9: Our Future Heroes: The West Point Cadet's Vacation
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Ten Days of Centennial Sport for Prospective Warriors
—The Miseries of three hundred Young Gentlemen who
are limited to Ten Pairs of White Trousers each.
"ALMOST at the foot of George's Hill, and not far
to the westward of Machinery Hall, is the camp of
the West Point cadets. From morning till night the
domestic economy of the three hundred young gentlemen
who compose the corps is closely watched, and their
guard mountings and dress parades attract throngs of
spectators. It would be hard to find anywhere a body
of young men so manly in appearance, so perfect in
discipline, and so soldier-like and intelligent. The
system of competitive examination for admission, so
largely adopted within the past few years in many of
our large cities, has resulted in recruiting the corps
with lads of bright intellect and more than ordinary
attainments, while the strict physical examination has
rigorously excluded all but those of good form and
perfect health. The competitive system has also given
to the Academy students who want to learn, instead of
lads who are content to scramble through the prescribed
course as best they can, escaping the disgrace of being
"found" (a cadet term equivalent to the old college word
"plucked") by nearly a hair's-breadth.
"The camp.—The camp is laid out in regulation style,
and has four company streets. Near the western limit
of the Centennial grounds are the tents of the
commandant and the cadet captains and lieutenants.
Below, on a gentle incline, are the wall tents,
occupied by the cadets. Each of these has a board
floor, and it is so arranged that when desired it
may be thrown open on all sides. From two to four
narrow iron cots, a bucket for water, an occasional
chair, and now and then a mirror, comprise the
furniture. But scanty as it is, every article of this
little outfit has a place, and must be kept in it, or
woe to the unlucky wight upon whom the duty of
housekeeping devolves for the day. The bucket must
stand on the left-hand side of the tent, in front;
the beds must be made at a certain hour and in a
certain style—for the coming heroes of America have
to be their own chambermaids; while valises and other
baggage must be stowed away in as orderly a way as
possible. Every morning the tents are inspected, and
any lack of neatness or order insures for the
chambermaid of the day a misconduct mark. It may be
easily conceived that under a regime so strict as
this the cadets are particularly careful as to their
quarters, inasmuch as one hundred of these marks mean
dismissal from the Academy.
"At daybreak the reveille sounds, and the cadets turn
out for roll-call. Then come breakfast, guard mounting,
and camp and general police duty, which consume the
time until 8.30 A.M., from which hour those who are not
on guard have the freedom of the Centennial grounds. At
5 P.M. they must fall in for dress parade; at 9 they
answer to 'tattoo' roll-call, and a few minutes later
'taps' or 'lights out' consigns them to darkness and
quiet.
"West Point Aristocracy.—Small as is this corps, it
is still patent that the distinction of caste is very
strong. A first-classman—cadet officers are selected
from this class—looks down upon lower grade men, while
second-class cadets view their juniors with something
nearly allied to contempt, and third-class men are
amusingly patronizing in their treatment of 'plebes'
or new-comers. For the first year of their Academy
life the 'plebes' have rather a hard time of it; but
no sooner do they emerge from their chrysalis state
than they are as hard upon their unfortunate successors
as the third-class men of the year before were upon
them.
"The cadets are delighted with their reception and
kind treatment in Philadelphia, and look upon their
ten days' visit to the Centennial as a most pleasant
break in the monotony of Academy life. That they
maintain the reputation of the Academy for gallantry
and devotion to the fair sex is evidenced by the
presence of numbers of beautiful young ladies in
their camp after dress parade every evening. Given,
a pretty girl, the twilight of a summer evening, and
a youth in uniform, and the result is easily guessed.
"The Cadet Corps is to return to West Point to-morrow
morning. There the cadets are to go into camp until
September. General Sherman at one time purposed to
have them march from this city to the Academy, but
it was finally decided that the march would consume
time which might be more profitably devoted to drill.
"One of the complaints of the cadets is that in the
arrangements for their visit, the Quartermaster's
Department was stricken with a spasm of economy as
regarded transportation, and each of the future heroes
was limited to the miserably insufficient allowance of
ten pairs of white trousers.
"The cadets speak in warmly eulogistic terms of the
Seventh New York, to whose kindly attentions, they
say, much of their pleasure is due."
Of this article, which was taken from the Philadelphia Times, I need only say, those "two or four narrow iron
cots" and that "occasional chair" existed solely in the
imagination of the reporter, as they were nowhere
visible within the limits of our encampment.
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