The Washington herald., 1910-10-02
No. IS

CHORUS.
Oh. Benny Havens, oh!
On. Benny Ravens. Oh!
Wen sing our "reminiscences
OF genny Havens. Oh.
May the army be augmented.
May promotion be less slow.
May our country. In the hour OF need
BE ready for the foe,
May we find a soldiers resting place
Beneath a soldiers blow,
With room enough beside our grave
For Benny Ravens. Oh!
To the ladies Of the Empire State, =
Whose hearth. and albums. too.
Bear sad remembrance of the wrongs
We stripping soldiers do;
We bid fond adieu. my boys.
Our hearts with sorrow flow:
Our loves and rhymiBg had their
source.
At Benny Ravens. Oh.
To the army's brave commanders.
Let now our glasses flow;
Wen drink 10 Grant and sherman,
And TO the subs also;
To Thomas, Meade, and Sheridan.
Benny Havens" is the song OF
the West Point cadets. and has been
so for many years. For consider
ably more than half a century the
soldiers Of Uncle Sam have been
telling in song OF Benny Ravens.
keeper of their favorite resort by
the shores Of the Hudson. and OF
the adventures. escapades. and 9TH
er notable happenings associated
with the famous tavern. The orig
inal verses are given above, with
several verses added, the last one
the toast written 10 the memory OF
Benny, who died on May %. 1877. In
his ninetieth year II all the verses
that have been written 10 this song
were collected and printed. they
would make a small volume. Al
though Benny has been dead close
10 thirty-four years and the site
formerly occupied by his tavern is
now utilized by the West Shore
Railroad, and has been since the
early SOS. yet his memory and that
of HIS soldiers rendezvous is still
sung. and is particularly revered by
the old officers now In the service
who helped 10 make the hero and
his resort famous.
For a long time il was supposed
that the Ravens house was demol-
ished when the railroad was built,
for no one seems 10 have taken
the trouble TO find out the exact
facts In the case, but recently IL
came TO light that the building was
not destroyed. but was taken apart
and removed and re-ereeted at a
point about five miles from the
Military Academy. where fl still
stands. nearly 100 years old. The
arrangement OF the house has been
altered very little and visit at any
time from one. OF the "old boys
would give him a chance for instant
recognition
Fully to understand who Benny
Ravens was and why his name Is
so closely associated with the Mill
tary Academy. II would be necessary
10 visit a class reunion or similar
gathering and hear the ringing song
OF Benny Ravens. Oh Ravens was
a veteran Of the war of 1912, being
first lieutenant of A company or
ganized and captained by a resident
OF Highland Falls. y. Y.
shortly after the war he estab-
lished a place on the military reser-
walton where he sold liquid refresh
ments of various kinds and sundry
eatables. II soon became the thing
among the members of the cadet
corps TO visit Bennys. and these
visits were not necessarily confined
to the limited daytime hours of re-
spite from academic duties.
Last taps frequently meant. not
bed but Benny's. He is said 10 have
dispensed good cheer In compare
tive secrecy for long time in his
little retreat. being virtually a
squatter on the national domain.
but the authorities OF the Military
Academy were finally unable to
overlook him longer and he was
expelled. Then II was that he took
up his residence At the river bank
location. a mile or more farther
south.
There were three things in partic-
ular that drew the cadets TO Benny's
tavern. 1t is not to be denied that
the character of the libations offer
ed there was not the least Of them.
Neither. perhaps. was it the great
est. Almost equally famous with
the boys were the pancakes and the
other edibles offered by HIS board.
The cadets were sometimes glad to
get a square meal. or OF least one
that was appetizing, for mess In
the old days was the opposite of
that Of to-day. with its high-class
kitchen arrangements.
A third reason why they went
there was the personality of Benny
himself. and this has become the
great source of the tavern's fame
He was a host of the old-fashioned
kind. and was looked on as a friend
and crony. As may be guessed. the
hero of song whose verses are
legion and are sung to-day all over
the globe was a good deal of a
character.
The fame of Benny Ravens is re-
corded. of course. primarily in the
Copyright. 1910. Il