| 4th Class. Course of 1st year. | ||
| SCIENCES. | PARTICULAR SUBJECTS. | TEXT BOOKS. |
|---|---|---|
Mathematics. | Surveying and measuring. Trigonometry.Geometry. Algebra. | Treatise on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, and on theApplication of Algebra to Geometry, translated from the French ofLacroix and Bezout, by Professor Farrar. Legendre’s Geometry. Complement des Elémens d’Algébra, par Lacroix. Lacroix’s Elements of Algebra. |
French Language. | Translation from French into English. | Histoire de Gil Blas, tome I. Berard’s Lecteur Français. Berard’s French Grammar. |
I was surprised to learn that the young men clean their rooms and clothes themselves, as well as make their own beds: only the cleaning of shoes and boots, and carrying of wood may be done by servants. But Colonel Thayer thinks, that if too many servants were in the school, the cadets would have too great an opportunity of remaining in connexion with the world, without the knowledge of the officers. The cadets are divided in four companies, and live in two large massive buildings, three stories high. In the older of the two buildings, two occupy one room; in the other, three are placed in one room. They sleep on mattresses, which are spread out on the floor in the evening, and have always two chambers, one for sleeping and the other for study.—This opens upon a long corridor. The cadets keep their arms also in their rooms. Their uniform consists of a grey jacket, with three rows of yellow buttons, bound with black cords; in winter, grey, in summer, white pantaloons; white leather equipments, as worn by the army, and, for fatigue service, leather caps. The officers wear the uniform of the artillery corps, to which they belong. Notwithstanding the extraordinarily fine situation of the school, the cadets have not a healthy appearance, perhaps because they have too little recreation.
After having seen the rich private library of Colonel Thayer, he took us to the school. We met with a class which was engaged in descriptive geometry. Several cadets, who stood at the board, demonstrated some problems of this science very correctly, and answered with great ease and accuracy some questions and objections, which Professor Davies made to them. We then attended a physical lecture of Lieutenant Prescott, which, however, appeared to be elementary; he explained the principles of the doctrine of heat, and then related the theory and history of the thermometer.
The institution possesses a fine library and a collection of maps, which receives constant additions. We found several of the newest German maps. Colonel Thayer is a man who labours under a disease with which they say I am also afflicted, namely, the bibliomania; on that account I continued a long time in this library. I remarked here, also, a full-length portrait of the former president, Jefferson, by Sully, of Philadelphia, and another of the engineer, General Williams, founder of the school.
The institution possesses four principal buildings. The two largest serve as barracks for the cadets, a third contains the mess-room and inn, and the fourth the church, chemical laboratory, library, and the hall for drawing, in which are some of the best drawings of the cadets. As a model of topographical drawing, they had taken the Montjoui of Gironna, designed according to the Atlas of Marshal G. St. Cyr. They have adopted the French manner of drawing plans; I saw, however, in the library, Lehmann’s work translated into English. A very fine marble bust of the Emperor Napoleon stands in the drawing-hall.
A large level space, consisting of several acres, lies in front of the buildings, forming a peninsula and commanding the navigation of the Hudson, above which it is elevated one hundred and eighty-eight feet. Towards the river it is surrounded with steep rocks, so that it would be difficult to ascend, unless by the usual way. At its junction with the main land, it is commanded by a mountain, whose summit is five hundred and ninety-six feet above the level of the river. This position called to my mind the plain below Lilienstein, in Saxony, opposite to Kœnigstein. On the summit of this mountain lie the ruins of Fort Putnam, so that the plain on which the buildings of the academy stand, is entirely insulated, and may be very well defended as well in the direction of the river as of the main land. During the revolution this fort was erected, like Fort Clinton, and was impregnable. To seize it, the English had recourse to bribery, and General Arnold, who commanded West Point, was on the point of delivering this position to them. This disgraceful treachery was fortunately prevented by the seizure of Major André. The tragical end of the major, and the flight of Arnold on board the English corvette Vulture, which lay at Verplank’s Point ready to receive him, are well known.
The above-mentioned Fort Clinton stood on the eastern point of the level, and was considered as a redoubt. It consisted of a crown-work of three bastions, and the redoubt which the two wings of the crown-work adjoined. The redoubt stands on the extreme point of the rock, and the remains of the battery can still be seen in it, which completely commanded the river, both above and below West Point. The fort is now in a state of dilapidation, and the foundations of the buildings alone, are to be seen. During the revolution, chains were extended here across the river. On the left side, in an oblique direction towards West Point, is another rock, not so high, and similar to a peninsula, washed by the Hudson on three sides and separated from the main land by a morass. Two redoubts stood on this rock, in order to have complete control over the river.
Besides the above-mentioned buildings, several houses and gardens are situated on the plain of West Point, occupied by the officers and professors. Large wooden barracks also stand here, inhabited by a company of artillerists, and some soldiers condemned to confinement in irons, who are employed to blast the rocks. These culprits have a long chain attached to one foot, and the other end of the chain is fastened to a twenty-four pound ball, which they must either drag or carry. Three iron six pounders stand in front of the barracks. The Americans use iron cannon, like the Swedes, and are very well satisfied with them. At another place on the same plain, we saw five six pounders, with which the cadets exercise. Three are French pieces, presented to the Americans by Louis XVI. decorated with the French arms; and the motto, ultima ratio regum. The two other pieces are English, were taken during the revolution, and as an inscription says, were given by congress to General Greene as a reward for his conduct in the south of the United States during the war. His heirs have not yet reclaimed them, and they consequently remain here. A pyramid of white marble not far from these pieces was, according to the inscription, erected by General Brown, to the memory of Lieutenant-Colonel Wood, a pupil of this school, who fell in 1814, at a sally of Fort Erie.
In the evening we saw the cadets exercise; they form a small battalion of four divisions, and are commanded by their officers, and the eldest cadets of the first class, who wear officer’s scarfs, and swords. The young men perform their exercises uncommonly well, and I was gratified at the good order which prevailed. A band of music, paid by the government, belongs exclusively to them, and is said to afford the best military music in the United States. Every one has his taste, but I must confess that even the celebrated music of the English guards, and the American music, are far behind that of the French, Netherlanders, and Germans.
In company with Colonel Thayer, we crossed the Hudson to visit an iron foundry which belongs to a society, whose director is Mr. Campbell, a friend of Colonel Thayer. Two high furnaces are in constant employment, as the foundry furnishes all the iron arms which government requires. One piece had just been cast, and we saw several other pieces cast from a new high furnace. Next to the foundry is a building for boring the guns, in which ten pieces may be bored at once; for this purpose they lie in a horizontal position, the machinery being turned by a large wheel. As, however, in hot and very dry summers, or in very cold winters, the water now and then fails, they contemplate substituting a steam-engine in place of water-power.