The academic year practically closed on the 31st of May, and on the next day the battalion was to again appear in its summer clothes; that is, in white pants and gray coats. White pants are the forerunners of the many changes to soon occur at the Point; a class to be graduated, another to go on furlough, and the other two, with a new class added to the corps, to go into camp; the members of the Board of Visitors[41] and hundreds of other people to arrive, some to witness the graduating exercises, old graduates to attend their alumni meeting, others to see relatives in the corps, and still others to attend the summer hops. But with all these and other pleasures in store for the cadets about a dozen of the plebes were not satisfied. They knew that on the morrow candidates would begin to report, and that then they themselves would shed their plebe-skins, drop the Mr. and be full-fledged “yearlings.” In order to mark this great event in the life of a cadet at West Point we had months before decided upon doing something that no other yearlings had done. Away back in April, while at light battery drill, we “hived” some powder, by taking a little from a dozen or more cartridges, and we also “hived” some friction-primers. The night of May 31st was cloudy and hazy, which just suited us, and the tactical officers favored us by inspecting every room before midnight. At about half-past eleven we tied the handle of the angle door to an upright of the porch and fastened a rope to the posts at the head of the angle porch stairs, and then went one at a time out to the “reveille gun” that stood near execution hollow away out on the plain. We loaded that gun and then put in it all of our old socks and rammed the charge well. Some of our trusty party got cannon balls at Trophy Point and joined the others at the gun. We then wheeled the gun near the gravel walk in front of the barracks, and one of our party went on the grass to the right and another to the left. These two then made noises that attracted the attention of the two engineer sentinels posted at night on the gravel walk, and signaled that our coast was clear. We then rushed across the walk through the Sally Port and fired that gun in the area. At the same time the cannon balls were rolled along the porches in rear of barracks, then we hastened to our rooms, undressed and went to bed to await developments. Oh, what a dandy report that gun made; it shook the barracks and other buildings, too, and shattered windows all around. The cannon balls were also a great success, for they made a horrible rumbling sound. We awoke everybody. Lieutenant M⸺l was “officer in charge,” and we soon heard him tugging away at the angle door and then stumble against the clothesline that we had so thoughtfully put up for his special benefit. He called the “drummer orderly,” who slept in the guard-house and had long roll sounded. He questioned the cadet officers, but, of course, they knew nothing; then, as he himself had been a cadet, he made the new-born yearlings fall in and told them that the outrage had been committed by some of them, and that the guilty ones should be punished. He then said that all who had not taken part in the disgraceful affair could fall out and go to their quarters; the guilty ones trembled in their shoes, but soon recovered, for not a man fell out. The night was raw and chilly, but there the Lieutenant made us stand, first at attention, then at parade rest and then at attention again. The innocent were once more told to fall out, but not a man moved. We were then put into the guard-house and several of us obtained permission to go to our rooms for overcoats. Line was re-formed and B⸺ly directed to call the roll. I was in my own room at this time and could see and hear what was going on in the area. I knew that B⸺ly had not called the class roll for months, so I staid in my room and listened to the roll-call, and when I discovered that I was not reported absent I went to bed. Lieutenant M⸺l then marched the yearlings out on the cavalry plain and drilled them at double time for several hours. He stood still some times and marched the class around him, and as he was not always near enough to distinguish one yearling from another in the dark there were many blunders purposely made in ranks, and this made him furious. After awhile Colonel B⸺k, the Commandant, put in his appearance, and then the class behaved all right, but it was kept at drill till near breakfast time. Before being dismissed Colonel B⸺k told the innocent ones to fall out, but not a man left the ranks. The class was then dismissed, and in a few minutes the battalion was formed for breakfast, and, of course, I fell in then. Before marching to the Mess Hall an order was published confining all members of the fourth class, except one who was in the hospital, to the area of the barracks until further orders. Some of the class had relatives and friends at the Point, and the confinement was hard on them, because cadets in confinement cannot see their friends for longer than half an hour, and then only in the visitors’ room in the guard-house.
A salute of seventeen guns was fired by a detail of cadets in honor of the arrival of the Board of Visitors. There was much of interest now at the Point for the Board and others to see. Beginning with guard-mount now after parade, then oral examinations from 9 to 4 followed infantry, artillery or cavalry drill, and the day closing with dress parade at sunset. The rear view of the cadets marching at double time, to or from dress parade, out on the grassy plain is a beautiful sight, especially when white pants are worn, for then the wavy motion of the handsome uniforms with the black shoes alternating against the white pants and the green grass once seen is a sight never forgotten. In the evening the cadets, except those in confinement, and their friends could be together for an hour or two at the hotel or at some of the officers’ quarters, provided, of course, that the cadets had “permits.” Not to speak of a handsome display of fireworks on one evening and the graduating hop on another. During all these festivities, which lasted about three weeks, the cadets and candidates were undergoing rigid examinations,[42] and at which many failed. Lists of the successful ones were announced, the graduates and furloughmen left and the others went into camp. Some of the “found” were turned back to join the next class, while the others were discharged.
On the morning after we had fired the gun in the area Colonel Black sent for me, showed me one of my own slippers and told me that it had been picked up that morning on the walk in front of the barracks, and as it had my name in it he wanted me to explain how the slipper got out of my room. I told him that I didn’t know, as the last time I had worn or seen it was on the previous evening before taps. He did not ask me if I had taken part in the “disgraceful” affair. All of his questioning could get nothing more out of me, because I told the truth. I afterwards learned how the slipper did get out on the walk. When D Company vacated its quarters for the new class C⸺y came over to room with L⸺t and me, and unbeknown to me he had worn my slippers, and as he was one of the two cadets chased by the engineer sentinels he lost it, and then for fear that he and I might both be caught he did not mention the fact to me until after my return from the Commandant’s office.
Three of my class were turned out over new cadets, and others of the class detailed to help drill them, and when the new list of corporals was published I had the pleasure of writing home that I was one of the few yearlings to wear chevrons.
After the publication of the new lists of class standing I called upon one of the unfortunates to express regret that he had not passed. He seemed to be very indifferent about having been found, and said that, after a long search on his “family tree,” he had on that day made the fortunate discovery that he was the nineteenth cousin of Queen Victoria!
While in confinement Casey wrote a song commemorating the firing of the gun in the area, and the song was very popular in my day. The following is my version of it:
WHO FIRED THAT GUN IN THE AREA?
In eighteen hundred and ⸺ ⸺ ⸺
Some plebes went out on the plain so free,