west point played a great part in the gaining of american independence. it was strongly fortified as the key of the hudson, and as long as it was held by the patriots of the revolution the new england colonies could not be cut off from the others and conquered one at a time.

the lack of educated officers was greatly felt by the generals of the revolution, and this lack was but feebly supplied by trained officers from abroad.

it was mainly through the foresight and patriotism of washington, hamilton, and knox that the military academy at west point was founded, and their memory is still enshrined there.

the academy had its inception in very small beginnings, first by the assignment of students to an engineer regiment until the organic act of 1802 created an academy with ten cadets. a firm establishment was not made, however, until the detail of colonel sylvanus thayer in command in 1817, who laid down the fundamental principles which govern the academy to this day.

the early graduates of the academy suffered much from the jealousy of the old veterans of the revolution who had no use for the educated soldier. these graduates were too few to make themselves felt in the war of 1812, and it was not until vi general winfield scott eulogized their services in the mexican war that they began to be appreciated by the nation.

their services in the civil war were inestimable and are known to all who read history. after the spanish-american war of 1898, the then secretary of war, mr. elihu root, reported that the services of the graduates of the military academy in that war alone had far more than repaid the cost of the academy since its foundation in 1802.

for many years the military academy was what its name implies, an academy, but it has expanded from time to time until it is a military university, giving instruction for all branches of the service except the medical corps, and securing for each graduate a broad foundation which enables him to specialize in any direction by means of the various special schools for each branch. the glory of west point, however, is in the west point character, now well known in every civilized country in the world, with its reputation for fidelity, efficiency, discipline, and general uprightness. the standing army of the united states has always been too small for the tasks that have been laid upon it, and at every crisis it has had to train large forces of citizen soldiers summoned from civil life for the emergency. these citizen-soldiers, as well as the regular army itself, rely upon the scientific education and high character of the west point graduate to keep the art of war abreast, if not a little ahead, of the times, and for vii the initiative and informing leaven to permeate the mass and to cause the firm progress of discipline and uprightness throughout the whole.

shortly after the mexican war a verse was added to the old west point song of benny havens:

“their [graduates] blood has watered western plains

and northern wilds of snow,

has dyed deep red the everglades,

and walls of mexico.”

since that time they have shed it copiously in cuba, china, and the philippines, and they are now about to take their places with comrades from civil life fighting for liberty and democracy on the battlefields of france.

hugh l. scott.

washington, d. c.,

may, 1917.