The New York herald., 1863-01-24

Soou ucdi VI aiiAiosy Ia ASS"
sea- soing qualities Of our new ron-clads' hi'
now established that they can weather heavy
seas and rough gales as we'll as any other class
OF vessels.
Importance OF West Point am. O,ner
Military Academies in Az. .erioa.
There has been Of late . good deal of dis
cussica, in official circles, and elsewhere, con-
cerning the importance and usefulness of mill
sary schools in this Country, and the great -
tional Military Academy of West Point in th4
State, has come in for more than fair share of
the animedversons of friends and foes Now,
it is Q generally admitted fact that there is no
military instniStion in this country 20 perfect in
its organization and discipline as this Invaluable
and truly practical school. For years past it
has been the only place-tbat is, Of first class
importance-where the aspiring youth OF the
United States could be trained and instructed
in the art of war and the concomitant duties OF
the future soldier. Prior to the war with
Mexico it was a common practice 10 run down
| West Point and to make it appear that IT was
! perfectly useless establishment. Our abolition
| legislators, philanthropists and philosophers
always pretended to believe in the supreme
| reign Of peace in America. Because the United
States was great productive and maDufactur-
| log country they imagined or pretended TO
| imagine tliat she would always be secure by
lhc nero extent of her aerioultursl and indus
| trial wealth They never s~eeemed to dream
| ,tal mar would at ..oome time or other break
ont and dcys.,lato the country from Maine to
ths b., Grande. Therefore they made II .
habit 10 assail West Point, its cadets and every
thing co1nr,,,ted with it. But as soon as the
= - Mexico every
first cloud. Of wal threatened III -.
body began TO think tbat West Point was, after
all. a very important place. When our armies
were ordered to march to the city Of the Mon
te2umas for the vindication of the national
honor there was no lack Of brave and able Off
GERS to lead them. These were principally
| men who bad been educated in this valuable
national institution 80 unmercifully assailed.
| And what we would have done for officers if
we had not those young men trained in this
solitary Northern military school may be better
conceived than expressed
The great oversight of thc North Las been its
continuous neglect Of military schools. In the
! South it bas always been different. In nearly
every Southern State tie military ideas Of the
| people, and especially Of those in authority,
| have led them to prepare themselves for all the
contingencies of internal revolution or foreign
INVASION With them military schools was the
rule; with us it was the exception. The ia
nous Stonewall Jackson, whose name Is now
80 intimately connected with this rebellion,
although graduating in West Point and gaining
his first military ideas in that institution, spent
many years Of his life in perfecting the organi
cation of the Virginia Military Academy, in
which he lectured on the science Of war with
great earnestness and success. General p. p.
Hill is another of the rebel officers who has
always given his attention to tho Improvement
| Of the Southern States and there is scarcely
State in the South which has not always paid
the greatest attention to the development OF a
| genuine military spirit among its people.
| That the same feeling has not prevailed in the
North is owing principally to the Vaccinations
| and devices OF our radical aboitioniss, who
hate West Point from the simple fact that the
South had the privilege OF sending its youth to be
educated there. But now, as in almost every
other instance, we find that these abolition
ideas have been destructive to the best inter-
ests of the country. Had it not been for the
virulent opposition raised by these sgilators
against West Point we might have had many
more OF these academies all through the coun-
try, from which trained soldiers could always
be obtained for the service Of the armies of the
country. Not that our volunteer officers and
al la, -
deprecated; but every man must know that
thoroughly educated officer must take precc-
dence above all others, especially Ia the in
cipient stages Of war.
Mhst j. the eSampls q 81 the great military
countries oi the earth where petty pre;nd;ces
and party strife are not allowed to usrp the
Judgment and wisdom OF the nation? In
France one of the greatest military Powers of
the earth--there have been military schools
end colleges established and supported by the
State from the earliest times. The first Napoleon
regarded these as the great nurseries Of those
armies which invariably carried the banners OF
the Republic and Of the Empire TO victory. The
kings OF France were never blind to this fact.
And the present Emperor--who declares
L'Emp,re, c'est Ia pair-does not forget that |
the Ecoles Polytechnique st. Cyr, Nornale,
Metz Toulon and Brest are all elements for \
the conservation of that military power which
he boasts is the foundation OF his empire. In
England We have the great Academy at Hythe,
and numerous camps Of instruction scattered all
through the land. In Russia there are numerous
schools Of this kind; and the fundamental Ideas
q ~ .
many are invariably to accompany popular
education with sound military training. To this
fact do these countries owe their powerful and
well-organized armies
And yet We find men elected to the national
Senate opposing the only Institution Of this
kind established in the North. But for all this,