The herald., 1898-01-05
boys At WEST POINT.
Surprising Number of Fighters
by Inheritance as Well
as by Choice.

West Point, Dec. 23.-Twenty-eight
of the students at West Point are the
sons of army officers. Seven sons of
army officers graduated from the Mill
tary Academy last June and received
commissions in the army.
1t is the frequent ambition of army
officers to see their sons bred to their
profession. The President of the United
States has every year two or three APP
pointments to the Military Academy.
1t has been the almost invariable rule
since the war that these appointments
should be given to sons of distinguished
army officers. President Cleveland fol-
lowed this precedent in every case but
one: nine of the ten cadets of his ap-
pointing are the sons of army officers.
They are Guy ". Henry, Jr., of the first
GLASS; Charles A. Romeyn, Stuart
Heintzelman, and William T. Patten,
of the second class; George B. Comfy,
Julian A. Benjamin, and William It'd
ball, of the third class; and William P.
Ennis and Henry E. Mitchell, Of the
fourth class.
The appointees Of President Harri-
son, who received their commissions
last summer were Lieut.. Francis H.
Pope and Lieut.. Henry c. Smither.
Young Guy Henry. who will graduate
in the class of '9S, is the son of West
Point graduate, and the grandson of
West Point graduate as well. His
father is Col. Guy v. Henry. His
grandfather was Major William Sea-
ton Henry, who graduated in the class
of '35, served in the Florida war and
in the war with Mexico, and was bre-
vetted Major for gallantry at Monte
rey. His son graduated in the class of
81 in time to do good service with the
regular army during the Civil War. He
was at the battle of Bull Run, and was
brevetted for gallant services in South
Carolina, Florida, and Virginia. Later
he was in the Big Horn and Yellow
stone Expedition. Col. Henry is the
author of several military books. He
does not stop at one generation in trac-
ing a distinguished ancestry. One of
his grandfathers was Daniel D. Tomp-
kins, twice Governor Of New York, and
once Vice President of the United
States; and the other was Smith
Thompson, Secretary of the Navy and
Justice of the Supreme Court Of the
United States.
Charles A. Romeyn's father was not
q West Pointer. He enlisted in 1862 as
a private in an Illinois Regiment, and
after minor promotions was made Cap
tain of a colored regiment in Novem-
ber 1868. He was mustered out in 1866,
and less than year later was appoint
ed a First Lieutenant in the regular
army. He retired last year after figur-
ing as the subject Of a court martial
for striking Lieut.. O'Brien at Fort Nc
Pherson. The matter Of the court mar
tial was revived recently, when Lieut..
O'Brien resigned from the army under
charges.
Stuart Heintzelman's father was that
soldier, Gen. Samuel
Heintzelman of Pennsylvania. Gen.
Heintzelman graduated at West Point
in the class of 1926, served in the Flori-
da war, and was brevetted for gal
lantry in Indian fighting in California
At the beginning of the Civil War he
was made a Brigadier General of Vol
urteers, and later was brevetted Major
General of the regular army. Though
his actual rank when he retired was
that of Colonel, Congress passed a spe-
cial act putting him on the retired list
with the rank of Major General. He
died in 1880.
George B. Comfy is the son Of an
other West Poipter-the late Major