AMERICAN

ANNALS OF EDUCATION

AND INSTRUCTION.

AUGUST, 1835.

THE MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT.

Report of the Board of Visitors, invited by the Secretary of War to attend the General Examination of the Cadets of the United States Military Academy, June, 1835.

To the Friends of Peace, the very idea of an institution intended to instruct men in the art of war, is painful. But does not this feeling arise from a false estimate of the effects of such instruction? Our own feelings once revolted at settled measures of this sort, which seemed to have no other object but the destruction of human life in the most skilful and rapid manner. But we have never forgotten the remarks of an eminent philanthropic Quaker, of London, at a period when the steam gun of Perkins was expected to produce the most dreadful carnage- I rejoice,' said he, in this invention, and as a friend of peace, I earnestly hope it will be successful. The invention of gunpowder, and every discovery and improvement that has been made in the art of war, bas diminished the number of wars and the number of deaths, and the amount of misery they occasion. The more certain death can be made, the less willing will nations be to fight; and as soon as you can make calculations on the number of men that will be killed, wars will be decided like a sum in arithmetic, by counting the number of guns and men instead of fighting a battle.' Indeed, the great object of military tactics is, to instruct the student how to accomplish certain objects with the least possible destruction of

life and property. So long, therefore, as the mass of mankind are not prepared to abandon war, philanthropy itself may see, in a single comparison with the wars of savage and barbarous nations, or of the armed and helmeted knight of the middle ages, with those of soldiers of modern times, sufficient reason to desire the perfection of the art of war.

On grounds like these, the friend of peace may approve of the establishment of a Military School. But we rejoice to think that there are better grounds for believing, that the school at West Point has been an honor and a benefit to our country. In aiming to promote the art of war, it has contributed to advance the arts of peace, and to cultivate the sciences which are connected with the best interests of society. While it has educated officers who have done much to preserve and defend our country from the ravages of war, we are especially indebted to it for the engineers who survey our coasts, and examine our harbors and our rivers, who have planned and executed many of the improvements, rail roads, canals, &c., which are so rapidly promoting the prosperity of our country, and the strength of our union. It may, indeed, have done evil, by exciting a military spirit, or establishing military habits, where they would not otherwise have existed. On the other hand, we have reason to believe the knowledge of the science of war has often impaired a taste for its practice, and that the graduated cadet often has less passion for military display, than the young militia man. We have always found the veterans of European battles, speak with more horror of the evils of war, than any men we have seen. The public money has doubtless been wasted here, on some of the pampered children of wealth and rank; but it has also elevated sons of poverty to stations of honor and usefulness, which they would never otherwise have attained. If it be regarded as an evil, it is by no means an unmixed evil. It is also due to the Academy at West Point to say, that it has done more for the cultivation of the exact sciences, especially in their higher branches, than any other institution in our country. It ought to be added, that several eminent literary institutions have found some of the most valuable of their officers, especially in the department of mathematics, among the graduates of West Point. But whatever may be our views of the object of the institution, it is interesting to every American to know the condition of the only school sustained by our general government-the nursery of those who are expected to defend our country.

The establishment of a military academy in our country, was proposed in a report of Gen. Knox, then Secretary of War, in 1790, and was recommended by Gen. Washington in his annual address to Congress, in 1793 and 1796. In 1794, an act was

passed for the establishment of a Corps of Artillerists and Engineers, to which eight cadets or pupil soldiers were attached. In 1798, the number of cadets was increased to fifty, and provision was made for the support of four teachers to instruct thein in the requisite arts and sciences. It was not till 1802, that these cadets were collected into an Academy, established at West Point, under the direction of the late General Jonathan Williams, as chief of the corps of engineers, and two teachers, of French and Drawing. Several years after, the number of cadets was increased to one hundred and sixty; but the whole number graduated previous to the war of 1812, was only seventy-one.

At this period, when our country experienced the most humiliating and distressing results from the want of military knowledge, the number of cadets was increased to two hundred and sixty. In addition to the teachers of French and Drawing, three professors were appointed-of Natural Philosophy, of Mathematics, and of Engineering, each with an assistant; and a chaplain, who was required, in addition to his other duties, to give instruction in History, Geography, and Moral and Political Science. The list of professors and assistants is now so enlarged, that thirty-four gentlemen, most of them graduates of the Academy, are employed in the discipline and instruction of the Institution; and the numerous unsuccessful applications show, that the list of students is always full.

To provide for this large number of young men, an extensive set of public buildings has been erected, and gradually surrounded by a little village of dwellings, for their guardians and attendants. The celebrated post of West Point is situated upon a beautiful plain of fifty acres, rising precipitously above the Hudson River, to an elevation of about two hundred feet. In approaching it from the south, the buildings of the institution appear on the top of the promontory, forming the south side of a quadrangle which is open to the north. On the east is a barrack, also occupied by the students; and on the west, are the houses of the superintendent and the professors. On ascending the promontory, the traveller finds the whole navigation of the river passing beneath his feet, and even the magnificent steamboat dwindling to insignificance, amidst the grand objects of nature around him. On the other side, the lofty tops of the Catskill seem to shut him out from the world, and the ruins of an ancient fort frown upon him, from a height which seems almost inaccessible. To the north, the Hudson spreads into a broad channel, and the view of this stream and its lofty banks is terminated by a curve in the river, on which the pretty village of Newburg is situated.

From this account it will be seen, that the cadets are placed on one of the most delightful spots in our country, for the salubrity of its air, the seclusion and quiet of its situation, and the grandeur and beauty of its scenery. So delightful, indeed, is this place considered, that the splendid hotel which was erected to receive the officers of government, and the official visitors of the institution, is, in fact, one of the favorite resorts of the invalid, and the most delightful refuge for the luxurious, from the heat and bustle of the cities. The institution is provided with a sufficient, and in some respects, peculiarly valuable apparatus, for the illustration of Natural Philosophy, a Chemical Laboratory, and a Library of 10,000 volumes, which is said to be very complete in military works, but which we could not but consider deficient in regard to collateral subjects, and general knowledge and literature.

The treatment of the students is such as is adapted to prepare them for the practical duties and endurances of a military life, so far as this can be done consistently with the other objects of the institution. The student's room is considered as his tent, and the floor is his couch. His mattress is spread and laid aside, by himself. The cleanliness and arrangement of the apartment are attended to by each of the inmates in turn; and we were gratified to see for ourselves, and to learn from the reports of the public visitors, that this duty is well performed. The students are formed into a military corps, with officers taken from among themselves, each student in turn, being called to perform the duties of a soldier and an officer. A guard is kept constantly on duty, as in a barrack, and sentinels pace its halls, to see that order is maintained, and that the regulations of the Academy are observed. The common rules of order and decorum, are rigidly enforced; and early hours of retirement and rising are insisted on with military exactness, and indicated by military signals. The students are forbidden to keep or use tobacco, or any intoxicating liquor. They are not allowed to engage in those amusements which often distract the attention of students, and are required to maintain the deportment of gentlemen towards their instructors, and towards each other, as well as to abstain from-every immorality and open neglect of the Sabbath, or of public worship. In short, the system of discipline is strictly military, and the cadets are, in fact, but a portion of the Army of the United States, taking rank between the subaltern and commissioned officers, and receiving in the same manner, pay and rations, which now amount to $28 per month, for the payment of all expenses.

During the months of July and August, the cadets leave their barracks, and encamp upon the beautiful plain which forms the summit of West Point, subject to the discipline of an army in