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Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
training, the fencing teams of the Academy continued their brilliant
achievements begun in 1902. Beginning with that year until 1910,
West Point sent to the annual intercollegiate championship meets,
teams that contested with Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Pennsylvania,
Columbia, and the Navy. Out of the nine meets, West Point won six,
and obtained second place in the other three, yielding their
supremacy to their great rivals, the Navy. This remarkable record
was accomplished by the untiring efforts of the team and of their
much-liked instructor, M. Vauthier, whose skill excited their
admiration and inspired in them a splendid spirit of emulation.

More attention is now paid to the bayonet fencing due to the

extended use of that weapon in the present European War, but as
with the other arts, the limited time permits the teaching of only the
fundamentals. The cadet learns enough in each branch to build upon
afterwards and make himself a competent instructor.

Not less popular than the fencing are the boxing and wrestling
exercises. The first year men are assembled in classes and given
instruction in boxing in the guard, footwork, parries, simple direct
leads and counters. Similarly in wrestling, the simple holds, resultant
falls, and the breaks for the simple holds are all taught.

It is not, however, to the regular class work that one must go to

judge of the grip that these manly sports have upon the cadets. In
the afternoon, after recitations, embryo Jeffries and Fitzsimmonses
gather in the boxing room to receive the holy instruction from the
master, Mr. Jenkins, or “Tom,” as he is affectionately called among
themselves. There he teaches the aspirant pugilist how to land a
blow and how to avoid one, and occasionally to make the lesson
more realistic he treats his young charge to the experience of
receiving one. Some experiences in a man’s life grow dim, but never
this one.

When the preliminary bouts are being fought, large numbers flock to
the boxing room to cheer for the weaker fellow even though he be
of another class than one’s own. Boxing develops fine qualities
among the men. It teaches them to give and take, to receive
punishment without flinching, and to respect the skill of a good
opponent. Besides it gives a man confidence in his powers, making
him think quickly and move quickly, all excellent qualities for an
officer of the army.

Boxing, however, shares the popular appeal with wrestling. This

manly sport that we have inherited from our ancestors of the stone
age fascinates men chiefly by virtue of its brute strength and to a
lesser degree by its skill. It is a game for men of all sizes, provided
they possess the necessary qualities of courage and strength.

The boxing room on winter afternoons presents a warm and

pleasing contrast to the cold and snow outside. The mats are
covered with agile forms in black jersey tights wriggling and
squirming, the perspiration rolling off the wrestlers as they endeavor
to grind the shoulders of their opponents to the mat. All men receive
instruction in wrestling in class, but like the other sports, its
devotees must repair for extra instruction to Mr. Jenkins during
recreation hours. It is in this time that men practice for their class
teams, one for each of the following weights: unlimited, heavy, light
heavy, middle, welter, light, and feather. The four class teams meet
each other successively to wrestle for the class championship. There
is besides a contest for the individual championship, the final bouts
which take place publicly at the Annual Indoor Meet.

Prior to the resumption of the afternoon military drills in March, the

cadets hold their annual gymnastic event called the Indoor Meet.
The contests, which are held with great ceremony in the
Gymnasium, include races, pole climbing, work on horizontal bars
and parallel bars, long and short horse, rings both stationary and
flying, and the tug of war between the classes.

Each class enters so many men for each event, and for the awards
of first, second, or third, the contestant receives a designated
number of points. The class receiving the greatest total wins the
meet. This athletic event is a very fitting way to end the winter
course, for it offers an opportunity to those men who have labored
faithfully during the winter afternoons to reap the reward of their
efforts. It also is an incentive for better work because of the spirit of
competition. The Athletic Association upon this occasion, presents
sabers, both to the captain of the football team and to that member
of the First Class who during his cadet career has done the most for
athletics. It is a very proud night for these young men as they walk
forward to receive the coveted saber, the first part of their officer’s
equipment.

There is great rivalry among the classes during the events. The four
corners of the room are filled with the members of each class, who
yell like demons to encourage their representatives. Almost every
minute the air is filled with shrieks and yells of excited cadets whose
“Zis-boom-ahs!” “Rah! Rah! Rahs!” “1917! 1918!!...” are hurled at
one another to the delight and amusement of the spectators, young
and old, hanging over the iron railing of the gallery.

The courses in gymnastics, wrestling, and boxing, increase in

difficulty according to the class, so that the Third and Second
Classmen pursue a more advanced course than the plebes. When,
however, the cadets become First Classmen, emphasis is laid upon
the theories of physical training with the object of preparing these
“near officers” for their duties as instructors in the service. The
needs of the Army are carefully considered in the training of the last
year in order to send out from West Point men who can at once take
hold of a group of recruits and whip them into good physical shape,
according to the most intelligent methods.

Unfortunately, the setting-up exercises in the Army are only

spasmodically taught. There is very little uniformity in the method,
despite the excellent manual with which the troops are provided.
West Point is at present making an effort to influence the Service to
a better appreciation of the results to be derived from regular drill in
setting-up exercises. To this end, the First Classmen are taught to
act as instructors, and are grounded not only in actual practice but
in theory. Every year extra classes are held to develop good
instructors for the coming summer camps, and for future service in
the Army. It is to be hoped that commanding officers will make good
use of these enthusiastic young teachers.

Although the control of athletics at the Academy is not under the

gymnasium authorities, still it is fitting to speak of the sports in this
chapter. The Academy has its football, baseball, basketball, and
hockey teams, and in addition the cadets play golf, polo, and tennis.
There is little in the training or conduct of these teams that differs
from other educational institutions, except the question of time
allowed for preparation. It has always been the rule at West Point
that no inroads shall be permitted upon the Academic course to aid
the development of any athletic team. Consequently, what practice
the teams get must be during recreation hours. The only
concessions made are supper a half-hour later for the football men,
and exemptions twice a week from parade for the baseball men.
Athletics receive, however, the greatest support and encouragement
from the authorities, whose aim is, however, not to develop a few
good men or an excellent team in any one sport, but to seek a good
average.

Every cadet is urged to join in some form of athletics instead of

remaining in his dress coat along the side lines as an interested
spectator. The efforts made in this direction have received a warm
response from the cadet body, so that during recreation hours the
Plain presents a busy scene of cadet activities. The green parade
ground is dotted with the golfers in gray shirts and white trousers;
the tennis courts are filled with animated figures; groups of happy
cadets ride by on horseback for a gallop in the woods, while others
prefer the more sedate hiking in the surrounding hills. It is a great
temptation after the recitations and drills to be lazy, hang around
one’s room, or “bone fiction” which means reading novels, but in
recent years the men have become more and more sensible of the
many advantages offered them during their cadet days, and a new
spirit of carpe diem has come over the Corps.

Photo by White

The Athletic Field

But to return to my subject of physical training proper. No

opportunity is lost to impress upon each man the practical use to
which he will put his knowledge of physical training when he
becomes an officer. He is urged to prepare himself to the best of his
ability to become a proficient instructor for the enlisted men whom
he will later command. In this connection, the cadets learn in their
course of Military Hygiene that the object of all physical training is to
develop the human body in its entirety in order that there shall
result a perfect equilibrium between all its functions. Many recruits
join the Army without the slightest coördination of their body.
Although well formed they are awkward, clumsy, stoop shouldered,
without ability to make their different members act in unison with
their minds. If an officer does not know what to do with these men
he will never succeed in getting good work out of them. His first
duty therefore is to develop the recruit’s body, especially the
functions of control, the coördination between eye and hand,
because the success of line troops is largely dependent upon
physical aptitude. The modern war makes greater demands than
ever upon the soldier’s physique. I heard an observer, recently
returned from the European War, state that the infantryman is now
so loaded down with packs, steel helmets, hand grenades, and rifle
that he finds it difficult to advance faster than a walk. The strain
upon the physique of the infantryman carrying his pack is greater
than upon soldiers of other arms, and since graduates in time of war
will be concerned largely with the training of infantry, it is of
paramount importance that cadets should understand the building
up and care of the bodies of their men. A soldier must possess more
than the average muscular strength, endurance, and organic vigor.

I see before me daily the fine results of the system of physical

training at the Academy. Ungainly plebes gradually assume a well-
rounded appearance, an erect carriage with head up and an elastic
walk. I sometimes have to rub my eyes when I behold a cadet
whom I once remembered as an unformed plebe, as loose jointed as
a big Newfoundland puppy, but who now appears before my
astonished vision as a smart soldierly First Classman. When the
cadets have completed their four years course they have a decided
physical stamp, showing that each one has been trained by the
same system.

At the end of the year in June, when the Post is thronged with
visitors, relatives, and friends of cadets who are present for the
graduation exercises, an outdoor demonstration of the setting-up
exercises is given on the Plain. The precision and uniformity with
which the movements are executed arouse great interest as eight
hundred supple young bodies respond as one to the sonorous
commands of the instructor perched on a solid wooden table.
 Setting up Drill on the Plain

This drill is usually followed by the Outdoor Meet, the annual athletic
event corresponding to the Indoor Meet. Each class has its best
representatives entered to win a victory in the dashes, hurdle races,
long distance races, hammer throwing, jumping, and pole vaulting.
Back of the roped lines surge the cadets of the various classes,
cheering themselves hoarse for their own representatives. Mothers,
sisters, sweethearts, friends, friends’ friends, in the fluffiest and
gayest summer dresses devouringly trail their “Kaydet,” and give
excited and exaggerated opinions about things of which they are
totally ignorant,—but bless their hearts! their presence is an
inspiration to the young gods at their Olympian games.

On the June morning of the Outdoor Meet, West Point usually offers
one of her incomparably beautiful days as a fitting setting for the
display of her cadets’ physical prowess. And when the Meet ends,
the cadets all feel that one more year’s progress been made in their
physical development. The First Classmen who on the morrow will
go forth into the Army, leaving the protecting walls of West Point,
reflect with emotion and gratitude upon all that West Point’s training
has done to strengthen their bodies to endure whatever hardships
that might arise in their new lives as officers.
 CHAPTER IX
LESSONS FROM MARS

I N the Area of the South Barracks, directly opposite the sally-port,

is a little brick building with a clock tower. It is small and
insignificant looking to the ordinary observer, but not so to the
cadet. Here dwell the “Tacs,” the officers of the Tactical Department,
who are charged with the discipline and purely military instruction of
the Corps. More especially, it is the Headquarters of the
Commandant, his assistants, the cadet Officer of the Day, the
officers of the guard, and the orderlies. The mail, the precious mail,
is assorted twice daily within its old walls, and its creaky wooden
floor is worn thin by the lively tread of hurrying cadets feverishly
crowding around the bulletin boards.

In the second-floor room of the Tower is the Officer in Charge, the

monarch of all he surveys. True, his reign is but twenty-four hours,
but he returns to the throne about once a week. During his tour he
is the Corps monitor. From the quaint little porch off his room, the
“poop deck,” as the cadets think of it, he coldly and inscrutably
regards all formations in the Area. When the punishment squad is
walking tours, the door of the “poop deck” opens unobtrusively, and
for a moment he stands casting a glance over the oscillating gray
figures, walking their narrow paths back and forth. As quietly as he
comes forth he fades from view. The “Area Birds” breathe more
freely as he disappears, but soon again he reappears like an
accusing conscience. His presence hovers over the daily life of the
cadets. To them he is the “O. C.” and source of all information. His
decisions have the sacredness and authority of the Delphian oracle.
If the weather is threatening, it is he who decides whether raincoats
shall be worn to meals. If visitors arrive during study hours, his
permission must be obtained to speak with them for half an hour. If
knotty problems of interior administration bother the Officer of the
Day, his advice is immediately sought. He is amazingly omniscient.

Each day brings a new “O. C.” until the roster of the Tactical officers
has been exhausted, whereupon the cycle begins anew. There are
various species of “O. C.’s,” and it is astonishing how the personality
of each one will influence the day of the cadet. There is the cheerful
“O. C.” with a kind manner and a cordial tone in his voice. Between
him and his young charges there seems to be a bond of mutual
confidence and affection. They feel that his reserve is assumed “By
order,” and that if they only knew him, he would be their friend.
They feel his human side, his understanding of their difficulties, and
they have no resentment when he reports them because they know
that in doing so, he feels a sympathetic pang. When he enters the
Mess Hall, his presence is welcomed, as much as cadets can
welcome the presence of any officer. Somehow the laughter seems
gayer and the day altogether brighter during his tour. There is no
unconscious load to carry in addition to the actual burdens of the
day. At parade, a little more effort is made to execute smartly the
manual when he gives the commands.

Then there is the gloomy “O. C.,” the stand-off kind that looks
daggers upon the approach of any cadet. He appears to circle over
the Corps like some hungry bird ready to pounce any moment upon
his prey. When he has occasion to question a cadet, a barrier of ice
immediately rises between them and their viewpoints drift miles and
miles apart. He seems to them never to have been a young man
himself, so little of the power of understanding does he possess.
They look him up in the Army Register and discover that he too was
a cadet not so many years ago, but to believe it strains their
credulity to the breaking point. When things go wrong, instead of
pointing out the error in a natural manner, there are anger and
resentment in the voice. All of his “skins” seem flavored with malice.
Apparently, he goes out of his way to be disagreeable, as if to be so
was to be military. His tour is regarded with dread especially by the
First Classmen detailed that day for guard.

But the influence of either type of Officer in Charge is transient. It

passeth from day to day. If the Gloomy One is on duty, there is the
consolation that the Cheerful One will succeed him like sunshine
after rain. It is the Commandant of Cadets, the chief of all the
“Tacs,” who exercises the great permanent influence over the Corps.
Ever since the creation of his office in 1825, he has been “the Com”
to the embryo officers under him. He prescribes all of their drills and
casts the mold for the discipline of their bodies and souls. He is the
tribunal that grants or withholds their privileges and that punishes
them for their premeditated or thoughtless misdeeds. Whereas a few
years ago he exercised his power for the seclusion of his office, at a
distance from the cadets, today he meets and talks with them daily,
ascertains their viewpoint, giving to his work the new spirit of the
personal touch that has crept into the instruction at West Point. To
be successful in his important work, he must never look bored. He
must take an interest in the cadets rather than in the Regulations.
He must be human. To gain the admiration of his men he must be
above all efficient, fairly good to look upon, military in appearance,
and well dressed, and to gain their liking and respect he must be
smart, strict, and impartial. There are two faults in an officer that a
cadet finds hard to forgive: lack of neatness and “being wooden.”

In his work, the Commandant is assisted by the “Tacs,” Infantry,

Cavalry, Field, and Coast Artillery officers. Officers of every branch of
the Service are represented because at West Point, the duties of all
arms are taught. It is with these officers more than any others that
the cadet comes into the most direct contact.

For purposes of administration, each company is commanded by a

Tactical officer. He passes upon all permits, requests, requisitions for
clothing and for ordnance. He inspects the rooms of his command to
see that they are clean and in order. He examines the rifles and
equipment for dirt and rust. He supervises one or more of the drills.
He is really the presiding genius over the company, in whose welfare
he takes unselfish interest. It is the duty of him and his brother
“Tacs” to uphold the discipline of the Corps, which means that when
a man has to deal with eight hundred young wills, American
nurtured, he must utilize something stronger than mere words to
see that the eight hundred conform to the set standards of the
institution. His chief weapon to emphasize to the cadet the
importance of the Regulations is the report or “skin,” which carries
with it a certain number of demerits, and sometimes punishment
tours.

The cadet consequently looks upon the “Tac” as his arch enemy. One
cannot help having a little resentment toward a person who is
always present to check up his misdoings, no matter how just and
well deserved the punishment may be. The feeling is only human
and the military atmosphere rather augments it. It is especially
difficult, I think, for Americans to feel continually the heavy hand of
authority, because each one of us is so individualistic. Unconsciously,
the cadet cannot get away from the presence of the “Tac.” Life in
barracks seems to revolve around this individual. From the early
morning inspection, until the evening study period when he again
comes around, knocking sharply on each door and interrupting the
train of thought, his spectre, if not himself, is haunting the
surroundings. The cadets know that he is just across the way in the
Guard House, and that they will meet him at drill in the afternoon.
He is the important factor that must be considered in their daily
comings and goings. He is a sort of irritating yoke.

It is not to be wondered at then, that he is the subject of unlimited

discussion, despite regulations to the contrary, and that every
peculiarity of manner, dress, or speech is noticed and criticized. His
entire personality is usually summed up in some nickname that
comes like an inspiration and hits the nail upon the head.
Occasionally the name is complimentary, in unconscious recognition
of an innate nobility which marks him out as of finer clay, but more
often it is uncomplimentary and droll.
Nothing pleases a cadet quite so much as to see a “Tac” do
something wooden. They say that he is gross, which has nothing
whatsoever to do with being fat, but simply means that his mind is
somewhat dense. Immediately the blunder spreads like wild-fire
from lip to lip, growing as it goes and repeated with a joy that
approaches delirium. There was at one time an officer on duty
whose idiosyncrasies were told and retold. He furnished many a
good story for the delight of the Corps, and his departure threatened
the existence of The Howitzer, the cadets’ annual publication, and of
the Hundredth Night, the annual play in which the officers may be
satirized. His mind seemed to work by rule and regulation. One night
when he was making his inspection of barracks, he came to a room
where only one cadet was studying at the center table. He entered,
looked around, and then inquired:

“Cadet, where is your roommate?”

“In bed, sir!” was the reply.

“Is he asleep?” asked the officer.

“I don’t know, sir,” answered the cadet.

“Well, find out,” ordered the “Tac.”

The man then turned to his roommate who was plainly visible in
bed, and asked:

“Jim, are you asleep?”

“Yes” sounded off a voice from the depths of the comforters.

“He says he’s asleep, sir.”

“Very good, cadet,” replied the “Tac,” and quite satisfied, left the
room, just in time to escape the outburst of laughter that followed
this highly intellectual conversation.
To be always under the observation of so many pairs of keen young
critical eyes is sufficient to make any officer somewhat self-
conscious, and to give a certain kink and twist to his actions. The
cadets, like all youth, are merciless in their judgment, sometimes
almost cruel. They are ever on the alert for any slip that the “Tac”
may make and intolerantly condemn him. But so responsive are the
cadets that it would take but a smile, or a word or so bordering on
intimacy, to remove all critical feelings and bring about “glad
confident morning.” I wonder sometimes why that so seldom
happens. I suppose it is because we are all artificial.

Although the Tactical officer is very much occupied with the interior
discipline and economy of his company, the greater portion of his
time is given over to the military instruction of the cadets. The
purpose of this instruction is to familiarize the cadet with the duties
and needs of a private in the ranks by practical experience, to
impress upon his character the habit of obedience, and to train him
in the function of command by repeated exercise.

In order best to accomplish this purpose, the cadets are organized

into two battalions of four companies each. This is the present
organization, but as soon as the Corps has been increased to the full
strength recently organized by Congress, the Commandant intends
to make a regiment. Although the Tactical officers command the
companies in the sense that they are the supervisors of the
discipline and administration, the actual commanding of the
companies on the drill ground is entrusted to the cadets. Selected
men perform all of the duties of the officers and non-commissioned
officers. They are chosen for this honor on account of their good
conduct and studious habits, and the soldier-like performance of
their duties. They are as strict and conscientious in upholding the
Regulations as are the officers themselves. As a matter of truth they
are more severe because they seldom take it upon themselves to put
any interpretation upon the motive underlying the act. A thing is
right or it is wrong. There is no middle line. Whenever any cadet is
on duty, he insists that all under him obey implicitly his orders, and
should any man be so rash as to disregard his authority, he instantly
enters a report against the offender. It would seem that such an
action would arouse the resentment of his fellow cadets, but this
does not occur, due to the honor system at West Point. Cadets
generally recognize that their attitude toward their work must be
different from the student at the average educational institution
because their duties are all in serious preparation for their future
careers.

Of course, there are some men who carry their authority too far
when they find themselves in command of their fellows. Sometimes
they lack judgment and consequently deserve sympathy; sometimes
there are a few men who deliberately try to make an impression
upon their superiors at the expense of the men in the ranks. These
men who allow their desire for probable advancement to lead them
astray are quickly sized up by the Corps, and dubbed “quilloids.”
They are usually disliked and made to feel the displeasure of their
comrades. In nearly every class there are some of these men who
do not see clearly, and who persist, throughout their whole course,
in placing false values upon trivialities.

Since the cadets are organized into Infantry battalions, the greatest
amount of time is devoted to the work of this arm. There are many
reasons why this should be so. The Infantry is the largest branch of
the Army, and to it is assigned the greatest percentage of graduates.
Infantry drill is the basis of all drills and is the best for inculcating
discipline and cohesion among the men. Besides, the Great War in
Europe has proven that Infantry is still the Queen of Battle, and that
all of the other branches, the Artillery, the Cavalry, the Engineers,
the Aviation Corps are but her minions. It is the Infantry that decides
the fight.

The practical military instruction of the cadets, although carried on

throughout the year, varies in intensity at different periods. In the
depth of winter it is impossible to drill out of doors. The Infantry
instruction is then suspended, except for the daily class and meal
formations. When, however, March 15th rolls around, the Ides of
March remember, and the snow leaves the ground, the Corps begins
its annual training. Immediately after the dismissal of the sections
from recitations at four o’clock, the battalions form in front of
barracks for the afternoon drill. Despite the raw March winds that
blow across the Plain, chilling one to the marrow, the battalion
designated for Infantry drill sets about overcoming the inequalities of
marching, the lack of precision in the execution of the manual,
raggedness of the movements that have been produced by the long
inactivity of the winter. It is at this period that the most scrupulous
attention must be paid to the manner of executing the various
movements. Every little dereliction is criticized, every mistake is
corrected, and every movement repeated until it can be faultlessly
performed.

First the companies are drilled alone and then later assembled for a
short battalion drill before going back to barracks. Up and down the
Plain the companies march, now in column, now in line. The right
guides of each company seem to be carrying the burden of the drill
as with tense faces they fixedly regard the two points upon which
they are directing the march of the company. Meanwhile they are
measuring their step by a silent count of “one-two-three-four.” The
officers and file closers are attentive and alert, giving a word of
caution here and one of reprimand there, as the line crowds in on
the left, or, like an accordion, opens out on the right. The plebes in
the rear rank are striving to the utmost to keep in step and on the
line, and at the same time carry their rifles straight and drag in their
chins. The detail and care with which every command must be
executed begins to produce a feeling of monotony, and stolen
glances seek the clock in the tower. Fifteen more minutes! The hour
seems interminable and the wind more and more disagreeable.
Finally the hands of the clock roll around to five and the musician
appears in the sally-port and sounds the recall.

The next afternoon the second battalion attends close order drill and
the first takes its place at extended order. A lighter gayer crowd
march forth to this exercise. Here they will have a little chance for
individual leadership, the command of a platoon perhaps, or of a
squad, or they will enjoy the comparative freedom and
independence of the skirmisher. In the early part of the spring
course the mechanism of the drill must be rehearsed upon the Plain.
The parade ground is therefore dotted with prone and kneeling
groups of platoon columns and of squad columns. The blast of the
officer’s whistle, the simultaneous outstretching of the squad and
platoon leaders’ arms as a signal, and the columns magically deploy
into one long line of skirmishers. Once again the blast of the whistle
sounds; more signals; bayonets are fixed and squads begin their
rushes forward to the delight of the small boys and visitors who line
the surrounding walks. Then follows the assembly and the
companies do it all over again.

As soon as the mechanism is well learned, the battalion is taken up

into the hills and maneuvered over all sorts of ground. Combat
problems involving advance guard and outposts are worked out
under the direction of the Tactical officer. In these exercises the
actual command of the companies is in the hands of the cadets, but
the Tactical officer, assisted by other officers, directs the drill. The
cadets detailed for this drill called Field Training are assembled in
front of the old gymnasium where the officer outlines the problem
and gives the men a talk on the principles that are involved. Each
man is made to understand just what he must do before he starts
out and must know the general principles to be applied in cases that
arise. A situation is assumed where the cadets are a force in the
country of the enemy. They are to form, we will say, the advance
guard of their regiment. The instructor gives to the cadets who are
to command all information that he has of his own forces and of
those of the enemy and he points out to the young commanders
what is to be accomplished. The cadet officers are then called upon
to communicate to the men under them the instructions that, in
their opinion, are necessary to accomplish the mission. The officer
stands near to make suggestions and corrections, or to point out
errors of judgment. As soon as all understand what they are to do
the command moves out to work out the problem.

It is in the Field Training of the Infantry that the cadet acquires a

real knowledge of command. He must be able to size up situations
and quickly form a decision. He must then issue orders, clear and
definite, to cover the case. It is in these drills that he learns
something of the art of handling troops and what is the feeling of
responsibility. The cadets who actually exercise command are the
First Classmen. They are detailed by roster, irrespective of whether
they are privates or cadet officers, so that every man has many
opportunities to command a company before he graduates. It is
highly important that the cadet should be given practice in appearing
before a body of men and in giving them instructions. Nothing helps
so much to give him confidence in himself. It is of great value to him
when he joins his regiment in the Service. Cadets of the First Class
are therefore detailed for every kind of duty. They are company
commanders, acting adjutants, lieutenants, officers of the day and of
the guard. Whenever there is a chance to place responsibility upon
the cadet, advantage is taken of it by the Commandant.

The Infantry instruction is progressive. The First Classmen are

trained in more advanced work by means of tactical walks. These
exercises are similar to those prescribed for officers in the Service
and are in line with their future work as subalterns. An officer takes
four or five men with him to some neighboring terrain well adapted
to a particular problem. All of the different phases of the problem
are considered and the cadets required to size up each situation and
issue their orders as if in actual warfare. They are provided with
maps which they must be able to read with facility. At the close of
the exercise the officer holds a critique.

Nor is target practice, that important branch of Infantry instruction,

neglected. In summer when the cadets are in camp, the complete
course of firing as prescribed for Infantry and Cavalry troops is given
the First Class. It is held down on the flats near the river in the
shelter of Cro’s Nest where a fair range parallels the Hudson. Every
clear morning at seven the detachments march down to the range.
At this hour the air is cool and crisp and so crystalline that every
feature of the landscape stands out sharply defined. West Point is
incomparably beautiful at this season and time of the day. But as the
sun mounts higher in the Heavens the coolness is replaced by a
steadily increasing heat. From the arrival at the range until noon,
Washington Valley echoes with the crack! crack! of the Springfields.
Little groups of cadets are stretched out in the blazing sun trying to
find the bull’s eye and hoping to pile up a big enough score to win
the coveted medal of Expert Rifleman or Sharpshooter. Meanwhile
another portion of the men is down behind the butts, taking its turn
in shifting the targets. All morning long they monotonously pull the
frames up and down, pasting on the target, now a white paster, now
a black one, or mechanically waving the red flag back and forth.
Intermittently the telephone rings: “Ting-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling.”

“Re-mark No. 8!” sings out the operator.

Careful search is made on No. 8 for the third time and up goes the
red flag, the sight of which fills the hopeful cadet back at the firing
point with a feeling of disappointment and disgust. And so the
morning passes, the men firing so interested that they are oblivious
of its flight, and the men in the butts thinking less of pasters and red
flags than of the cool shower that waits them in camp, and blessed
dinner.

If one wishes, however, to see the finished results of the discipline

and cohesion produced by Infantry training he must attend either a
review and inspection by the Corps, or a parade.

Every Saturday, shortly after the return of the cadets from dinner,
there is an inspection on the Plain, preceded by a review, at which
the appearance, clothing, and equipment of the cadet are minutely
examined by his Tactical officer. I know of no finer sight at West
Point than this ceremony, especially in the summer and early fall
when the Plain is green and the cadets wear the excellent
combination of the gray coats and white trousers. As the companies
maneuver on the Plain preparatory to taking their places on the line,
the perfection of their marching, their impeccable appearance, the
white cross-belts, the glittering breastplates, and bell buttons of
coat, the foreign-looking dress hat with its rigid little pompon, the
splendid bearing of the men, betray the beholder into believing that
he is watching the evolutions of some legendary corps d’élite. The
scene seems foreign and yet again very American. The most
characteristic feature is the thoroughness with which every detail of
dress, equipment, and marching has been worked out. When the
Corps turns the bend near Sedgwick monument and comes swinging
down past the reviewing officer, the most callous spectator could not
fail to have his emotions stirred. His pride is flattered. He is watching
a ceremony whose perfection of execution and beauty is symbolic of
an institution that in a sense belongs to him, to the man next to him,
and to all the spectators along the line. It is the product of America.
No wonder he reverently removes his hat as the colors march by.

No less beautiful although not so elaborate is the ceremony of

parade. During the spring and fall, daily parades are given by the
battalion that has attended infantry drill on that day. The drummers
sound the first call in the sally-port. The Area of Barracks is
practically deserted, but within the rooms cadets are feverishly
adjusting their belts, wiping off their guns, struggling into their
coats, or looking for mislaid breastplates. Out of the doors all at
once begin to dart the plebes, first one then another, and still others.
They hastily proceed to their places on the walk and mark the rear
rank. The hands of the clock slowly creeping around to the hour for
the assembly are watched intently by the Officer of the Day who
stands in the sally-port ready to give the signal.

From all the doors of the barracks are now pouring the upper-
classmen immaculately dressed in stiffly starched and evenly creased
white trousers, gleaming white belts, and shining buckles. Their
faces are so obscured by the chin strap of their high dress hat that
all personalities are lost, and each man appears to be the duplicate
of his fellow. The picturesqueness of the uniforms and the
background of the severe stone barracks recall the days of Frederick
the Great. The assembly sounds. At once the companies are formed
and inspected. They proceed to their places in the sally-ports and
between the neighboring buildings preparatory to debouching on the
Plain. At the termination of the Adjutant’s call the band begins its
march. One company emerges unexpectedly from the north sally-
port, another from the south, another from near the Academic
building, still one more from the shadow of the old gymnasium.
More of them keep coming and move out on the Plain. The fresh
green grass offers a charming contrast to the white of the uniforms
as the companies perform their evolutions before advancing to the
line. The Plain is dotted with companies in column, companies in
line, companies in columns of platoons, marching in perfect cadence
as if animated by machinery.

Parade on the Plain

The line is now formed stretching from the flag pole to the trees in
front of barracks. A few minutes of silence reign over the parade
while the Adjutant moves smartly and rapidly to his place in front of
the Battalion, and by command, brings the Corps to “parade rest.”
The golden sun sinking in the west plays its dying rays on the long
gray line, causing the men in ranks to blink and blink on account of
its brilliancy, and illuminating the bell buttons of the dress coats until
they sparkle like so many gems. Meanwhile, the band has marched
in front of the Corps and resumed its place on the right. The retreat
sounds. Then a hush falls over the visitors’ seats as the spectators
rise to do honor to the flag, while the neighboring hills reverberate
with the strains of the Star Spangled Banner. The exercise in the
manual of arms being terminated, the band once again crashes forth
and the thin gray line of cadet officers, with their feathered plumes
fluttering and the knots of their red ashes swinging back and forth,
sweeps forward to the officer reviewing the parade. Smart salutes
are exchanged, the cadet officers face about and return to their
companies to march them in review and back to barracks.

Hand in hand with the Infantry instruction goes that of the Cavalry
to which is allotted the next greatest amount of time in the schedule
of training. Cadets are taught the fundamentals of every branch of
the Service, and all cadets receive instruction in riding and in Cavalry
tactics whether or not they are destined for that arm. Infantry
officers must know how to ride as well as those of the mounted
branches. Frequently their duties require them to be mounted, and
when they arrive at the grade of field officer, major, and above, they
are obliged to command their troops from the back of a horse. It is
only during their first year at the Academy that cadets do not attend
cavalry instruction. When they become Third Classmen their
acquaintance with the horse begins. Cadets must be taught to ride
before they can be advanced to the tactics of the cavalry, and as a
matter of fact, learning to ride well takes so much of the allotted
time that comparatively little is left for the cavalry problems. The
cadets who join this branch of the service will learn their cavalry
tactics chiefly in the Army.
Beginning with the Yearlings, therefore, lessons are given in
equitation, outdoors in good weather and in the magnificent Riding
Hall during the winter. At first life in the Riding Hall is hard for those
men who have never before ridden, but once they learn the art of
“sticking on” they enjoy the exercise that riding affords. The first few
weeks are particularly trying. When the Yearlings march in upon the
spongy tanbark, they find themselves face to face with a whole row
of bareback horses lined up along one side of the hall. The animals
are champing their bits and wagging their heads apparently in sheer
joy of the anticipation of “policing” a few victims. Little chills run up
and down the spines of the Yearlings and their bodies are covered
with goose flesh as they read the challenge in the eyes of the
beasts.

“Fall out!” orders the instructor. Ranks are broken and the men run
over to the grinning horses, scrutinizing them with breathless
impatience, first one, then the other, hoping to catch a sight of a
kind and gentle glance.

“1. Prepare to mount! 2. Moun-n-n-n-t!” commands the instructor in

a sepulchral voice. Then follow frantic efforts to climb the slippery
hides—ineffectual jumps succeeded by sudden descents. Finally they
get aboard and all goes well until the heartless instructor intones:

“Slow trot. March-h-h-h-h-h!”

Such efforts at balancing never before were seen! One man on a

razorback tries every spot from the mane to the croup in an attempt
to find one little piece of hide whereon he might sit in peace and
quiet; another on an imitation Percheron wabbles most dangerously
and falls off going around the curve; another is firmly grasping the
mane, or tugging at the iron mouth of some malicious brute that
insists upon holding its head high, with both ears bent back to enjoy
the muttered curses of the rider. The galleries are lined with the
daily visitors who smile gleefully upon the embryo cavalrymen, but
the distressed Yearling’s gaze turns reproachfully toward the spot
where the young girls of the Post may be seen bunched together
and giggling.

As the days pass by the Yearling finds that his seat becomes more
and more secure and by the time that he has arrived at the dignity
of a Second Classman he feels that he is able to cope with the
wildest of the equine breed. During the first year the drill was more
or less drudgery, but after twelve months of practice he enjoys the
lessons. He feels the pleasure that comes from the ability to make
one’s muscles obey the will, to feel the horse yielding to the slightest
touch of leg or rein. The thrill of the leap over the ditch and of the
jump over the wall are sensations that he loves. Later on when he
goes out to the cavalry drill ground for instruction in tactics, it is the
gallop and the charge en masse that give a new meaning to the
word “drill.” It is no longer a task but a pleasure.

His progress in handling his horse enables him to proceed to

mounted pistol practice and to enjoy the privilege of riding on the
road, and of polo. By the time that he has become a First Classman
he is ready to devote his time not so much to equitation as to real
Cavalry instruction. He learns how to reconnoiter, how to patrol. As
in his Infantry instruction, he must solve problems innumerable: the
forming of the advance and rear guards, the establishing of
outposts, making and breaking camp, the proper conduct of the
march, how to care for his horse the same as though he were an
enlisted man. He must groom him, feed him, and water him. He is
called upon to perform every duty that is required of enlisted men in
the Cavalry so that when he shall become an officer, he will know
just how much to expect of his men. He will so understand the
fatigue of grooming, the difficulty of managing some horses, and the
impossibility of always being alert and attentive that he will be
patient and sympathetic, judging his men by their limited
advantages and not by the standard that he has attained through a
training par excellence.
Portions of the Cavalry instruction are devoted to hippology and to
packing. In hippology the cadets study a text-book upon which they
recite, but in addition they are frequently taken to the stables where
all types of horses are trotted out for their inspection and criticism.
They must be able to tell all of the horse’s good and bad points and
must be conversant with the remedies for the ordinary diseases. The
packing is entirely practical. A pack train is kept at West Point for the
use of the cadets, and they are drilled in putting up an aparejo and
packing the mules. They must be experts in throwing the diamond
hitch.

The branch of the Service, however, that is more closely allied to the
Infantry than the Cavalry is the Field Artillery. They are indeed
brother arms. In the fight the Artillery must prepare the way for the
Infantry, using its powerful explosive shells to demoralize and
decimate the enemy so that the Infantry’s task, hard enough at best,
may be made easier. Among the cadets the Field Artillery is a
popular branch of the training almost rivaling the Cavalry. The course
of instruction is splendidly progressive. During Fourth-Class year, the
plebes learn all about the instruments, how to set the sights, to read
the scales, the use of the quadrant, and to perform the duties of
cannoneer. By the time that they go into their Yearling camp each
individual is sufficiently trained to be a good gunner, so that the
class is ready to receive instruction both in the squad acting alone,
and as part of a battery. During the fall and drill periods of the Third-
Class year, the Yearlings are called upon to perform the duties of
driver, sometimes wheel driver and again lead driver. As in the
Cavalry instruction, the cadets must learn all of the duties of enlisted
men. Their experience as drivers will teach them how hard it is to
bring horses and carriage to a stop at a designated place, how
difficult it is to estimate the ground correctly, and how a man’s
patience can be tried by fractious and unruly beasts.

The members of the Second Class are taught in the fall the
technique of the mountain battery, and in the spring they act as
officers at the drill of the field battery while the First Classmen who
have already passed through this stage of the training are detailed
to command the organization. The First Classmen also spend a great
deal of their time upon the theory of artillery fire, and practice
accumulating firing data. During the First-Class camp they conduct
regular target practice with the battery.

Photo White Studio

At Target Practice on the Flats

The course in Field Artillery has been vastly improved in recent

years. All of the instruction is given by Field Artillery officers, and
non-commissioned officers who are specialists along certain lines,
instead of as in former days by a stray Infantry, Cavalry, or Coast
Artillery Tactical officer. All the plebe drill period at that time seemed
to be consumed in jumping up on the caisson and off again. I always
felt like a squirrel in a cage going round and round without getting
anywhere. Sometimes, too, the instructions that the officer gave us
were a little mixed to say the least. I remember once an instructor to
whom Field Artillery was an alien art giving us at drill the following
order much to the merriment of the plebes:

“The cadets will now be divided into three squads: those that have
fired, those that have not fired, and those that have done neither.”

There are other drills in the cadet’s military calendar besides those of
the three main branches of the mobile army. No little attention is
given to Practical Military Engineering. In camp one third of the class
spends four hours of the day practicing the various methods of
signaling, how to make knots and lashes, how to construct gabions
and fascines, how to use tackle, and how to construct bridges. The
First Class make position and road sketches, they lay out field
fortifications, and dig trenches. They learn the use of explosives, the
placing of mines, and the dynamiting of trees, buildings, and
railroads. During the Academic year the Department of Practical
Military Engineering gives the Fourth Class a thorough course in
surveying that embraces both theory and practical work with the
instruments in the field.

The Tactical Department is charged with the instruction of the Coast

Artillery. Several modern batteries, both rifles and mortars, are
installed at West Point so that the cadets may have every facility for
learning the technique of this arm. The Yearlings act as gunners,
performing the same duties that are required of privates in the
Regular Army. The Second Classmen act as gun pointers, range and
azimuth setters, do the plotting and observing, or, in other words,
perform the duties of non-commissioned officers in the Regular
Service. The First Classmen act as battery officers or as range
officers, so that upon graduation they may join their commands fully
acquainted with their prospective duties.

After the Corps has been given the maximum of military training for
any one year, a week’s practice march is held as a climax to the
intensive work of the summer camp. With band playing and with all
the panoply of war the cadets march down to the ferry to cross to
the other side of the Hudson. For the next six days they march and
maneuver through the beautiful country in the neighborhood of West
Point. Every day camp is established at a new point and a problem
worked out on the march from one place to the other. All branches
of the Service are represented. The main body of the Corps go as
Infantry, but the First Class make up the Cavalry and Field Artillery.
The “hike” is a valuable experience for the cadets. They learn what it
means to be a “doughboy” and carry a pack on one’s back through
the sweltering heat and the dust of the road. They appreciate how
tired the Cavalryman and the Field Artilleryman are when they throw
themselves down in their pup tents after the labors of the day. Their
understanding of real soldiering is broadened and their sympathy for
the duties that enlisted men have to perform, awakened. They
return to the Post, footsore and weary, prepared to take up their
studies in barracks and continue their military training in the limited
time after recitations.

During the entire year all military instruction ceases at six o’clock in
the evening. Military methods are, however, inextricably woven into
every part of the cadet life in addition to what might be called purely
military training. All during the evening study period, for example, a
certain number of cadets are on guard in the hall of the divisions to
prevent the cadets from visiting in each other’s rooms, and to
preserve the utmost silence in the barracks. The only noise that can
be heard is the tread of the sentinel who walks back and forth
wrapped in his own thoughts that occasionally are interrupted by the
Corporal of the Guard sticking his head in at the door and saying:

“All right on your post?”

“All right, sir,” answers the sentinel, who as soon as his superior
disappears replunges into his reverie until time for his relief.

At twenty minutes past nine a preliminary tapping of the drums is

heard on the Plain near the Commandant’s quarters. A few minutes
of silence ensue. Then the music of the fifes and drums startles the
night as the drum corps commences its march to barracks to sound
tattoo. The notes of the fifes float out over the darkened Plain in the
weirdest possible manner, as if the spirits of the night were trying to
be gay but could not suppress a certain plaintiveness in spite of their
joy. They are like a little boy going upstairs in the dark who keeps
saying out loud, “I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid.” On they come, the
music growing louder and louder, until they reach the sally-port
where their racket is a signal to the cadets to cease work and make
down their beds. Some of the men are already asleep, but the vast
majority are still sitting at tables, supporting their heads on their
hands as they try to absorb the meaning of the printed words that
dance before their eyes. The Drum Corps has ceased to play and
stands near the Guard House waiting for half-past nine. The silence
of the Area is broken only by the tramp of the third relief marching
around the stoop of barracks from one division to another.

Photo White Studio

 At P. M. E. Drill

Building a Pontoon Bridge

“No. 1. Off!” commands the Corporal.

The sentinel joins his leader and passes on to relieve the other
sentinels. Meanwhile the hands of the clock indicate nine-thirty. The
“Hell Cats” sound the tattoo. For the next half-hour the barracks are
animated with cadets running up and down stairs to the showers,
with the noise of beds being made down and water drawn. Gradually
ten o’clock draws near. The Officer of the Day standing in the Area
turns to the musicians:

“Sound taps!” he commands.

Thump! Thump! Thump! goes the drum in measured beat.

“Li-i-i-i-i-ghts out!” call the subdivision inspectors. The windows of
the barracks seem to blink for a moment and then darkness
envelops all of the rooms.

And so ends the day that has been continually under the eyes of the
Tactical Department. The next day will be the same and the next
and the next. Next year, too, the mills of the Gods will be grinding
away bending, twisting, shaping Mr. Ducrot for his future work. No
act of his is passed unnoticed or unrecorded. Every time that he
performs a duty the “Tacs” give him a mark that goes toward
determining his standing in military efficiency and deportment. This
is as it should be because the attitude toward duty that he displays
as a cadet is a good indication of his future attitude as an officer,
and to deny to merit, talents, and acquirements their just rewards
would be to check the emulation which brings genius into action and
qualifies the industrious student to become an ornament to his
country.
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