The Savannah morning news., 1902-06-11
WEST POINT ACADEMY.
Brief Sketch of the Governments
Military school.


the history of the institution of inter-
est.
AS early as 1896 a few far-seeing
Americans were urging upon the
young government the wisdom of es-
tablishing a military academy.
They were laughed at and ignored.
But they were stalwarts in the faith,
and, refusing to be discouraged, kept
up the fight
Persistency won the day and on
March 16, 1902, Congress passed bill
that opened the way fog the West
Point of to-day.
The President was authorized to es-
tablish an engineer corps of fifteen
persons all told, a major commanding,
two first and two second lieutenants
and ten cadets. By special Congress
ional provision the corps was not to
exceed twenty officers and cadets.
Within three months from the pass
age of this bill the new Corps was or
ganized under the command of Mai.
Jonathan Williams.
A fine, strong. eafnest character was
Jonathan Williams. During the dark
days of the Revolution he served with
Benjamin Franklin in France as lri-
V3te secretary to the American Minis
ter, and put in every minute of spare
time in close study of military engin-
eering.
The Notifications throughout Europe
were his textbooks, and he mastered
them so thoroughly that when Ameri-
can independence had been achieved he
was made chief engineer of the Amer
lean army Old Castle Williams was
its architects special pride. and be-
cause the government would not give
him command there at the outbreak of
the war of 1912, Williams withdrew
from the service, and died two years
later.
But meanwhile the newborn Mill
tary Academy at West Point was slow
ly but surely gaining strength. In 1909
congress increased the number of ca
dets to forty, and three years later
authorized further increase to It's.
BUT what the academy needed were
Institutional facilities, and the gov
eminent would not supply them. So
the years dragged on at the strug-
Cling little post on the Hudson with a
slender squad of cadets, differed and
instructed by a few men, virtually des-
titute of proper equipment.
Those were discouraging days at the
Point and so gloomy was the outlook
from the educational standpoint that
or the lads appointed to cadetships
only a few accepted.
Only three graduated in 1903, and a
year later but two cadets took diplo-
mas. When in 1907 the graduating
class numbered five, old Maj. Williams
made the historic speech:
"West Point is a founding barely
existing among the mountains, nurtured
at a distance out of sight and almost
unknown to its legitimate parents"
But it was not long to remain out of
sight and unknown. The war of 1912
aroused Americans to the need of an
institution for the training of military
leaders and West Point began to at
tract serious attention.
What the public speedily discovered
was that the country had a military
academy in little besides name.
Governmental neglect had made of
| West Point a little poverty stricken
unorganized school. in which 14-year-
! old boys and 40-year-old men mingled
is cadets and where study and exam
, nations were almost farcical.
| President Madison advised reorgani-
cation and enlargement, urging upon
| Congress prompt action.
Slowly the work of improvement be-
gan until in 1918 President Monroe
| issued the rules which have governed
| the academy up to the present day
and appointed Col. Sylvanus Thayer
superintendent of the post.
One of the handsomest pieces of me-
| mortal statuary to be seen to-day at
| West Point is the heroic figure of Col.
! Thayer. The well-merited inscription
at it's base reads:
Father of the Military Academy"
All students of American history
agree in crediting Col. Thayer with
| bring the academy to the point of in
| oc "a g
first military college.
From 1918 to 1888 he held the super
| intendency of West Point, and his
| ashes lie buried there close to the
| statue that commentaries his bril-
liant services to the post.
AS a result of a controversy with
President Andrew Jackson over de-
| tails of management at the Academy
| Col. Thayer resigned.
Five years later he was urged to
return to the post, with practically
iimitless powers of control, but he re-
fused.
Cadet gray was adopted as the uni
form for the academy about the time
that Col Thayer took command. The
| selection Of the color was a govern
mental compliment to Gen. Scott and
his gallant troops that won the bat
tie of Chippewa in 1914.
II SeeIuS ludI 0COlI army neeQeO
clothing, and as no. army blue cloth
was available uniforms of gray were
hurried to the front. Public ridicule
fell upon the soldiers, and the wits of
the day cracked jokes over the
militia gray.
Then came the battle of Chippewa
won by DESPERATE valor-and in COM
pliment to the victors Congress adopt
ed the gray uniform for the West
Point cadets.
The value of the academy to the ma
ton was first pointedly demonstrated
in the Mexican war. 1t was the open
ly expressed opinion of Gen. Scott and
others of the American leaders that
but for the skill and dash of our West
Pointers the struggle with Mexico
would have been prolonged for years.
But the crucial test of West Point
training came with the Civil war.
There arrayed on opposite sides, the
graduates Of the noted academy waged
a fight that won the admiration and
amazement of military experts
| throughout the civilized world.
For the Union fought Ulysses S.
Grant, w. T. Sherman, Phil Sheridan,
George B. Mcclellan. James p. Nc
Pherson, Sedgwick Hancock, Hooker,
Balleck. Buell.. Rosecrans, Howard.
Opposing them were their fellow stu
dents Of earlier days at West Point,
Lee, "StonewalI' Jackson, Wheeler,
Beauregard, Longstreet, Bragg, Early
johnson and Hood.
These battling masters of the trade
of war had been friends and class