the Vulture which took him to New York.

Major André was tried by court-martial, found guilty of being a spy, and sentenced to be hanged. Numerous letters were written to Washington begging that André’s life be spared. Arnold himself addressed to his former chief a long communication exonerating André and taking upon himself the blame for André’s presence in disguise within the American lines. Even Hamilton was touched, saying: “Never perhaps did any man suffer death with more justice or deserve it less.”

André accepted his fate like a brave soldier but he revolted from the ignominy of being hanged. When all efforts to change the mode of his death failed, he personally appealed to Washington in the following splendid letter:

From Maj. André to General Washington, 1780.

Tappan.
The 1st. of Oct., 1780.

Sir:

Buoy’d above the terror of death by the consciousness of a life devoted to honorable pursuits and stained with no action that can give me remorse, I trust that the request that I make to your Excellency, at this serious period and which is to soften my last moments will not be rejected.

Sympathy toward a soldier will surely induce your Excellency and a military tribunal to adapt the mode of my death to the feelings of a man of honor. Let me hope, Sir, that if aught in my character impresses you with esteem towards me, if aught in my misfortune marks me the victim of policy and not of resentment, I shall experience the operation of those feelings in your breast by being informed that I am not to die on a gibbet.

I have the honor to be your Excellency’s most obedient and most humble servant,

John André,
Adj. General to the British Army.

His request, however, was not granted and in the early afternoon of October 2, 1780, arrayed in full dress uniform he paid the penalty on the scaffold. His body was buried beneath his gibbet but removed to England in 1831 where it rests in Westminster Abbey.

West Point and the Revolutionary cause was saved to the Americans! The shock of Arnold’s traitorous act with its narrowly averted consequences caused Washington to take even more stringent measures for West Point’s defense. Orders were issued to continue work on all of the fortifications and during 1781 and 1782, the garrison labored faithfully and uncomplainingly notwithstanding the great sufferings of the men from lack of provisions. At times the stores on hand were numbered by a few barrels of salt pork and a little flour.

Major-General Knox now assumed command of the Post. After the cessation of hostilities he was very busy mustering out troops and putting the garrison in shape.

Despite the poverty that prevailed at West Point, Washington ordered a celebration to be held in honor of the birth of the Dauphin of France, Louis Joseph, the son of Louis XVI., born October, 1781. A magnificent fête was arranged in which all of the troops stationed in the Highlands participated. Upon the Plain at West Point, Major Villefranche erected a curious edifice, an improvised temple with a grand colonnade of 118 pillars made of the trunks of trees. The entire building was festooned with American and French flags, with designs and emblems, muskets and bayonets fancifully arranged. Washington, with a party of five hundred distinguished guests, assembled in the colonnade for a banquet. A series of thirteen toasts were drunk, each one accompanied by a salute of thirteen cannon. During the evening there was a grand display of fireworks for the troops and a ball for the officers and their guests. This dance, led by General Washington, was the first real West Point hop.

The various details left over from the Revolution were now disposed of by General Knox and his successor, Lieut.-Col. Rochefontaine. The genesis of the Military Academy was foreshadowed by the presence of the Invalid Corps which by act of Congress, 1777, was, among other things, “to serve as a military school for young gentlemen previous to their being appointed to marching regiments.”

The dark days of the Revolution were over and the troops could now rest from their strenuous labors. There were important matters, however, to occupy the leaders, not the least of which was the establishment of an institution for training officers for the Army. No lesson of the war was so well learned as the need for such educated leaders, and immediately the Revolution was over, Washington, Hamilton, and Knox began urging Congress to establish a National Military Academy. Although Washington never lived to see his recommendations carried out, he would have rejoiced, I am sure, to know that Congress three years after his death founded the United States Military Academy, at his favorite Post, West Point.

CHAPTER II
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.

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.

CHAPTER III
THE REALIZATION OF AN ARCHITECT’S DREAM

When the springtime rolls around and the Hudson River is at its best, the annual influx of visitors begins to arrive at West Point. Trains and boats disgorge official visitors, tourists, boy scouts, delegations of various brotherhoods and sisterhoods, and picknickers galore. Little groups of them appear in all corners of the Post, in the area of Barracks, on the Plain, in the Public Buildings, and along the famous Flirtation Walk. Their chief interest, of course, is to catch a glimpse of the cadets, either en masse or individually. When the Corps starts either to meals or to dress parade, they gather along the sidewalks, or at the visitors’ seats to watch the marching. Some openly express their enthusiasm and pleasure, genuinely delighted at everything they see, while others remain silent and phlegmatic apparently taking only a languid interest in their surroundings.

As I watch my fellow-countrymen strolling about the grounds of the Academy, I often wonder what are their impressions of this institution. To many, of course, the historic traditions of West Point, as well as its functions and purposes, are thoroughly familiar, but to a vast majority West Point is a closed book. They see the cadets, the drills, the buildings, perhaps parade, but they never have an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the intimate life of the Academy. They do not derive the full benefit from their visit, because they are in the position of regarding the institution from the outside. In many cases, the spirit of investigation is restrained by a feeling of timidity upon their part, a feeling of awe in the face of military surroundings.

The Army is so little known to the people in the United States, that, to the average civilian, there seems to be some sort of mystery surrounding military life, and the presence of a man in uniform, with a waist belt and pistol, doing plain police duty, appears to act as a check on every natural impulse. The pleasure of his visit is consequently marred to some extent and he feels somewhat ill-at-ease. He wants to investigate with greater freedom, but he shrinks from being told that his projects are “Verboten.” Upon his departure he must of necessity have but a superficial idea of the great work done at the Academy, unless he has been fortunate enough to have some friend stationed at West Point who dissipates the apparently cold atmosphere of military life.

I have often regretted, as I watched the crowds swarming around, that each individual might not carry away a real appreciation of West Point, instead of leaving with only the most superficial impressions. Unless one has graduated from the Academy it is impossible to seize fully the spirit of the institution, or have a clear idea of its intimate life. My long familiarity with West Point, both as a cadet and as an officer, prompts me to portray for the American people the history, aims, ideals, and spirit of their National Military Academy.

Class Formation in the Area of Barracks

West Point seen for the first time from the river, whether in sunshine or through the mists, is a sight not soon forgotten. The monumental Riding Hall that rises out of the cliff of which it seems to form a part, first fixes the eye, but as one’s glance wanders a little higher it drinks in the towering pile of Post Headquarters; higher yet, the eye rests for a moment on the crenelated border of the roof of the Academic Building, and then, higher still, it pauses to contemplate the beauty of West Point’s crowning architectural achievement, the Cadet Chapel. For a moment the beholder seems withdrawn from the sordid material world, and filled with a multitude of noble impressions. He experiences a spiritual uplift as he admires the majestic simplicity and grandeur of the buildings, an architectural triumph worthy to have inspired Ruskin’s beautiful thought, “frozen music.”

When the Government determined to rebuild West Point, nearly fifteen years ago, the presence of two fine buildings of Gothic design—the Library and the Cadet Barracks—decided the style of architecture. These two buildings ranked as perhaps the most successful examples of the Collegiate Gothic that was much in vogue for educational institutions in the country half a century ago. A limited competition was held for designs and all architects who had distinguished themselves in Gothic work were invited to participate. Several beautiful designs for a Renaissance treatment were offered, but one group of architects, Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson, submitted drawings for so admirable a Gothic treatment that they received the unanimous approval of a board of judges composed of eminent architects. The construction of the new buildings lasted over a period of about seven years, during which time the work was under the direction of Colonel John M. Carson, Jr., Quartermaster, who was representing the Government. In writing a book on West Point, any mention of the buildings involves the name of Colonel Carson who performed his difficult work with an unusual amount of zeal and intelligence. The result is that the new buildings are splendidly constructed, and because the architects had an eye for harmony these structures seem to grow out of the rocks upon which they stand, emphasizing rather than detracting from West Point’s natural beauty.

The Administration Building

The north road from the station passes first, on the river side, the Power House built of granite from local quarries. It is designed to supply the entire institution with electricity for light and power, and the central buildings with heat from exhaust steam. In a building of this nature, a factory-like look would be taken for granted and pardoned, but, on the contrary, its design is not only adapted for its function, but the building forms an important link in the architectural whole. It assumes its place quite naturally and modestly, almost unobtrusively in the natural landscape, tying the buildings in the upper terrace with the base. The tall smoke-stack is cleverly concealed within the walls of an imposing granite tower.

On a slightly higher level, and paralleling the river, is the Riding Hall splendidly impressive with its broad flat buttresses. The latter seem almost akin to the classic order, and serve in a very large measure to reconcile the classicism of the neighboring Cullum Memorial Hall,—an exotic among its surroundings—with the dominant Gothic of the place. The present Riding Hall occupies the site of not only the old hall, but also of the old Cavalry stables, and barracks. The old hall was built in 1855 and, for the number of cadets at West Point during the ensuing fifty years, it was sufficiently large. With the increase of the Corps of Cadets, and the quickened interest throughout the Service in equitation, however, more spacious accommodations for instruction were required. Usually when a building has served a useful and honorable purpose for many years, its demolition is generally viewed with regret. There was, however, no sentimental attachment for the Riding Hall. Many a painful hour had cadets spent within its walls learning to ride on the bare back of a raw-boned horse, or floundering around in the spongy tanbark.

In the little plaza at the junction of the Power House and Riding Hall, the road winds and passes under the mediæval arch of the Post Headquarters, or Administration Building. At this point, the bulk and dignity of the buildings are stupendous, and admiringly we stand, imprisoned, it would seem, in a quadrangle of Middle Age fortresses, whose sternness and solemnity seem symbolic of discipline and strength. The main entrance to the Riding Hall branches from the road a few paces beyond the arch, the lower level of the galleries being reached by a flight of steps that cling to the steep retaining wall of the road. The great arena is 150 by 600 feet and is covered by a cantilever roof, so that when the eye first encounters this interior, a sensation of its vastness holds the spectator in its grip. The roof is mostly of glass so as to afford a maximum of light, and the floor is covered with tanbark to make more endurable any sudden and unexpected descent from the back of a capricious beast. The building is steam-heated and electric lighted, for during the winter months, equitation drills extend into the late afternoon. The hall can be divided by curtains into three smaller halls, a scheme that permits three classes to undergo instruction at the same time. In one portion of the hall are stalls for one hundred mounts, but the majority of the horses are kept at the cavalry barracks. The hall is so large that during the winter months the U. S. M. A. Battery of Artillery uses it for a drill ground, thereby keeping the horses in good condition and the men well instructed. Moreover, the officers and cadets are enabled to keep up their practice in polo. Every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon, teams of cadets play each other, or try their skill against civilian opponents. Along the full length of the west wall, and the north and south end, are balconies for the accommodation of visitors who are welcome whenever the hall is open.

Administration
Building Riding
Hall

Passing once more under the arch, we admire again for a moment the graceful Herculean proportions of the Administration Building whose imposing square tower, tipped with four smaller towers at the corners, rises precipitately one hundred and sixty feet. It is an interesting fact in these days of steel construction that this tower is built of solid masonry. At the southeast angle of the building, on a level with the base of the main floor, is an enormous eagle carved in granite, its head high, its wings outstretched and flattened back proudly against the two sides of the edifice, as if proclaiming to the world its mission of protection over the Academy whose administrative heart is enclosed in this structure. As we ascend the stairway, alongside the basement at the left, we pass a large Gothic window which affords light to a vaulted hall used for courts-martial. The interior of this hall is in keeping with the mediæval donjon appearance of the whole building, and of such a chill and forbidding aspect as to inspire in the accused a feeling of guilt, nolens volens. The flight of stairs mounts to the level of the Post proper where an eastern view of the building is disclosed. A large sally-port leads into the court around which the building is constructed.

The exterior walls are ornamented with shields representing the coats-of-arms of various states, territories, and foreign possessions prepared from the official seals, and expressed according to the laws of Heraldry. The only coat-of-arms of an individual is that of George Washington, at the top of the east elevation of the courtyard. The obverse and reverse of the great seal of the United States will be found above the east and west entrances, respectively, of the sally-port. Flanking the obverse of the great seal are the seal of the War Department and the device of the Corps of Engineers. In addition to the shields, the devices of the various staff departments, usually associated with a headquarters, have been placed in the sally-port. Two of them, the Adjutant-General’s Department, and the Quartermaster’s Department, are on shields on the north side of the sally-port, and the Subsistence Department, Signal Corps, Pay Department, Ordnance Department, Inspector-General’s Department, Judge-Advocate-General’s Department, Medical Department, and Chaplain’s Corps, are on corbels at the bases of the ribs of the arch.

Colonel Jonathan Williams, Corps of Engineers
First Superintendent of the Military Academy

From the Painting by Thomas Sully, Library U.S.M.A.

In the courtyard the names that are carved in the granite were selected for the following reasons:

Upon the second floor is the Academic Board room, a Gothic hall illuminated with stained glass windows containing emblems of the various arts and sciences. The most striking feature of the room is the massive stone mantel, modeled by Laurie and ornamented with statuettes of the world’s greatest warriors.

The description of the statuettes and the reasons for selecting the subject are given in a letter to Dr. Holden, late librarian, dated November 23, 1906. An Advisory Board of officers recommended:

That the character of the figures on the mantlepiece be of a general military type—historical or legendary—best suited to harmonize with the architectural treatment and selected by the architects themselves from the three lists in this letter of November 23, 1906.

The heads appearing at the top of the mantel—in the crenelations—have no relation to the statuettes underneath. The small shields immediately below the statuettes are, however, indicative of the subjects as follows:

Joshua. Sun and Moon—taken from the Biblical legend describing the distinctly miraculous standing still of the Sun on the occasion of a certain battle.

Hector of Troy. Mycenæan Scroll—a sort of triangular fylfot, which stands for Mycenæan civilization. This device would apply equally to that of Troy of which Hector was the greatest figure.

Colonel Joseph G. Swift
First Graduate of the Military Academy

From the Painting by Thomas Sully, Library U.S.M.A.

David. King of all Israel, warrior and psalmist—the harp—selected by the architects instead of a little sling, especially since the head of Goliath is under the foot of the figure above.

Alexander the Great. A conventionalized Gordian knot severed.

Julius Cæsar. The standard carried by the famous Roman Legions.

Charlemagne. King of the Franks—The imperial iron crown.

King Arthur of England. The Holy Grail, symbolizing the whole purpose of his career.

Godfrey de Bouillon. Heraldic cross of Jerusalem of which city he was king and which forms a part of his own coat-of-arms.

Judas Maccabeus. The hammer—which is the actual meaning of the name “Maccabeus.”

In the mantel, the figures are arranged chronologically and historically. Three of them, i. e., Hector, Alexander, and Cæsar, were Heathen; three were Christians, viz.: Charlemagne, King Arthur, and Godfrey; and three were Jews, viz.: Joshua, David, and Judas.

The choice of subjects was suggested to the architects by Caxton’s preface to the first volume of Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur, from which the following quotation covering the choice of the figures is taken:

For it is notorly known through the universal world, that there be nine worthy and the best that ever were, that is to wit, three Paynims, three Jews, and three Christian men. As for the Paynims, they were to-fore the Incarnation of Christ, which were named, the first Hector of Troy, of whom the history is comen both in ballad and in prose, the second Alexander the Great, and the third Julius Cæsar, Emperor of Rome, of whom the histories be well known and had. And as for the three Jews, which were also to-fore the Incarnation of our Lord, of whom the first was Duke Joshua which brought the children of Israel into the land of behest, the second David, King of Jerusalem, and the third Judas Maccabeus, of these three the Bible rehearseth all their noble histories and acts. And since the said Incarnation have been three noble Christian men, stalled and admitted through the universal world into the number of the nine best and worthy. Of whom was first the noble Arthur. The second was Charlemain, or Charles the Great, of whom the history is had in many places, both in French and English. And the third and last was Godfrey of Boloine.

Cadets at Equitation in the World’s Largest Riding Hall (600 ft. × 150 ft.)

Upon the same floor as the Academic Board room are the three offices of the Superintendent, the Adjutant, and the clerks. The Headquarters building houses, moreover, the offices of the Treasurer, the Quartermaster, the printing shops, the Post Office, and the Ordnance Museum, the entrance to which is at the left of the sally-port. Begun in 1854, the Museum has throughout the years gathered some valuable trophies of war, interesting relics, and models of the arms of all nations. Visitors are well repaid by a visit to this interesting spot. Historic relics abound in the rooms. I might mention among them a portion of the flagstaff that was at Fort Sumter in 1861; presentation swords belonging to distinguished American generals; General Grant’s uniform and horse equipment; mementoes of the Philippine insurrection and of the war with Spain, not to speak of a rare and beautiful collection of weapons of all kinds. Not the least interesting part of the exhibit are the trophies of the Revolution. In glass cases are preserved five flags captured by the American army during the Revolution, two of which were British royal colors, and three taken from the German mercenaries sent over by King George. The former were taken at Yorktown. All these flags were originally the property of General Washington by whom they were bequeathed to George Washington Parke Custis, the son of his adopted son, and grandson of Mrs. Washington. He in turn bequeathed them to the War Department, which came into possession of them in 1858. The same year Secretary Floyd presented them to the Academy.

Across the road from the Administration Building is the Cadet Mess. It is one of the oldest buildings, the main part dating from 1850. The architecture conforms in a general way to that of the new buildings. With its broad pavement in front, it sets well back from the road, possessing not only the dignity of its more imposing neighbors, but in addition a certain quaint charm.

The large central doors give access to the main hall whose walls are hung with portraits of distinguished graduates, chiefly the former Superintendents of the Academy. Perhaps the most interesting painting is that of General Robert E. Lee, who was Superintendent in 1852. Frequently I have heard visitors express surprise that General Lee’s portrait should hang in the halls of the National Military Academy, notwithstanding he was a graduate and afterwards a Superintendent. The fact that he fought against the Union, they argue, should preclude the bestowal of the honor. West Point, however, considers that since we are a united people once more, his record should be recognized by his Alma Mater from whom he learned the lessons that brought him his fame and his glory.

Symmetrically arranged in the hall are the mess tables. They are made to accommodate ten cadets, but occasionally, here and there, two tables are shoved together for economy of floor space. At these tables are twenty cadets. It is a pleasure to enter the Mess Hall prior to any meal. Every table is immaculate with its snowy clean cloth, its polished cutlery, and shining crockery. The cadets are not seated by classes but by companies, each company having a certain number of tables in the section of the hall assigned its battalion. As a rule, the ten messmates are made up of three first classmen, two second classmen, two third classmen, and three fourth classmen. The latter are given, by custom of the Corps, various duties to perform at mess such as carving the meat, procuring the coffee and milk.

The Carved Mantel in the Hall of the Academic Board

Sculptor—Laurie

The Nine Great Warriors of the World

Note: There are also two figures on the sides, not visible

Three long passageways lead from the main dining-hall to the kitchen. At first glance the super-cleanliness of the surroundings strikes the observer, but his attention is soon attracted to the numerous clever devices for cooking, and for saving time and labor. The preparation of the food for cooking occurs outside of the kitchen proper. Each department prepares its kind, whereupon it is carried to the chef to be cooked and served. The labor of preparation is greatly reduced by the liberal use of machinery. A clever electrical machine rapidly peels the potatoes, a whole bushel of them, in a few minutes; other contrivances make and cut the bread, sterilize the milk, freeze the ice-cream; and wash and dry the innumerable dishes. Without the aid of these labor-saving devices it would be impossible to maintain such an excellent mess for the cadets. Even now the capacity of the plant is tested almost to its limit, and with the increase in the Corps to 1200 cadets, it will be necessary either to enlarge the present Cadet Mess or to build a new hall. The disappearance of the present Mess, Grant Hall, will be viewed with great regret by many graduates who dined for four long years within its really historic walls.

South of the Cadet Mess is the Hospital for cadets, a large granite building perched on a terrace, well back from the road. It consists of a central portion of three stories and basement, with two wings of two stories each and basement. The older portions date from 1875, but the wings are of more recent construction. The wings are practically detached from the main portion of the building for the possible isolation of cases. The equipment is, of course, modern in every respect. Each wing contains two wards, making four in all, named respectively Cuyler, McElderry, McParlin, and Wheaton in honor of former distinguished military surgeons on duty at West Point. I do not suppose that there is a building on the Post which arouses in cadets so many different kinds of feeling. To some it is a place to be avoided, but to a large number, especially to those who succeed in entering for minor ailments, it is viewed as a haven of rest. It is the one place where the cadets are free from the irksome routine, where there is no reveille, and where the convalescents revel in what appears to them epicurean feasts. Vatel, the famous French chef, never enjoyed more renown than does the cook at the hospital.

Almost every cadet has a secret longing to be in the hospital at least for a short period during his course, and those who “break in” for slight ailments are regarded with a special esteem by their fellows. One of the first adages that a plebe learns at West Point is “faint heart never broke into the hospital.” The surgeons, however, are pretty clever men and they size up the situation very clearly in each case.

The North Cadet Barracks

I remember that upon one occasion when I was a cadet, a group of convalescents were, one winter day, holding a mutual congratulatory meeting in one of the wards, the burden of the conversation being their luck and also their skill in remaining so long in this abode of rest. Arthur C——, who was the most successful of the disciples of the “rest cure,” was perched upon a bed explaining to an admiring line of heads in little snow-white cots, the strategy necessary to remain in the ward, finishing his discourse oratorically; “Some may come and some may go but I stay on forever!” when the door opened and in walked the surgeon. Cadet C—— was next day returned to duty.

The officer in charge of the hospital is the Post Surgeon, who is assisted by three or four captains of the Medical Corps, and by several Dental Surgeons. These officers are also in charge of the Soldiers’ Hospital, a separate building for the enlisted men of the garrison, and are responsible for the general health of the command.

The chief buildings of the Academy occupy relatively a small area of ground. Just north of the Cadet Mess and flanking the main road are the two Academic buildings, known as the East and West Academic. The East building is new, having been completed in 1913, one of the last provided for in the rebuilding of West Point. The West Academic building, which was completed in 1895, is built of Massachusetts granite and cost about five hundred thousand dollars. In this building are located the Departments of Civil and Military Engineering, Mathematics, Law, Drawing, Ordnance and Gunnery, and English and History; in the East building the Departments of Modern Languages, Chemistry and Electricity, Natural and Experimental Philosophy. The latter building is provided with the most modern lecture rooms, electrical and chemical laboratories, besides a mineralogical and geological museum. The major portion of both buildings contain the section rooms for recitation purposes. Visitors are admitted if accompanied by an officer.

The architecture of both of these buildings is Gothic, but that of the new or East building is of a more exquisite beauty. Splendidly situated, it gives the impression of bulk and mass, much the same feeling that one has in regarding a dreadnought for the first time, but this impression soon gives way to an appreciation of a certain delicacy of treatment, a simple dignity that pleases. One of the best impressions of its beauty is obtained about dusk when the evening mists dim its outlines and its surface is bathed in shadows relieved only by the glimmering of the mediæval lanterns on either side of the main door.

Immediately facing the center of the East Academic Building and across the road, is a large opening known as a sally-port through which the sections of cadets must march to recitations in the East Academic building. This passageway connects the main road with the area of barracks, a space of ground that derives its name from the brown-stone buildings that bound a portion of its perimeter. Along one side is a cement walk on which the cadets form to be marched to their recitations, and a sidewalk borders the barracks. With the exception of a small plot of grass near the Academic building the area is devoid of verdure, but is covered with a fine gravel that gives a clean and well-groomed appearance to the ground. The word “Area” has great connoting power. To a large number of cadets, it vividly brings to mind the punishment tours that they wearily trudged on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons across its surface. To the majority, however, it is the “hub” of cadet life, the assembly place for recitations, sometimes for meals; the scene of many an inspection or a guard mount, and most important of all, it contains a small insignificant building with a clock tower where dwell the Commandant of Cadets and his assistants, the Tactical officers.

The building on the north and west of the area is the South Cadet Barracks, built in 1848. This edifice, of 360 feet frontage, is constructed of native granite, with crenelations and cornices of red sandstone, and the Elizabethan style of its architecture harmonizes perfectly with the Gothic of the new buildings. In fact, the old Cadet Barracks is one of West Point’s handsomest buildings. There are two hundred rooms in the building, 14 × 22 feet, each planned to accommodate two cadets. It is completely supplied with modern plumbing, heating, and electric lights. The barracks are divided into divisions, each containing sixteen rooms. There is no lateral communication between the divisions, but a certain number of them are assigned to a company, according to its strength. At present the 1st Bn. Cos. A, B, C, and D are quartered here.

I have often stood in the Area of Barracks and looked through the north sally-port to enjoy the fine vista that it framed. A section of the Plain fills half the picture, a beautiful foreground, either when resignedly spread out to the heat of the Highland summer, or shivering under its fleecy blanket of snow, over which the winter winds angrily blow. In the upper half against the far-away background of the Highland hills is the slender flagstaff, sometimes swathed in the folds of our national emblem, sometimes resisting with all its strength the fluttering of its precious charge which seems to implore its release to join the flight of the breeze.

As we leave the north sally-port and turn toward the angle between the two sets of barracks, high on the hill the monumental Cadet Chapel, West Point’s spiritual fortress, looms above with extraordinary effectiveness. It has a fine site on a commanding spur just above the old Cadet Barracks on the west, from which point it dominates the Post. It lies in the shadow of old Fort Putnam of Revolutionary fame, and, built of stone quarried from its own hill, it seems a part of its naturally beautiful surroundings.

The Chapel

This edifice is in reality a large church with a seating capacity of fourteen hundred persons. In plan it is a crucifix, surmounted by a large central tower whose parapet is 130 feet above the pavement of the interior and 420 feet above the level of the river. The tower contains two stories: the bell-ringer’s story and the belfry above. There are as yet no chimes, but on national holidays, Christmas morning, and Easter, the band mounts to the bell-ringer’s story, and the airs appropriate for the day float out through the louver windows in a weird and mysterious manner, as if some invisible symphony was playing in the clouds.

Just above the stately clerestory windows, and around the cornice of the building, is a row of carved figures, little bosses, representing the quest of the Holy Grail. Over the door of the main entrance is a great two-handed sword, Excalibur.

One should pause for a moment on the terrace in front of the main entrance to enjoy the magnificent panorama. In the distance, flows the Hudson winding among the Highland hills, and skirting the great Plain along whose edge stand the Bachelor Building, Cullum Hall, and the Officers’ Mess. Directly below, in the shelter of the chapel hill, are grouped all of the main buildings pertaining to the cadets, the most conspicuous of which are the barracks. Viewed from this height the arrangement of the buildings resembles a regular nest, le nid des cadets.

A winding road back of the barracks leads to the Chapel. The interior of the Chapel is 200 feet long, and across the transepts, 72 feet wide. The nave contains fourteen large Gothic windows, now filled with temporary glass but which will later be replaced with memorial windows.

The jewel of the interior is the great chancel window, with its noble inscription:

Erected to the glory of the God of Battles and in faithful memory of the departed graduates of the United States Military Academy, West Point, by the living alumni.

The deep shades of purple and red give the window an extraordinary richness. The best lights from the glass are obtained in the early afternoon about four o’clock. It is of rare richness and beauty, and for subject, color, and arrangement it is thought to be unexcelled in our country. There are twenty-seven panels, each of which contains an almost life-size figure representing one of the chief militant figures in the Bible. Services are held in the Chapel every Sunday morning at a quarter before eleven and are attended by cadets, officers, enlisted men, their families, and a large number of visitors. In addition to the regular service in the Chapel, where the cadet choir of one hundred and five voices is a feature, a series of organ recitals, free to the public, is given each year.

The Interior of the Chapel

The organ is of unusually fine quality and is surprisingly effective for an instrument of three manuals, or keyboards. But it is still incomplete, being both undersized for this cathedral-like building and inadequate to the proper performance of the finest music. The addition of a fourth manual, with its pipes located in the gallery opposite the present organ, now eloquently vacant, is needed to bring the musical part of the service and the recitals up to the highest efficiency.

Upon the completion of the improvements contemplated the organ will become one of the art glories of the country, and with the Chapel,—perfect in architecture, surroundings, and acoustics—would create an atmosphere of rare idealism. The acquisition of every new stop given is indicated by a bronze tablet placed upon the console, or key desk, of the organ. The significance of such tablets would make this organ and console unique, not only in establishing historic traditions but also in affording substantial encouragement to the volunteer organist and to the choir.

The opportunity here presented is most worthy for anyone desirous of establishing a memorial to a graduate of the Academy, for a graduate wishing to honor the memory of one of his immediate family, for a class gift, or for anyone interested in furthering an artistic influence over the lives of the future officers of the Army of our country.

To assist in the completion of the organ, a fund, known as the “Organ Fund” has been started, which is kept alive by recital offerings, private subscriptions, and proceeds from sale of “The Corps,” a popular West Point song.

In the transepts are galleries but they are not at present equipped with seats. Along the nave also are covered galleries, almost hidden from view by the suspended flags.

A request made to the sexton will enable the visitor to see the crypt, a vaulted room beneath the Chapel that is designed to be the final resting place of West Point’s illustrious military dead.

To care for the spiritual welfare of the cadets and other residents of the Post, there is a Chaplain who is appointed by the President. His term of office is for four years, but he is usually re-appointed.

The location of the Chapel makes it visible from many places on the Post. In walking around the grounds, every once in a while an extraordinarily effective view of the fine building strikes the beholder. Each glimpse seems more beautiful than the previous one, and a general impression remains that the Chapel holds a spiritual dominion over the institution. Every corner of the main part of West Point seems under its influence. This feeling is particularly strong as we stand on the sidewalk between the old and new Cadet Barracks and gaze at this monumental pile of ethereal beauty that seems to lose itself in the sky. I never view the Chapel from this point without thinking of one of Maxfield Parrish’s imaginative paintings of the Arabian Nights.

In the southwest angle of the Plain, from where I like to view the Chapel, is a white granite statue of Major Sylvanus Thayer, class of 1808. The funds for this modest but beautiful monument, which was unveiled June 11, 1883, were contributed by loyal graduates of the Academy and by loving friends. General Thayer was Superintendent of the Academy from 1817 to 1833. He was the first to establish a real curriculum, and so valuable were his services that he has since been called “the Father of the Academy.” The body of the distinguished officer was brought from South Braintree, Mass., and reinterred in the Post cemetery on November 8, 1877. The sculptor of the monument was Carl Conrad.

On the west side of the Plain is the North Cadet Barracks, one of the new buildings completed in 1908. The Gothic style employed in the treatment of this building, while resembling somewhat that of the old barracks, has more dignity, beauty, and grace. Not enough difference exists between the two to cause any lack of harmony. Chief among the changes made in the new barracks are the windows which are triple instead of single. As far as the interior is concerned the arrangement is identical. Modern plumbing has been installed in the old barracks to conform to its new neighbor, so that the cadets of today are no longer obliged to run down to the area to draw their water from the hydrant. The very mention of this ancient and picturesque custom brings back many memories, chiefly centered around reveille on a bitterly cold morning. Immediately upon the dismissal of the ranks, hordes of cadets (it seemed to me), clustered around one poor little hydrant from which a thin stream of icy water trickled into the papier maché buckets. Now, upon each floor of barracks are faucets with hot and cold water! I wish that I were a cadet again!

No one would judge the building to be a military barracks. Rather, a study of its lines would suggest that it was the home of some religious order. It has an undeniable ecclesiastical character that impresses one immediately. I have always derived great pleasure in contemplating its beauty and my imagination at these times fancies it as the refuge, the shelter, the sanctuary of a body of men separated from the material affairs of the world. It seems made to house only the best and noblest in nature, to be the environment from which high ideals receive their greatest inspiration. A group of happy smiling cadets coming out of their rooms at this moment tells me that my imagination has been dwelling upon reality and not wandering into fantastic fields. This building is indeed the home of a splendid Order, the inspiring order of young manhood, clean-minded and honorable, trained in a school where they are taught the most scrupulous regard for the truth, and where they are given a mens sana in corpore sano.

In the quadrangle the light brick facing gives, in all sorts of weather, a bright cheerful aspect, a sunny appearance, that contrasts in a most welcome manner with the gloom of the quadrangle of the old barracks.

Set well back from the Plain, and to the north of the new barracks, is the Gymnasium. It is not built of granite like its neighbor, the new barracks, but has received from the hands of the architect an artistic and interesting treatment of brick and limestone. The broad wall-like surface of the front is broken by six flat buttresses, whose terminals are richly decorated. Viewing the building from the southeast corner these buttresses appear like giant sentinels, fine specimens of the building’s physical development. Far across the parade ground the Bachelor Officers’ quarters, of similar design, serves with the Gymnasium to link in one harmonious whole the old and new buildings surrounding the Plain.

The second story is devoted to the gymnasium proper. It is lighted by large skylights, and equipped with every possible device for physical development. The remainder of the building houses a fine natatorium, 77 feet wide and 92 feet long, with a swimming-pool 40 feet wide and 80 feet long; a fencing-room, a boxing-room, a wrestling-room, besides the necessary dressing-rooms for both cadets and officers. In the basement is a shooting gallery for indoor rifle and pistol practice.

North of the Gymnasium and fronting the Plain, are the quarters of the Superintendent of the Academy, an interesting old house that dates from 1820. Surrounding the house is a quaint old ironwork porch of later date, but old enough to be a curiosity today. A well-proportioned central hall gives access to charming suites of spacious rooms on both sides of the quarters, but the suite on the left is the more beautiful for it offers a fascinating vista of three large rooms terminating in a conservatory filled with exotic plants. Delightful hospitality has been dispensed in these rooms to some of the most noted people in the world. Royalty, distinguished foreigners, civilians, and soldiers, noted American men and women are constantly visiting West Point to inspect the school and are always entertained by the Superintendent. If the walls of these quarters could speak they would relate some interesting incidents of the official life of West Point. The beauty of the rooms is today enhanced by a number of fine family portraits, painted by Thomas Sully, and the property of the present Superintendent, Colonel John Biddle, Corps of Engineers.

At any official function the guests usually crowd the fascinating old porch to watch the evolutions of the cadets upon the Plain opposite, or sometimes they indulgently stand on the front stone steps to pose for the breathlessly impatient movie men and photographers. The quarters are surrounded by beautiful, well-kept lawns and tall graceful elm trees.

A traveler may go far before he will behold so majestic a view as that of the Hudson River from Trophy Point and Battle Monument. For pure beauty it is unsurpassed. In the distance lies the city of Newburg, against a dim background of the Shawangunk Mountains, and in the foreground the little village of Coldspring nestles close to the side of rugged Breakneck. On the opposite side Cro’s Nest descends abruptly to the water. At this spot the Hudson seems to be surrounded on all sides by land so that the beholder might well imagine himself in Europe among the Italian Lakes.

Upon this spot are a number of trophies, among the most interesting of which is a portion of the old chain that, during the Revolutionary War, was stretched across the river from just above Gee’s Point to Constitution Island to prevent the passage of the British ships.

On a wooden carriage is a large Armstrong gun, captured at Fort Fisher during the Civil War, and nearby are many other guns taken in the Mexican and Spanish Wars. The Swartzkopf torpedo inclosed in an iron railing was captured from the Spanish cruiser Viscaya in the war with Spain, and the twenty-pound stone ball was brought from Smyrna, Turkey.

The polished monolith of granite nearby upon whose tip stands winged “Fame,” poised with trumpet and outstretched wreath, is Battle Monument. The names which may be read upon its rolls are the victims of the Regular Army of 1861, to whose memory their comrades in arms have created this beautiful memorial.

IN MEMORY
OF THE
OFFICERS AND MEN
OF THE
REGULAR ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES
WHO FELL IN BATTLE DURING THE
WAR OF THE REBELLION
THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY THEIR
SURVIVING COMRADES

In the words of the late Colonel Larned, “this memorial was not built by a grateful country, but by voluntary offerings from the hard-won pay of comrades in the field within hearing of the roar of battle, and in sight of the dead whose memory it preserves.... It is but right to add that the designer, Stanford White, and the sculptor, Frederick MacMonnies, have given a generous and enthusiastic labor to the work, far beyond the money recompense received, and in the true spirit of the artist and patriotic citizen.”

View up the Hudson River from Trophy Point

Toward the east is an equestrian bronze statue of the Father of our Country, seated upon his charger and with hand raised toward the Academy buildings as if in benediction of the institution that he labored so hard to establish. In these days of materialism, it is interesting to note that this magnificent gift was recently made to the Academy by someone who refused to disclose his name. The base of the pedestal bears the simple inscription “Presented by a Patriotic Citizen.”

The hotel, just in the rear of the Washington Monument, was built in 1829, and with the exception of a wing that was added in 1850, it has remained practically unchanged. It is not difficult to imagine, therefore, that its appointments fail to satisfy the luxurious tastes of present-day Americans, so that many complaints are heard, and not a few jokes passed at its expense. One humorist remarked that Washington was raising his hand not in benediction of the Academy, but in a warning to the guests to keep away from the hotel.

From the hotel, a steep little graveled path entices the visitor into a most enchanting walk that skirts the steep precipice along the river. For three-quarters of a mile, Flirtation Walk pursues its way with its windings and abrupt turnings, its ascents and descents, past the site of the old chain Battery, and farther on past old Lantern Battery on Gee’s Point, past the Bachelor Officers’ quarters, until at the base of Cullum Hall it ends in Kosciusko’s Garden. The latter is a cool little sheltered plateau, said to have been a favorite of the Pole. When the trees are in bloom, to stroll along the Walk is to feel the delicacy of nature, to behold the quintessence of her refinement. The foliage seems like maiden-hair fern through which charming little vistas of the river and the opposite bank are framed. On summer days it is a favorite for the cadets and their girls, who wander along its graveled path whiling away the time, or who seek out the choice nooks and screen themselves from profane eyes with a gaily colored parasol.

Near the end of Flirtation Walk alongside of old Battery Knox, a Revolutionary relic, stands the Bachelor Officers’ quarters. This building of brick and limestone, serves to tie the new buildings with the classic Cullum Memorial Hall and the Officers’ Mess. Its color is darker than the pink granite of Cullum Hall, to approach more closely the dark brown of the Library and the gray of the Academic, while its flat buttresses harmonize with the straight lines of Memorial Hall.

Photo White Studio

“Spooning” on Flirtation Walk

In this building there are forty suites of three rooms and a bath each, besides rooms in the basement for the janitor and for officers’ servants.

Adjoining the Bachelor Officers’ quarters is the beautiful Cullum Memorial Hall, built of Milford pink marble and resembling somewhat in style, the Erechtheum, on the Acropolis at Athens. Just under the cornice and above the four Ionic columns is carved: “To the Officers and Graduates of the Military Academy.” To the left of the main hall is a small assembly room, whose walls contain bronze tablets to graduates who have been killed in action. The flags are guidons, carried by our Cavalry, both regular and volunteer, during our wars, chiefly during the Spanish War.

In the lower halls are tablets to Superintendents and to the deceased Professors of the Academy, besides fitting bronze memorial shields, recounting the battles of the Civil War in which graduates of the Academy participated.

Bronze trophy cannon are freely used in the adornment of the walls, both in the lower hall and in the hall on the second floor. They are chiefly Mexican and Confederate trophies, but a few were captured from the British at Stony Point (south of West Point) in July, 1779.

Among the most interesting perhaps of the cannon are the two large bronze ones in front of the main entrance. Both were made at Douay, France, in 1755, under the supervision of J. Béranger, royal commissioner of foundaries. The one on the right (as one enters the building) is inscribed “Le Fâcheux,” and the one on the left “Le Conquérant.” Both were taken from the Punta Blanca Battery in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. These cannon are almost the exact duplicate of the five cannon at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and very similar to two cannon at the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va. The latter guns, cast about eighty years before the others, are part of several cannon purchased from France by Virginia in 1778 for use in the Revolutionary War. It is surprising that the Spanish should have been using them in Cuba, since the Spaniards manufactured guns of equally high quality.

The four inverted bronze mortars that surmount the corners of the piazza were made, two at Sevilla and two at Barcelona, in Spain, and were surrendered by the Mexicans to the American forces, April 22, 1847. These mortars were known as stone mortars, and they were employed in siege operations to precipitate large masses of stone upon the heads of the enemy in the advanced trenches, or in like manner to clear the trench of its defenders preparatory to an assault.

The second floor is called Thayer Hall, a large, beautifully proportioned room used for public functions, officers’ and cadets’ dances. At one end there is a small stage and a few scenic fixtures. In this hall are the portraits of graduates who have not only gained the rank of general officer, but have commanded in time of war units commensurate with their rank.

The building south of Memorial Hall is the Officers’ Mess, where the bachelor officers obtain their meals. The building was constructed and partially furnished from Government funds, but it is kept up and managed by personal funds of officers on duty at West Point. In design it conforms closely to Cullum Hall, although plainer and more modest. It was so built as to be inconspicuous and not detract from the classic beauty of its stately neighbor.

The interior of the Mess is quite beautiful, especially the main dining-hall and reading-room, whose principal features are mantels ornamented with small replicas of the figures of Day and Night, Morning and Evening, that adorn the tomb of the Medicis in Florence. Both Cullum Hall and the Mess were designed by the late Stanford White and completed, the former in 1899 and the latter in 1903. The Mess is an organized body incorporated under the laws of the State of New York as the West Point Army Mess. It was started in 1841 by General McClellan. There is no Mess in our Army that has had a continued existence for so long a term as this Mess, and I have heard it stated that few English or continental Messes are as old in the above sense.

The trip around the buildings brings us to the Library for which we all entertain a genuine affection. The quiet and repose of its fine rooms have an attraction for both officers and cadets that no other building offers, so that it is usually filled with lovers of books, especially on winter afternoons. Cadets, officers, enlisted men, women, and children frequent the various rooms whenever an opportunity presents itself. There is no greater pleasure, I believe, at West Point than to draw a big leather armchair over in one corner of the library and there forget the world in a good book.

Like so many of the buildings at West Point it was built of native granite, and in the Gothic style of architecture. The present building was erected in 1841 on the site of the old gun shed and cost approximately $50,000. It was, however, entirely remodeled in 1900-1901. The Library was originally designed by a board of Army officers and the style of architecture determined upon was used seven years later in the present South Cadet Barracks. The dominant note that these two buildings gave to the character of the structures at West Point, determined the style of architecture in the comprehensive rebuilding of the Academy that began in 1904.

The library proper was founded in 1812, and with the years has grown until at the present time it contains 99,148 books. I am informed that the 100,000 mark will be celebrated by the purchase of a memorable volume. The Library may be said to be the oldest inhabitant of the neighborhood, for all its former associates, the old Riding Hall, the Cavalry Barracks, and the old Cadet Chapel are gone.

The latter building, however, has not permanently disappeared. Sentiment against its demolition was so strong that an appropriation was obtained to remove it to the cemetery to be used as a mortuary chapel. Consequently in 1911 it was taken down, each stone marked, and so carefully reconstructed that it is impossible to detect the slightest change in its appearance. The tablets, and the painting of “Peace and War” by the late Professor Weir have been preserved, but the British flags have been removed to the Ordnance Museum.

The cemetery is a beautiful, peaceful spot set aside for the repose of West Point’s dead. In the northeast angle is the cadet monument erected in 1818, to Cadet Vincent M. Lowe of New York, by his fellow-cadets. On New Year’s day, 1817, Cadet Lowe was killed by the premature discharge of a cannon while he was firing a salute. The pedestal is covered with the names of other cadets who died later on. Among the illustrious dead buried in the cemetery are Major Sylvanus Thayer, General Winfield Scott, Robert Anderson, and George A. Custer.

Along the main roads both north and south of the Plain are modest dwellings furnished for the officers on duty at West Point. The south end terminates in a broad plain used for the Cavalry and Field Artillery drill of the cadets.

In order that thorough instruction in both of these arms may be imparted to the cadets, detachments of Cavalry and Field Artillery are stationed at the Academy. Their barracks and stables form part of the new buildings, and are fine examples of what intelligence and taste can do for comfort and convenience. Along the west side of the drill field are the stables and, directly above, gracefully placed on the hillside, are the barracks provided with the best and most modern equipment. The presence of these two detachments of enlisted men, as well as that of the detachment of Engineers, is absolutely essential to the efficient instruction of the cadets.

An understanding of the uses of the buildings and some description of the prominent landmarks is necessary to a correct appreciation of the cadet’s life and activities. The survey that I have given in this chapter will show that West Point is indeed fortunate in many ways. Few places have been so endowed by Nature with such wonderful beauty and picturesqueness, and, in addition, a generous Congress has adorned the place with magnificent buildings equipped with the finest that money can buy for the training of the future United States officers.

CHAPTER IV
THE POWERS THAT BE

In a spacious room in the southeast corner of the massive Post Headquarters building dwells officially the man who orders all of the comings and goings of the residents of West Point: cadets, officers, and enlisted men and their families. He is detailed by the President to the immediate government and military command of the Academy and Post of West Point for a period of four years, and given the official title of Superintendent of the Military Academy, which carries with it the rank, pay, and allowances of a colonel.

The duties of the office are varied and complex. The Superintendent is directly responsible for the actual state of the discipline, instruction, police administration, fiscal affairs, and other concerns of the Academy. The necessary work is organized and under the control of various officers, his assistants, who constitute his staff. The office of Superintendent is regarded as one of the most desirable and most honored that the Government has to offer to an officer of the Army, and justly so, for the position carries with it a great responsibility, fascinating work, large powers, and enormous prestige. The President is in no way limited in his selection for the office. He may appoint an officer of any rank whatsoever, from second lieutenant to general officer, but the policy always pursued has been to intrust the important duties of the position to an officer of character, ability, and experience. The selection of the Superintendents of the Military Academy was confined to the Corps of Engineers from the establishment of the institution, March 16, 1802, till the passage of the law of July 13, 1866, which opened it to the entire Army. It is not an easy task to find just the man with all of the necessary requirements for this office. In addition to the officer’s military ability, grasp of affairs, and experience, it is desirable that his scholarly attainments be of a distinctly high order, for, since he is ex-officio the President of the Academic Board, he will find occasion to use his scholarship for the permanent benefit of the curriculum.

In general, the military demands upon the average officer’s time preclude the pursuit, on his part, of cultural and academic studies to any great degree, so that, while an officer may be of the highest moral character, have great experience, and on the whole make an admirable administrative chief, yet he might lack scholarship, which deficiency would lessen his value to the Academy as Superintendent.

Besides, the Superintendent should be a good judge of human nature, and in particular of young men. To be able to throw oneself back in memory to the age of twenty, re-grasp the fresh and immature viewpoint of youth, and then make the proper allowances for youth’s inability to see life as a whole, is a gift not given to many men. Some of us could do it if we would exert our minds, but many are incapable. Where sympathy and understanding of young men are lacking on the part of the commanding officer there is too often a tendency to judge a cadet by the standard held by his superiors which they have gained only through years of experience. Moreover, a broad man in command dissipates with a word all of the trivialities of military life that seem big for the moment, and relieves his subordinates of the haunting fear of an excess of participation in their affairs.

During the one hundred and fifteen years of its existence West Point has had but twenty-six Superintendents, each of whom has left a permanent influence for good at the Academy. The present incumbent, appointed in June, 1916, is Colonel John Biddle, Corps of Engineers, a graduate of West Point, Class of 1881.

The military staff of the Superintendent consists of the Adjutant, the Quartermaster, the Treasurer, and the Surgeon, all officers of the Army detailed to perform the duties of their respective offices.

The Adjutant is the Superintendent’s right-hand man. He is in fact his chief spokesman and representative in all official and social matters. He is, moreover, charged with all of the records and papers of the Academy except those relating to disbursements. Ordinarily, this officer is the personal choice of the Superintendent, for it is essential that perfect trust and harmony exist between these officers. It may be of interest to the layman to know that an Army Post is very much like a large family, or perhaps a patriarchal tribe would better describe the relations of the residents. The Superintendent is the head, and the Adjutant his executive officer.

In the olden days when troops were stationed on isolated frontier posts, the officers’ families were entirely thrown upon one another for society. Although the necessity for these posts has long since disappeared, Congress has never authorized their abandonment, because their presence near some city or small town means a financial benefit to the towns people. The influence of the Representative of that district is sufficient to retain it, and consequently, as of yore, officers’ families must live together as one tribe.

This condition does not exist to the same extent at West Point as at other posts. The Adjutant is the peacemaker, diplomat, aide, buffer for the Superintendent in his administration of military and social duties. As may be imagined, he must be a man of great tact, good judgment, and possessed of Machiavelian diplomacy. He is always being called upon to make decisions, and since every decision affects somebody adversely, he has great need of a feeling for humanity. His official decision is tantamount to that of the Superintendent in whose name he is always supposed to act.

The Superintendent’s Quarters
Built in 1820

All official letters to the Superintendent, or between officers, must pass over the Adjutant’s desk, so that in a sense he is the central operator, making connections of the invisible ties for the time being, between the various departments and persons on the Post. He also acts as a shield to the Superintendent, saving him from the annoyance of the minor routine details.

In addition, he is regarded as the hub of the Post’s social wheel. He initiates the public entertainments and authorizes the general social events of the officers and cadets. Naturally, he has nothing to do with functions of a private character, but for hops, dances, or other forms of distraction where one of the public buildings is used, he gives the authorization of the Superintendent. He makes it his duty to mingle freely with the officers of the command; at the dances he sees that visitors are introduced; when very distinguished guests arrive at the Post, he puts on his full-dress uniform and goes to the station to meet them. If the guests are merely distinguished, he details some officer to act in his stead, and if they are plain sightseers with letters of introduction, a young subaltern gets the job. He is Adjutant of the Military Academy and of the Post of West Point. The duties of the former office pertain solely to cadets, their discipline and instruction, whereas the duties of the latter concern the officers, enlisted men, and other residents of the Post.

A sort of Damon and Pythias are the Adjutant and Quartermaster: a mention of one suggests the other. The Quartermaster is in charge of the public lands and buildings; of the material for the erection of buildings, and for the repairs and improvements, and for all other public property for which no other person is especially responsible. Under the direction of the Superintendent, he enters into contracts and makes purchases for the Academy and prepares all accounts, returns, and rolls relative to the public property under his charge. He is also in control of the workmen employed in the erection or repairs of the public buildings, or in the improvement of the grounds.

A Quartermaster is in reality a supply officer. Everything necessary for the up-keep of the Post and the command, come from his storehouses. Clothes, trucks, wagons, frying-pans, rakes, road-rollers, twine, furniture, garden hose are a few of the diverse articles that he must keep on hand. In his work at West Point he is assisted by several officers, among whom he distributes the various duties pertaining to the care of the property, purchase of supplies, pay of officers and enlisted men. The supply of the cadets, however, is not under his jurisdiction.

Colonel John Biddle, Corps of Engineers
Superintendent

The Quartermaster’s office is not entirely free from the official cumbersome machinery and red tape that clogs all Government branches. So efficiently does it check up upon all of its property, even to the most minute screw, that it has inspired great respect for its routine into those who borrow from its storehouse. Some years ago, one of the officers’ wives discovered the chimney of her house on fire. As she lived near the Hospital her first thought was to borrow one of the fire extinguishers. She rushed to the telephone:

“Hello! Hello! send over right away a fire extinguisher to Lieut. K’s quarters!”

“I’m sorry, madam,” replied the attendant, “I have no authority to let the fire extinguisher leave the Hospital.”

“But my house is on fire!” shrieked the angered lady! “What shall I do?”

“You had better telephone the Quartermaster, madam, and get his permission, for the Hospital holds the fire extinguisher on memorandum receipt.”

All matters that relate to the clothing, equipment, and subsistence of the cadets, including the purveying and supervision of the Cadet Mess, are under an officer of the Army detailed as Quartermaster and Commissary for the Corps of Cadets and Treasurer of the United States Military Academy.

The Government allows each cadet $600 per year and one ration per day, or commutation thereof, 40 cents per day, making a total of $746.00, but the cadet never receives in cash nor manages, his pay. The amount due him is turned over to the Treasurer, who keeps an account with each cadet in which he credits him with his monthly pay and charges him with the cost of his maintenance on a pro-rata basis plus what he has spent for clothing and supplies. The Treasurer furnishes each cadet an itemized statement of his account at the close of each settlement period so that he knows just how much money he has saved, or owes. The pay provided is ample. Cadets who are economical and take good care of their clothes, who lose no government property for which they are responsible, are able to accumulate a nice balance that is paid to them upon graduation.

In order, however, to insure that all cadets shall leave the Academy without debts, and with their initial equipment paid for, the Treasurer deposits fourteen dollars per month from the pay of each cadet. This fund is known as the Equipment Fund and totals $704 during the four years. Before graduation each cadet is required to submit a certificate to the effect, if such be the case, that all articles of an officer’s uniform ordered and received by him have been paid for; that, in case the complete outfit has not been received and paid for, he has in his possession $475 or that amount less whatever has been paid out for this purpose, which sum will be held and applied promptly to the payment of such articles of his uniform and equipment as have not yet been received and paid for; and that he has no unpaid debts contracted during the time he has been a cadet.

This provision is a very wise and beneficial one to the cadet, for he enters the Service free from the terrifying load of debt. Formerly the Equipment Fund was turned over to the graduating cadet, without any restrictions whatsoever. The consequence was that the largest part of it was spent in New York a few days after graduation, and the young officer was in debt for his uniform for many months thereafter. He started his career with a millstone around his neck, to which weight a few added that of a wife. As one experienced officer remarked, “The ladies are all right, but do not marry until you are out of debt, else every time you take a drink in the Club, you will feel as if you are swallowing the baby’s socks.”

One of the most important and difficult duties of the Treasurer is catering to eight hundred ravenous young appetites. To be a successful Mess officer for this large number requires much study, especially in this age of the high cost of supplies. The food provided is excellent in quality and well prepared. In general it is plain and wholesome, just what one would expect at a Military School, but the menu is sufficiently varied so as to please even the fastidious. Southern palates are not forced to long for fried chicken nor Eastern palates for oysters. To make the New Englander feel quite at home periodic boiled dinners gladden their gastronomic lives. Then, too, ice-cream, since the installation of an electric freezer, has become as common as the proteids.