The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-07-19
Colonel Stewart Tells
Of Hazing in the
Old Days
Benham Had Splints lied on His
Legs and Then Fell Down
Stairs and Was Laid
Up for Some
Jime

Colonel Joseph Stewart entered the mill
itary academy at West Point July 1, 1888,
and his recollections concerning the Gus
toms at that institution OF over half CEN
fury ago are fresh and vivid.
There was the case of Benham," said
Colonel Stewart at his home in Berkeley.
"Benham comes to my mind particularly
because he was hazed more severely than
any man in the academy during the four
years l passed there. You have read
about the haEing of Cadet Edwin G. Davis
of Idaho by Cadet Captain Patrick A.
Murphy, the champion boxer of the acad-
envy, recently. l wish to say that in for
mer times there was no such brutal hazing
as Davis has experienced. In fact, for a
captain of the first class to engage in a
slogging match fifty-eight years ago would
have been considered disgraceful, and 1
am too much of an old timer to under
stand how such brutality has come to
pass.
'Hazing? Yes, of course there was haz-
ing at West Point fifty-eight years ago, but
the first class had nothing to do with
brutally hazing lower classmen. Benham,
of whom l spoke, afterward went to the
engineer corps. He was fine fellow and
spirited. too, but perhaps little TOO cred
ulous. He fell in with one of the self
elected and bogus board of officers soon
after he arrived at West Point.
''Sitting in their borrowed finery these
mock official boards would lay down all
sorts of absurd regulations for the new
corners, and have Il great deal of fun.
The novice in turn took delight in hazing
the uninitiated, and got even in that way.
| l was hazed. So was James Longstreet,
afterward Heutenant-general of the Con-
federate army, who was in my class, and
who and very few others are the sur.
vivors of class of fifty-six. That class,
perhaps it will interest you to know, was
represented in the civil war by nineteen
general officers, ten being in the Confeder-
ate service and nine in the United States
army.
1.-The bogus official board which caused
Benham to be hazed brought him before
them in due military form and caused him
to undergo physical examination. They
! frowned, looked wise, criticized and con-
demned, and wound up by informing
Benham that his legs were crooked and
that he must wear splints, extending
pretty near the whole length of his legs.
The splints were accordingly fastened on
at night. Benham could not bend his
knees as a matter of course, restrained by
the splints, and SO the next morning
when he tried to go downstairs he fell
ana broke one of his legs and was laid up
for some time. But that was an accident.
No one supposed that he would attempt
to go downstairs stiff-legged and the men
were genuinely sorry that such an accident
had befallen."
There are proba bly, few men who have
served continuously half century in any
line of public duty. To the former class
mate of General Longstreet has come a
large share of service and excitement.
Colonel Stewart said that he was promised
cadetship at West Point when he was
only years old, and as soon as he came
to the eligible age he entered the academy,
the appointment being secured by Sher-
rard Williams, then Congressman from
the Eighth District of Kentucky. At the
end of his four years course Colonel Stew
art was appointed brevet second lieuten-
ant and was attached to the Third Artil-
lery, being stationed at Fort McHenry,
Baltimore, the scene of the composition of
"The Star-spangled Banner