The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-06-10
Why West Point Men are s.ooa
'rl Generals. q --'~-l

FROM the journal Of Commerce g. t.-
1t is subject Of frequent remark that the
only good Generals we have had since the war
broke out are West Point graduates. The
w, Mest folnt Generals have won all the substan-
tlal victories that have been achieved. It isnot
easy to call to mind single instance in which
deneral, fresh from the ranks of civil life
has done anything with his troops but send
them into deadly ambuscade or carelesslv Soc
rifice them in impracticablc assaults against
1ortncatl0ns or vastly superior forces Of the
enemy so well is the superiority of the West
loint men now understood and appreciated BY
the government that none but that class are IN.
trusted with important commands. An the
Generals from'civl life, with but one or two
exceptions, are off duty; and the eycentions
are 6ut nominally the military commanders of
the districts over which they rule. ali the strs-
tegy and the fighting being donN by West
POINT men. Why is this? Why is il that
West Point lays the foundation of that snecess.
ful genera!ship which great natural sbiiities
cannot attain without itP -
We think that this Question, is easily an
swered. There are first principles in the sci-
ence OF war as in every other science These
are the crystallzed results OF the martial eYna.
rience of mankind. In nine cases ont of ten e
is safe to follow them in war; and in the tenth
case nothing but great genius or good fortune
Will justify departure from them. These
maxims are taught to the young students at
west Point, and remembered by them when
afterwards they are engaged in actual service
now, VIII De found on examining every in
stance OF Dad management and defeat in which
a general from civil life has figured that ha
has violated some simple first principle of mil
itary science. Perhaps he has known nothing
about it. More likely he has known il anSt
desplsed 1t, as has been the fashion till recently
with the radical members of Congress and rad.
lcal newspapers Elated with small success
where the odds were all in his 3.
!vor, ne mas probably come to iueag-
like Napoleon and therefore Competent TO to
dispense with all those rules with which. the
common mind fortiies itself. But the tirst
principles which the civil generals set ssid"
are those which Napoleon, or any other of the
WORDS great captains, would have most siren
uousiy insisted upon. Indeed, no other gen.
truths to military science as Napoleon Tha,3y T1"y
and others like them, constitute what is sneer'
lngly called routine" Itis the yerv aInhahet
OF west FONT teaching. No West Point orad
uate would ever think of doubling them more
tnan an astronomer would think of 'doubting
haeP,er tasP Laws. He does not always win bat:
S ~ con,c.mng TO the rules; but the prob
DaIues II ne did not conform to them,
Dut mere ls another reason why the West
Ioint men make the best officers. Because
tney have that peculiar intellectual organize
tlon called the military mind" There are
some boys who have strange fondness for
mihtary matters in their earliest childhood. 1t
Is natural gift, like poetry, painting. music.
Inelr tastes lead them to seek military edu-
cation: If they have influence they get It at
west Point. If not, they may be able to graf
lfy their longings at some private academy like
that at Norwich, VT, which has turned ont a
number of fine generals for this war. 1t NAV
safely be asserted that no one seeks schok
arship at West Point unless he has an Unborn
aptitude for military learning. The course
of instruction there is severe, and would he
intolerably tedious to one who had no ipstinc-
tive relish for it. Of course these students
with their natural tastes and their Education
for war, must make better Generals than civil
ians who are appointed to command merely tn
satisfy political claims, or to exc out scarc;tv
of more competent men. The former are an
perior just as man who has a natural taste for
painting and has studied under the best mas
ters, Is superior to one who has no talent what
ever tor painting, and has had no master either
his only sources for improvement heino
little observation and experience. Both ohssar
7ation and experience are useful in their wsu
out they will not supply the place of snecis
aient and training in military or in anv other