PART X. MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES. (continued 4)

I differ entirely from those who are fond of disparaging the Military Academy. It has been of incalculable service to the country; it is the origin and the constant supply of that military science without which mere courage would be constantly foiled, and battles would be but Indian fights on a large scale. Not to speak of the Mexican war, throughout the whole of which West Point shone with conspicuous luster, it is safe to leave the vindication of the Academy to the gallant and able men who have illustrated the annals of the war that is now raging. Nor have its indirect advantages been less marked than its direct. It has kept alive a military spirit, and kept up a good standard of military instruction in the volunteer militia. It furnished, from its graduates who have retired from the Army, scores of men who rushed to the head of our new levies, who organized and instructed them, inspired them with confidence, and led them over many a bloody field to many a glorious victory. Large numbers of our best volunteer officers owe their instruction indirectly to West Point.

To say that no course of military instruction can make a pupil a military genius, can create in him that rare quality that takes in at a glance, almost by intuition, the relative strength of great masses opposed to each other, and that power of combination which can bring an inferior force always in greater number upon the severed portions of a superior force, is very true. To discard military education on that account would be like shutting up the schools and colleges because they can not turn out Miltons and Burkes and Websters. Education does not create, it develops and enlarges and inspires and elevates. It will make the perfect flower, the majestic tree, from the little seed; but it must have the seed. And what I desire is that the Academy at West Point should have the best seed; that its great resources, its careful culture, its scientific appliances, should not be wasted on second-rate material. The Academy has never had a fair chance; the country has not had a fair chance; the boys have not had a fair chance. This is what I want them all to have, and especially the country. I desire that the Academy shall begin, as it goes on, upon the competitive principle. As all its standing, all its honors, are won by competition, so should the original right to compete for them be won. I would give all the youth of the country a fair chance; and, more desirable than that, I would give the country a fair chance for all its youth. I would have the Academy filled up by those young men who, upon examination by competent judges, should be found most likely to render the best service to the country; to make the best officers; whose qualifications, physical, intellectual, and moral, whose tastes and habits, should seem to best fit them for military life.

But, it is objected, no such examination would be infallible. Of course it would not be. No human judgment is infallible. Our deliberations are not infallible; but therefore shall we not deliberate? The decisions of the Supreme Court are not infallible; therefore shall we abolish the court?

A Senator. The Senator from New Hampshire would say yes.

Mr. Anthony. I know the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Hale] would say “Yes.” He would abolish both the Academy and the Court, and I can well suppose that the policy which would abolish the one might abolish the other. But although such an examination would not be infallible, it would, if properly organized and properly conducted, accomplish much toward the reform which all admit to be desirable, if it be practicable. It can not be doubted that the young men who would come out best from such a trial would, as a body, be superior to those who are selected upon mere personal preferences, and these preferences generally not for themselves, but for their parents; not for their own qualifications, but as a recognition of the political services of their fathers.

But, again, it was objected when I made this proposition a year ago that it was not equal; because, in giving to any given place of examination, some young men would have further to travel than others! If this objection had not been gravely made by men for whom I have the highest respect I should be tempted to call it puerile. A boy asks the privilege of going a hundred miles to the place of examination, and is told that he can not have it because another boy will have to go two hundred miles, and another but fifty, and it is not equal! The fact that either of them would go five hundred miles on foot for the opportunity of competition is not taken into the account. On the same principle our elections are not equal, for one man must travel further than another to reach the polls. For a boy who can not obtain the means to travel from his home to the place of examination—and there will be very few such of those who would be likely to pass high in the examination—the plan proposed would be no worse, certainly, than the present system; for those who have the means the difference in travel is too small an item to enter into the account.

No plan can be made perfectly equal. Shall we therefore refuse to make a large advance toward equality? Certainly the system which invites a competition from all who are in a condition to avail themselves of it is more equal than that which excludes all competition. But although equality in the advantages of the Academy is very desirable, and although the amendment proposed would be a long step in that direction, it is not for that reason that I urge it. It is not to give all the young men an equal chance for the Academy, it is to give the Academy a chance for the best young men; and although even under this system the best young men will often fail of success, it can not be doubted that many more of them will enter the service than under the present system.

Nor will the advantages of this competition be confined to those who reach the prize for which so many will struggle. An incalculable although an incidental benefit will accrue to the thousands whose youthful hearts will be stirred by an honorable ambition, and who will cultivate their minds by liberal studies and develop their physical power by manly exercises in the struggle upon which the humblest may enter, and in which the proudest can obtain only what he fairly earns. Under the present system the Academy wastes full half its strength upon boys who never ought to be admitted, and whose natural incapacity derives but little benefit from the partial training that they receive there. Under the system proposed, the Academy would exert its influence upon thousands of the brightest and most aspiring boys all over the country, stimulating them to the pursuit of such studies and to the formation of such habits as, if they fail to carry them to West Point, will help to conduct them to usefulness and honor in whatever path of life they may choose.

But, again, we are met with the objection that this proposition is impracticable, that it looks very well on paper, but that it can not be carried into effect. Let us see. It is quite safe to conclude that what has been done can be done, and that what wise and judicious people do, and persist in doing after experiment, is proper to be done. What is the most warlike nation of Europe? What nation of Europe has carried military science to the highest degree? What nation of Europe has the greatest genius for organization? You will say the French. Let us see what is their system. I read from the report of the Commission appointed by Congress in 1860 to visit the Military Academy at West Point, and report upon the system of instruction; a commission of which you, Mr. President, [Mr. Foot,] were a member:

Among the European systems of military education that of France is preëminent. The stimulating principle of competition extends throughout the whole system; it exists in the appointment of the student, in his progress through the preliminary schools, in his transfer to the higher schools, in his promotion to the Army, and in his advancement in his subsequent career. The distinguishing features of the French system are thus described by the British commissioners.

“1. The proportion, founded apparently upon principle, which officers educated in military schools are made to bear to those promoted for service from the ranks. 2. The mature age at which military education begins. 3. The system of thorough competition on which it is founded. 4. The extensive State assistance afforded to successful candidates for entrance into military schools whenever their circumstances require it. ******

Admission to the military schools of France can only be gained through a public competitive examination by those who have received the degree of bachelor of science from the lycées or public schools, and from the orphan school of La Flèche.

A powerful influence has thus been exercised upon the character of education in France. The importance of certain studies has been gradually reduced, while those of a scientific character, entering more directly into the pursuits of life, have been constantly elevated.

The two great elementary military schools are the School of St. Cyr and the Polytechnic School. These, as well as the other military schools, are under the charge of the Minister of War, with whom the authorities of the schools are in direct communication. Commissions in the infantry, cavalry, and marines can only be obtained by service in the ranks of the army, or by passing successfully through the School of St. Cyr, admission to which is gained by the competitive examination already referred to.”

Again, the Commission say, speaking of the School of St. Cyr:

The admission is by competitive examination, open to all youths, French by birth or by naturalization, who, on the 1st of January preceding their candidature, were not less than sixteen and not more than twenty years old. To this examination are also admitted soldiers in the ranks between twenty and twenty-five years, who, at the date of its commencement, have been actually in service in their regiments for two years.

A board of examiners passes through France once every year, and examines all who present themselves having the prescribed qualifications.

A list of such candidates as are found eligible for admission to St. Cyr is submitted to the Minister of War. The number of vacancies has already been determined, and the candidates admitted are taken in the order of merit.

Twenty-seven, or sometimes a greater number, are annually, at the close of their second year of study, placed in competition with twenty-five candidates from the second lieutenants belonging to the army, if so many are forthcoming, for admission to the Staff School of Paris. This advantage is one object which serves as a stimulus to exertion, the permission being given according to rank in the classification by order of merit.

In regard to the Polytechnic School, the Commission say:

Admission to the School is, and has been since its first commencement in 1794, obtained by competition in a general examination, held yearly, and open to all. Every French youth between the ages of sixteen and twenty (or if in the army up to the age of twenty-five) may offer himself as a candidate.

This is the system which was organized by Carnot and adopted and extended by Napoleon. Under this system the French army has attained its perfection of organization, its high discipline, its science, its dash, and its efficiency.

But not the French alone have adopted the competitive system. In England, all whose traditions are aristocratical, where promotion in the army has so long been made by patronage and by purchase, the sturdy common sense of the nation has pushed away the obstructions that have blocked up the avenues to the army, and have opened them to merit, come from what quarter it may. In the commencement of the Crimean war, the English people were shocked at the evident inferiority of their army to the French. Their officers did not know how to take care of their men, or how to fight them. And although in the end British pluck and British persistence vindicated themselves as they always have and always will, it was not till thousands of lives had been sacrificed that might have been saved under a better system. No French officer would have permitted that memorable charge at Balaklava, which was as remarkable for the stupidity that ordered it as for the valor that executed it, and which has been sung in verses nearly as bad as the generalship which they celebrate. After the war, the English Government, with the practical good sense which usually distinguishes it, came, without difficulty, to the conclusion that merit was better than family in officering the army, and that it was more desirable to put its epaulets upon the shoulder of those who could take care of the men and lead them properly than upon those who could trace their descent to the Conqueror, or whose uncles could return members of Parliament. Accordingly, the Royal Military Academy, which had been filled, as ours is, by patronage, was thrown open to public competition. On this subject I quote from the very interesting and valuable report of the Visitors of the Military Academy in 1863:

The same principle was applied to appointments and promotion in the new regiments called for by the exigencies of the great war in which England found herself engaged.

Subjects, time, and place of examination were officially made known throughout the kingdom, and commissions to conduct the examinations were appointed, composed of men of good common sense, military officers, and eminent practical teachers and educators. The results, as stated in a debate in Parliament five years later, on extending this principle to all public schools, and all appointments and promotions in every department of the public service, were as follows: in the competitive examinations for admission to the Royal Military Academy candidates from all classes of society appeared—sons of merchants, attorneys, clergymen, mechanics, and noblemen, and among the successful competitors every class was represented. Among the number was the son of a mechanic in the arsenal at Woolwich, and the son of an earl who was at that time a cabinet minister—the graduates of national schools, and the students of Eton, and other great public schools.

On this point Mr. Edward Chadwick, in a report before the National Social Science Association, at Cambridge in 1862, says:

“Out of an average three hundred patronage-appointed cadets at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, for officers of engineers and the artillery, during the five years preceding the adoption of the principle of open competition for admission to the Academy, there were fifty who were, after long and indulgent trial and with a due regard to influential parents and patrons, dismissed for hopeless incapacity for the service of those scientific corps. During the five subsequent years, which have been years of the open-competition principle, there has not been one dismissed for incapacity. Moreover, the general standard of capacity has been advanced. An eminent professor of this university, who has taught as well under the patronage as under the competitive system at that Academy, declares that the quality of mind of the average of the cadets has been improved by the competition, so much so that he considers that the present average quality of the mind of cadets there, though the sorts of attainment are different, has been brought up to the average of the first-class men of this (Cambridge) university, which of itself is a great gain. Another result, the opposite to that which was confidently predicted by the opponents to the principle, has been that the average physical power or bodily strength, instead of being diminished, is advanced beyond the average of their predecessors.”

I read this also from the same report:

Another result of immense importance to the educational interests of Great Britain has followed the introduction of these open competitive examinations for appointments to the military and naval schools, to the East India service, as well as to fill vacancies in the principal clerkships in the war, admiralty, ordnance, and home departments of the Government. A stimulus of the most healthy and powerful kind, worth more than millions of pecuniary endowment, has been given to all the great schools of the country, including the universities of England, Scotland, and Ireland. As soon as it was known that candidates, graduates of Trinity College, Dublin, had succeeded over competitors from Oxford and Edinburg in obtaining valuable appointments in the East India service, the professors in the latter universities began to look to their laurels. As soon as it was known to the master of any important school that some of his leading pupils might compete in these examinations, and that his own reputation as a teacher depended in a measure on the success or failure of these pupils, he had a new motive to impart the most vigorous and thorough training.

Such has been the result in France and in England. We are not without examples at home. The competitive system has been tried in repeated instances here in the appointments both to the Military and the Naval Academy. Several Representatives in Congress, with a conscientious sense of the responsibility resting upon them, have given their patronage to the result of general competition, among them the gentleman who so ably represented, in the last Congress, the district in which I live. The results have been most satisfactory. Here, again, I will quote from the report of the Board of Visitors for 1863:

The principle itself, of selection by merit, either in the mode of public examination or of careful and searching inquiry by competent and impartial educators designated for this purpose by the parties to whom custom, and not law, had assigned the grave responsibility of nominating candidates, has been voluntarily applied in several Congressional districts. Not a cadet known to have been thus selected and appointed has ever broken down from want of vigor of body or mind, or failed to reach and maintain an honorable position on the merit-roll of the Academy; and to this careful selection by those who felt the responsibility of the privilege accorded to them is the country indebted for its most eminent and useful officers.

The same report makes some observations on another point:

To the objection that selection by public competitive examination will involve expense, we reply that any expense which will do away with the prejudices against the Academy, which the present system of patronage has done so much directly and indirectly to evoke and foster, and which will, at the same time, exclude incompetent and secure the services of vigorous, talented, well-trained officers for every arm of the service, will be well incurred. But in our opinion there will be no more expense in selecting and educating a given number of cadets on this plan than on the present. The two thousand cadets who were appointed by patronage and failed to graduate, cost the Government, directly and indirectly, each year a much larger sum than it would have taken to have excluded them in advance from the institution by competitive examination and filling their places by better men; and their exclusion by substituting better material would have been an incalculable gain to the Academy, facilitating its discipline, increasing the value of its instruction, and giving to the Army a larger number of competent officers.

Even under the despotic government of Austria the competitive system has been adopted for the higher places, and it has been adopted by Prussia and Italy. In Austria every subject can claim admission into the military schools on payment of the cost of his instruction; and all the appointments to the staff are on the competitive system. On this subject I read from the work upon Military Education and Schools, by Hon. Henry Barnard, who stands in the very front rank of the great educators, and who gives, to the competitive system the weight of a name which alone should incline us strongly in its favor:

The yearly examinations, the manner in which the marks of the monthly examinations tell on the final one, and the careful classification of the pupils in the order of merit, reminded us of the system of the Polytechnic more than any other school we have seen. ****

The arrangements for the general staff-school require more remark.

In our report upon Austrian schools we have specially noticed this school as remarkable for its thorough and open competitive character from first to last, and its very sensible plan of study. Admission to it is by competition, open to officers of all arms. The pupils are not unduly overburdened with work; perhaps there is even room for one or two more subjects of importance; but what is done seems to be done thoroughly. The officers are carefully ranked on leaving the school, according as the abilities they have displayed may be considered a criterion of their fitness for employment on the general staff; and in this order they enter the staff corps. The consequence is that every officer knows distinctly, from the time that he first competes for admission until his final examination on leaving, that the order in which he will enter the staff depends entirely on his own exertions and success at the school. It seemed to us that this open competition produced a spirit of confidence and energy in the students as great, if not greater, than any we met with elsewhere.

I quote from the same work in regard to the military education in Sardinia:

Admission into the artillery and engineer school may be considered the reward of the most distinguished pupils of the Accademia Militare, who, after spending their last year in that institution in the study of the higher mathematics, chemistry, and architectural drawing, are transferred for the completion of their education to the school of the artillery and engineers.

The staff-school, the formation of which dates from 1850, is chiefly frequented by officers of the infantry and cavalry, who must be below the age of twenty-eight years upon their entrance. It is carried on upon the competitive final examination, the ablest entering the staff corps in that order.

In the same work Mr. Barnard characterizes the Staff-School at Vienna:

The most striking features in the system of this school, both at the entrance and throughout the course, are, that it is distinctly competitive, that it admits very young officers, and that while the work is considerable, the subjects for study are not numerous. In these three points it differs considerably from the Prussian staff-school, in which the students are generally older, and the principle of competition is not so fully carried out. In the Austrian school the students are placed, on entering, in the order which their entrance examination has just fixed. They are examined once a month during their stay. On leaving the school their respective places are again determined, and they have a claim for appointments in the staff corps in the exact order in which they were placed on leaving the school. In Belgium, the competitive system is fully adopted.

The following testimony is from a report on the progress of the principle of competitive examination for admission into the public service, read before Section F. Economic Science and Statistics of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Leeds, September 27, 1858, by Edward Chadwick:

Mr. Canon Mosely attests that the “qualifications of the whole” body of competitive candidates appeared to rise above the general “level of the education of the country.” It is stated in evidence before the commissioners for inquiring into the means of improving the sanitary condition of the army, that this was most decidedly so of the whole body of competing candidates for medical appointments in the East India service. Mr. Canon Mosely concludes his report on the last year’s experience in the following terms: “With reference to the general scope and tendency of competitive examinations, I may perhaps be permitted the observation, that the consciousness which success in such examinations brings with it in early life of a power to act resolutely on a determinate plan, and to achieve a difficult success, contributes more than the consciousness of talent to the formation of a manly and honorable character, and to success on whatever career a man may enter.”

The report of the last Board of Visitors at West Point, from which I have read, I believe has not yet been printed by Congress; I have read from a pamphlet copy of it printed in the Journal of Education. The Board was composed, as it usually is, of men of high character and ability. After a full and laborious examination of the whole subject, they unanimously and earnestly recommend the adoption of the competitive system.

If the appointments to fill and maintain the corps at this maximum [four hundred] can be selected out of the many American youths ambitious to serve their country in the Army, on the plan of an open competitive examination in the several States, the Visitors believe that ninety out of every one hundred thus appointed will go through the whole course with honor, and the average ability, scholarship, and good conduct of the whole corps will equal that now reached by the first ten of each class.

With such experience of other nations, with such examples at home, I submit that we may safely in this republican country give our young men the privileges that are conceded in imperial France and in aristocratic England; that we may safely place competition against patronage, and give to modest merit a chance with pretentious imbecility. I would go somewhat further in the competitive system. I would not have the Army or the Navy officered exclusively by the graduates of the national Academies. If any young man, at his own expense, and by his own study and aptitude for the profession, has fitted himself for a command in either, let the competition be open to him equally with those who have been instructed at the public expense, and let the epaulets rest on the shoulders that are most worthy to wear them. But I do not propose to follow the subject to this extent at present. I shall be abundantly content if the Senate will adopt the competitive system, which has worked so well in other countries and so well here as far as it has been tried, in the Military Academy.

Table VII.—SUMMARY OF EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY FOR FIFTEEN YEARS, FROM 1856 TO 1870, INCLUSIVE.

Cand Candidates.

Acc Accepted, total.

TR Total (rejected.

PD Physical Disability

15Y During fifteen years. [1856-1870: See second table]

W Writing, including orthography.

R Reading.

A Arithmetic.

Ge Geography.

Gr Grammar.

H History.

Appointed from— Cand Acc Rejected.

TR On what account.

PD Literary Incompetency.

15Y Deficient in—

W R A Ge Gr H

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

Alabama 32 20 12 1 11 5 3 4 7 7 7

Arkansas 10 7 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 . .

California 15 12 3 . . 3 . . . . 2 3 2 3

Connecticut 22 14 8 2 6 2 . . 4 1 2 2

Delaware 11 6 5 . . 5 2 2 4 3 3 4

Florida 4 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Georgia 32 23 9 . . 9 7 2 7 4 3 5

Illinois 55 47 8 1 7 5 1 1 2 4 1

Indiana 67 46 21 2 19 17 8 9 3 3 3

Iowa 24 19 5 1 4 4 3 3 . . . . . .

Kansas 6 3 3 . . 3 2 . . 1 2 1 1

Kentucky 60 43 17 . . 17 8 5 9 7 6 6

Louisiana 18 14 4 1 3 2 . . 3 1 1 1

Maine 26 22 4 . . 4 3 . . 2 3 1 2

Maryland 32 25 7 2 5 3 2 3 1 1 1

Massachusetts 43 42 1 . . 1 . . . . . . 1 . . . .

Michigan 29 20 9 1 8 6 . . 3 . . 2 3

Minnesota 11 9 2 . . 2 2 . . 1 . . . . . .

Mississippi 24 16 8 1 7 4 4 4 6 5 5

Missouri 48 32 16 1 15 12 6 7 1 6 3

Nebraska 5 4 1 . . 1 . . . . . . . . 1 1

Nevada 7 1 6 . . 6 1 . . 3 1 3 1

New Hampshire 14 12 2 1 1 1 . . . . 1 . . 1

New Jersey 27 25 2 1 1 . . . . 1 . . . . 1

New York 157 128 29 4 25 15 1 6 6 10 6

North Carolina 32 26 6 . . 6 2 1 4 1 . . 1

Ohio 111 80 31 4 27 18 13 9 3 6 4

Oregon 4 3 1 . . 1 . . . . 1 . . . . . .

Pennsylvania 127 101 26 6 20 13 6 10 4 5 4

Rhode Island 7 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

South Carolina 22 17 5 1 4 2 . . 3 1 2 2

Tennessee 48 33 15 3 12 10 4 3 3 2 2

Texas 8 5 3 . . 3 1 . . 3 2 1 1

Vermont 13 12 1 . . 1 1 . . . . . . . . . .

Virginia 46 34 12 1 11 8 4 6 3 3 2

West Virginia 10 6 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 . .

Wisconsin 27 20 7 2 5 3 1 3 . . 1 . .

Dist. Columbia 6 5 1 . . 1 1 . . . . . . . . . .

Colorado Ter. 4 2 2 . . 2 1 1 1 1 1 . .

New Mexico 5 4 1 . . 1 1 . . . . . . . . . .

Utah Ter. 3 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Washington Ter. 4 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dakota Ter. 3 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Arizona Ter. 2 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Idaho Ter. 4 . . 4 . . 4 2 . . 3 2 3 2

Montana 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wyoming Ter. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At large 192 170 22 3 19 7 7 8 6 9 6

Grand totals 1,459 1,133 326 41 285 173 76 133 80 98 81

Cand Acc TR PD 15Y W R A Ge Gr H

REJECTIONS FOR LITERARY INCOMPETENCY, BY YEAR:

Appointed from— In the year 18—

’56 ’57 ’58 ’59 ’60 ’61 ’62 ’63 ’64 ’65 ’66 ’67 ’68 ’69 ’70

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

Alabama . . 1 . . 1 . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . 3 1 4

Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . 1

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . .

Connecticut . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . 3

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 . . 1 1

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Georgia . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 . .

Illinois 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . 1 . . 3 . . 1

Indiana 1 2 . . 3 1 . . . . 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 . .

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 1 . . . . . . . .

Kansas . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Kentucky 1 . . 1 . . . . 1 . . 1 2 1 . . . . 3 2 5

Louisiana . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . 1 2

Maryland . . . . 1 . . . . 2 . . 1 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . .

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Michigan . . . . . . 1 1 . . . . . . 1 . . 1 . . 3 1 . .

Minnesota . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . .

Mississippi 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Missouri 1 . . 1 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . 2 . . 4

Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . .

Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . 1 . . 1 2

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . .

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

New York 2 2 . . 2 . . 1 2 . . 1 2 . . 1 4 1 7

North Carolina 1 1 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 . .

Ohio 3 2 1 1 2 2 3 . . 1 1 2 2 1 1 5

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pennsylvania 1 2 2 2 . . 1 2 1 . . 2 . . 1 . . . . 6

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

South Carolina . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1

Tennessee . . . . 1 . . 1 . . 1 . . 1 1 1 1 3 1 1

Texas . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . .

Virginia 3 1 . . 1 . . 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . 1 1 . .

Wisconsin . . . . . . 1 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . .

Dist. Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . .

Colorado Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

New Mexico 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Utah Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Washington Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dakota Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Arizona Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Idaho Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 . . 1 1

Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wyoming Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At large . . 1 1 1 . . . . . . 2 . . . . 1 2 1 3 7

Grand totals 16 16 14 16 9 11 11 8 13 13 15 14 36 23 70

Table VIII—Continued.—SUMMARY OF EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY DURING THE YEAR 1871.

Cand Candidates.

Acc Accepted, total.

TR Total (rejected.

PD Physical Disability

W Writing, including orthography.

R Reading.

A Arithmetic.

Ge Geography.

Gr Grammar.

H History.

STATES AND TERRITORIES. Cand Acc REJECTED.

TR On what account.

PD For deficiency in—

W R A Ge Gr H

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

Alabama 4 1 3 . . . . . . 1 3 2 3

Arkansas 1 . . 1 . . . . . . 1 . . 1 1

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Connecticut 2 1 1 . . . . . . 1 . . 1 . .

Delaware 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Georgia 4 . . 4 1 . . . . 2 2 2 3

Illinois 3 2 1 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . .

Indiana 4 3 1 . . . . . . 1 1 1 1

Iowa 4 2 2 1 . . . . . . . . 1 . .

Kansas 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kentucky 7 4 3 . . 2 3 2 2 3 2

Louisiana 2 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maine 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Massachusetts 4 3 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . .

Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mississippi 3 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Missouri 4 1 3 . . . . 2 . . . . 1 2

Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nevada 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Jersey 2 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . 1 1

New York 15 10 5 2 . . 1 . . 2 3 2

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ohio 9 8 1 . . . . 1 . . 1 1 1

Oregon 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pennsylvania 13 8 5 2 1 1 1 1 3 2

Rhode Island 2 1 1 1 . . . . . . . . 1 . .

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tennessee 4 3 1 . . . . . . 1 1 . . 1

Texas 2 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vermont 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Virginia 5 1 4 1 . . 1 2 1 2 2

West Virginia 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wisconsin 2 1 1 . . . . 1 1 . . 1 1

Arizona Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Colorado Ter. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dakota Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

District of Columbia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Idaho Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Montana Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Mexico Ter. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Utah Ter. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Washington Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wyoming Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foreign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At Large 13 10 3 2 . . . . 1 . . . . . .

Total 119 77 42 11 3 10 15 14 24 22

Cand Acc TR PD W R A Ge Gr H

Table VIII—Continued.—SUMMARY OF EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY DURING THE YEAR 1871.

STATES AND TERRITORIES. Cand Acc REJECTED.

TR On what account.

PD For deficiency in—

W R A Ge Gr H

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

Alabama 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Arkansas 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Connecticut 1 . . 1 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . .

Delaware 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Georgia 3 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Illinois 5 3 2 . . . . 2 2 2 1 . .

Indiana 6 4 2 . . . . 2 2 1 2 . .

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kentucky 2 1 1 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . .

Louisiana 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maine 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maryland 4 2 2 . . . . 1 1 1 . . . .

Massachusetts 2 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Michigan 1 . . 1 . . . . . . 1 1 1 . .

Minnesota 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mississippi 3 2 1 . . . . 1 1 1 1 . .

Missouri 3 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Hampshire 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Jersey 2 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New York 11 9 2 . . . . 2 2 1 2 . .

North Carolina 2 1 1 . . . . 1 1 . . . . . .

Ohio 5 3 2 . . . . 1 2 . . . . . .

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pennsylvania 5 1 4 1 . . 3 3 3 2 . .

Rhode Island 1 . . 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . .

South Carolina 2 1 1 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . .

Tennessee 5 3 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . .

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vermont 2 1 1 . . . . 1 1 . . . . . .

Virginia 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wisconsin 2 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Arizona Ter. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Colorado Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dakota Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

District of Columbia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Idaho Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Montana Ter. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Mexico Ter. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Utah Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Washington Ter. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wyoming Ter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foreign *1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At Large 17 15 2 . . . . 1 2 1 1 . .

Total 97 71 26 3 . . 15 21 11 10 . .

Cand Acc TR PD W R A Ge Gr H

* A Japanese student.

ARTILLERY SCHOOL AT FORTRESS MONROE

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

The Artillery School of the United States Army at Fortress Monroe, was organized and opened April 1, 1868, under a code of regulations and programme of instruction drawn up by Col. William F. Barry (who was placed in command from the start), and approved by the General of the Army. After two years of experience the code and programme were revised, and the present system established. The class of 1868 and of 1869, consisted, each, of twenty lieutenants of artillery, and of the whole number, thirty-eight were sent back to their regiments after having passed a satisfactory examination. To this number at the close of the school year (April) 1871, sixteen more out of the class of twenty were found qualified to return to their respective regiments; twenty more are now in the progress of instruction, constituting together one-half of all the officers of that grade belonging to the artillery.

COURSE OF INSTRUCTION.16

The course of theoretical instruction embraces the subjects of mathematics, ordnance, and gunnery, military engineering and surveying, military history, and military, constitutional, and international law. The method of pursuing these studies is very similar to that pursued at the Military Academy at West Point, viz., by recitations, questions, and demonstrations at the blackboard. In military history each officer is required, in addition to his regular recitations, to prepare and read before the class and staff of the school two essays or memoirs upon some battle, campaign, or the military events of some epoch of peculiar interest.

The topics for these essays are selected by the instructor in military history, with the approval of the commandant and superintendent of instruction, and are generally confined to events not prior to the last two decades of the eighteenth century.

The necessary maps, instruments, and apparatus for the elucidation or practical application of the various subjects of the entire range of the theoretical course have to a considerable extent been supplied to the school by requisitions upon the Engineer and Ordnance Departments of the Army. They are kept in active use, and are of the greatest value.

Instructions in the theoretical course is confined to the months of autumn, winter, and the early spring, except instruction in mathematics, which unavoidably has to be given during the months of May, June, July, and August.

The course of practical instruction is pursued, as the weather permits, throughout the entire year, but is more closely attended to during the months of summer and autumn. This course consists of the service of every species of gun, howitzer, or mortar in use in the United States military service; of the use of the various kinds of projectiles and fuses; the laying of platforms; the use of plane-tables, and telemeters, for ascertaining ranges; of mechanical manœuvres; transportation and other handling of all kinds of ordnance, and particularly of the 15-inch guns and their carriages, and of 13-inch mortars and their beds, and of other heavy material which has been adopted into the artillery of the United States.

The practical course also includes very full target practice with every description of ordnance; the duties of the laboratory, as far as they immediately concern officers of artillery; and the study of and recitation in the tactics for light and heavy artillery, and as much of the tactics for infantry as is essential for artillery officers.

Guns, carriages, ammunition, platforms, artillery machines, including hydraulic-jacks of greater or less power, and other appliances, are supplied by requisition on the Ordnance Department in such number and variety as may be desired. The school is compelled to be indebted to the Ordnance Department for the occasional use, when necessary, of some of its instruments and apparatus for determining initial velocities, pressures, densities, etc.

Instruction in the practical course is designed to be as thorough as possible, and no officer leaves the school who has not become practically familiar with the tools of his trade, and able to use them intelligently.

A school for non-commissioned officers, and for such other enlisted men as may desire to avail themselves of its advantages, is also established. Every non-commissioned officer belonging to the five instruction batteries is required to attend the school for one year’s full course of instruction; all other enlisted men are permitted to attend. But their attendance upon school is entirely voluntary. Enlisted men of good character, and belonging to batteries not stationed at the post where the Artillery School is established, are also permitted to enjoy the benefits of one year’s course of instruction at the school. Such men, on their own application, are nominated by their battery commanders to their regimental commanders, on whose approval they are detached from their batteries, by orders from the head-quarters of the Army, and directed to report themselves in person to the commanding officer of the school. Of this last-named class of men twenty-two have undergone or are now undergoing instruction at the school.

The course of instruction for the non-commissioned officers is both practical and theoretical. The practical course is pursued pari passu with that of the commissioned officers, but is not carried to the same extent, being restricted to the scope of the necessary duties and requirements of non-commissioned officers of artillery, and to the average capacity of enlisted men of that grade in our Army.

The theoretical course of instruction for the non-commissioned officers embraces mathematics, history of the United States, geography, reading, and writing. The subject of mathematics includes the entire field of arithmetic, and, for the more advanced scholars, it is carried as far as equations of the second degree in algebra. The instruction in most of the branches is conducted as in the school for commissioned officers, by recitations at the blackboard, and by questions.

Since the commencement of the duties of the Artillery School one hundred and three enlisted men (chiefly non-commissioned officers) have gone through the entire course of practical and theoretical instruction for one year, and have been awarded by the staff of the school engraved certificates, signed by each of its members, setting forth that fact.

The following-named officers constitute the staff and instructors at the school at the present date, and, with the above-stated exceptions, have been thus on duty since its first establishment:

Commandant.—Colonel W. F. Barry, Second Artillery.

Superintendent of Theoretical Instruction.—Lieutenant-Colonel I. Roberts, Fourth Artillery.

Superintendent of Practical Instruction.—Major G. A. De Russy, Third Artillery.

Member of Staff.—Major T. G. Baylor, Ordnance Department.

Adjutant of School and Secretary of Staff.—First Lieutenant I. C. Breckinridge, Second Artillery.

Instructor in Mathematics, Ordnance, and Gunnery.—Captain R. Lodor, Fourth Artillery.

Instructor in Military, International, and Constitutional Law, and in Tactics.—Captain S. S. Elder, First Artillery.

Instructor in Mathematics and Military Engineering.—Captain S. N. Benjamin, Second Artillery.

Instructor in Mathematics and Military History.—Captain E. R. Warner, Third Artillery.

Instructor in Tactics.—Captain J. W. Piper, Fifth Artillery.

A library of books of reference, professional instruction and general reading, to the number of 2,050 volumes, belongs to the school, made up of duplicates from the libraries of the War Department and the Military Academy, and a bequest of Col. Archer.

A museum of field, siege, and sea-coast artillery; specimens of primers, fuses, and projectiles; different varieties of small arms of this and other countries; instruments for inspecting cannon and projectiles, has been commenced by the Superintendent, as a useful aid to the course of practical and theoretical instruction in the school. It now numbers over 4,000 articles.

The Artillery School has been organized and conducted thus far to the satisfaction of the Department, and favor, with this arm of the service, without any special pecuniary expense to the Government by the present Commandant, Col. William F. Barry—who closes his annual Report with the remarkable paragraph:—“No special appropriation (beyond the ordinary requirements of this Military Post) for the maintenance of this school are now needed, and none are required.”

VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE AT LEXINGTON.

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

The Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, was established in 1839, and was organized and conducted from the start on the plan of the Military Academy at West Point, by Col. Francis H. Smith, a graduate of that institution of the class of 1833, and professor there from 1834 to 1836.

The State makes an annual appropriation of $15,000 for its support, on the basis of which a certain number (usually 36) cadets are admitted without charge; in consideration of which they are required to teach in some school of the State for two years after graduation. In the selection of State cadets regard is had to their capacity to profit, and inability to pay the expenses of tuition and board, and an equal representation of each senatorial district. Any commissioned officer of the militia of the State can become a student for a period not exceeding ten months, and receive instruction in any or all departments of military science taught therein, without charge for tuition.

The course of instruction was from the start distinctly scientific, and since its return [from Richmond where it was removed after the destruction of its building and library, when Lexington was taken possession of by Gen. Hunter] in 1866, and its reorganization on its present basis of a general School of Applied Science, it has become even technic in reference to all the chief industries and natural resources of Virginia.

The origin and military character of the Institute are thus set forth by the Superintendent in an address to the Corps of Cadets, Sept. 10, 1866:

Peculiar circumstances gave to this Institution its distinctive military character. Here the State had a deposit of arms, in an arsenal, which had been established for many years before the organization of the Institution, and the annuity which had been formerly given to the public guard by the State, was transferred to the Virginia Military Institute, as the basis of its support. Upon this foundation the Virginia Military Institute was established, and as the duty imposed upon the cadet was military, so military discipline and military instruction became an essential and distinctive feature in the education it supplied. Besides daily exercises in the school of the soldier, company, and battalion in infantry, and of the piece and battery in artillery tactics, minute instruction is given in the class-room, upon all the theoretic branches of the military art, embracing, in addition to those enumerated, ordnance and gunnery, military strategy and military history, and the principles and practice of field and permanent fortifications.

It is not necessary that I should say any thing, at this time, to vindicate the completeness of the arrangements made in this institution for theoretical and practical military education. The sanguinary conflict which has just closed has fully tested its efficiency. One-tenth of the Confederate Armies was commanded by the éléves of this school, embracing three major generals, thirty brigadier generals, sixty colonels, fifty lieutenant colonels, thirty majors, one hundred and twenty-five captains, between two and three hundred lieutenants; and the terrible results of the battles, in numbering one hundred and twenty-five of these among the killed, and three hundred and fifty among the wounded, show that the éléves of this institution met the call of their country with an earnestness of devotion which places them in most honorable distinction for their heroic defense of what they believed to be right.17

We give the organization and course of instruction from the latest Circular, issued by the Superintendent.

Academic Staff.

Superintendent, and Professor of Mathematics and Moral Philosophy—General Francis H. Smith, A.M.

Professor of Latin, and, English Literature—Col. John T. L. Preston, A.M.

Professor of Practical Engineering, Architecture, and Drawing—Col. Thomas H. Williamson.

Professor of Agriculture—Col. Wm. Gilham, A.M., (Philip St. George Cocke).18

Professor of Animal and Vegetable Physiology applied to Agriculture—Col. Robert L. Madison, M. D. (Mercer).19

Commandant of Cadets, Instructor of Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery Tactics, and Professor of Military History and Strategy—Col. Scott Ship.

Professor of Mathematics—Col. James W. Massie.

Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy—Col. William B. Blair, (Jackson).

Professor of Civil and Military Engineering and Applied Mechanics—General G. W. C. Lee.

Professor of Practical Astronomy, Geology, Descriptive and Physical Geography and Meteorology—Col. John M. Brooke.

Professor of Geology, Mineralogy, and Metallurgy—Col. Marshall McDonald.

Professor of General and Applied Chemistry—Col. M. B. Hardin.

Professor of Modern Languages—Col. Thomas M. Semmes.

Professor of Physics and Superintendent of Physical Survey of Virginia—Commodore M. E. Maury, LL. D.

Professor of Fine Arts—Col. William D. Washington.

Assistant Professors.

Assistant in Physics—Col. W. E. Cutshaw.

Assistant Professor of French Language—Capt. O. C. Henderson.

Assistant Prof, of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology—Capt. J. H. Morrison.

Assistant Professor of English, and Drawing—Lieut. James H. Waddell.

Assistant Professor of Latin—Capt. Win. M. Patton.

Assistant Professor of Mathematics—Lieut. R. H. Cousins.

Assistant Prof. of Geography, Drawing and Tactics—Capt. Wm. B. Pritchard.

Assistant Professor of Mineralogy, Latin, and Tactics—Capt. W. H. Butler.

Assistant Professor of Natural Philosophy and Latin—Lieut. R. E. Nelson.

Assistant Professor of Mathematics—Lieut. W. C. Powell.

Assistant Professor of Latin—Lieut. James E. Heath.

Assistant Professor of Drawing—Lieut. M. Palmer.

Assistant Professor of Tactics—Capt. W. Denham.

Assistant Professor of Mathematics, &c.,—Capt. G. K. Macon.

Military Staff.

Surgeon—Col. R. L. Madison.

Ass’t Surgeon—H. T. Barton, M.D.

Act’g Treasurer—Capt. W. A. Deas.

Com. and Steward—Capt. J. T. Gibbs.

Adjutant—Capt. F. H. Smith, Jr.

III. SCHOOLS AND COURSES OF INSTRUCTION.

Academic Schools.

First Year—Fourth Class.—Arithmetic (Smith and Duke’s); Algebra (Smith’s); Geometry (Smith’s Legendre); Plane and Spherical Trigonometry (Smith’s); French (Levizac and La Porte’s Grammar, Gil Blas, Pinney No. 5, Fasquelle); Geography (Maury); Pencil and Pen Drawing: Composition and Declamation; Latin (Cæsar, Virgil, Cicero, Horace).

Second Year—Third Class.—Descriptive Geometry (Smith’s); Analytical Geometry (Smith’s Biot); Shades, Shadows and Perspective (Lectures): Differential and Integral Calculus (Courternay and La Croix); Surveying (Field Exercise); French (Noel and Chapsal, Laporte and Collot, French Classics); Latin (Cæsar, Virgil, Livy, and Cicero); Mechanical Drawing, Composition, and Declamation; Physics (Ganot).

Third Year—Second Class.—Natural Philosophy (Bartlett and Bouchalat’s Mechanics, Bartlett’s Optics and Acoustics, Bartlett and Gummere’s Astronomy); Latin (Terence and Horace); Chemistry (Fownes, and Practical Instruction in Laboratory); Physical Geography (Somerville); Infantry Tactics.

Fourth Year—First Class.—Civil Engineering (Mahan, Rankine, and Lectures); Military Engineering (Laisne, aide memoire); Architecture (Lectures and Drawing); Human Physiology (Kirke); Military History and Strategy (Jomini); Rhetoric (Blair); Intellectual Philosophy (Wayland); Logic (Whately); Moral Philosophy (Paley and Butler); Constitution of United States (Kent); Mineralogy (Dana); Geology (Gray and Adams); Infantry tactics (Hardee); Artillery and Ordnance (Benton and United States Tactics).

Special School of Applied Science.

The Special School of Applied Science, in the Virginia Military Institute, is arranged in seven Courses, which may be prosecuted separately or in combination: 1. Architecture; 2. Civil Engineering; 3. Machines; 4. Mining; 5. Analytical and Applied Chemistry; 6. Metallurgy; 7. Agriculture.

I. Architecture.—1. Drawing—Including pen and colored topography, mechanical lettering and coloring. 2. Materials—Stone, brick, wood, mortar, mastics, glue, paints, &c. 3. Masonry—Retaining walls, walls of inclosure, edifices, ornaments, arches, stone-cutting. 4. Carpentry—Timbers, framing, beams, joints, floors, partitions, roofs, domes, centres, windows, stairways. 5. Foundations—In water, on land. 6. Classical Architecture—Orders, Egypt, Rome, Greece. 7. Design. 8. Romanesque. 9. Gothic.

II. Civil Engineering.—1. Drawing—Pen and colored topography, mechanical, etc. 2. Materials—Same as in Course of Architecture. 4. Carpentry—Same as in Course of Architecture. 5. Foundation—Same as in Course of Architecture. 6. Surveying—Running lines and curves for common and railroads, canals, leveling profiles, estimates, &c. 7. Bridges—Stone, Wooden, Iron. 8. Common Roads. 9. Railroads. 10. Tunnels. 11. Locomotives. 12. Canals. 13. Rivers, Docks, Harbors. 14. Mining.

III.—Machines—General Principles of Machines.—Muscular Power—Power of men, Power of horses, etc. Water Power and Wind Power—Sources of water for Power. Water-Power Engines in general. Water-Bucket Engines. Water-Pressure Engines. Vertical Water-wheels. Turbines. Fluid-on-Fluid, Impulse-Engines, Windmills. Steam and other Heat Engines—Relations of the Phenomena of Heat. Combustion and Fuel. Principles of Thermodynamics, Furnaces and Boilers. Steam-Engines. Electro-Magnetic Engines.

IV.—Mining.— Course of Lectures on Mining—Embracing prospecting, breaking ground, boring, blasting, tubing, sinking shafts, driving tunnels, ventilating and lighting; the different methods of working mines; mining machinery and motors, engines, horses, pumps, wagons, drums, etc.; dressing and concentration of Minerals, crushers, stamps, washers, amalgamators, etc.; quarrying and open workings; details of mining in this country and statistics.

Drawing.—Geological maps and sections; coloring the same; and plans and sections of mines, quarries and other open workings; mining machinery and implements; plans of ventilation.

V.—Metallurgy.—Geology of Coal, Iron, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Salt, etc.

Metallurgy—Review of more important metals and their ores; Metallurgical implements, structures, and processes, crucibles, furnaces, blowing machines; details of the smelting and manufacture of Iron, Copper, Lead, Silver, Gold, etc.

Drawing—Coloring of maps and sections; drawing of furnaces, refiners, cokeing ovens; Metallurgical apparatus.

VI.—Analytical and Applied Chemistry.—In the Laboratory facilities are afforded for prosecuting the various branches of practical Chemistry. Each student will work independently of the others, receiving personal guidance and instruction from the Professors. In the last year the course may be varied according to the special object the student has in view.

The following is an outline of Systematic Course for Students in Mining and Metallurgy: 1. Qualitative Analysis. 2. Quantitative Analysis; (a.) Analysis of substances of known composition; (b.) Analysis of ores, slags, etc. 3. Assayers—Ores of Lead, Silver, Gold, Iron, Copper, etc.

VII.—Agriculture.—1. Chemistry—General and applied to Agriculture. 2. Mineralogy. 3. Histology. 4. Vegetable Physiology. 5. Agricultural Botany. 6. Zöology. 7. Civil Engineering—Applied to farm bridges, roads, drainage. 8. Rural Architecture. 9. Drawing. 10. Anatomy and Physiology of Sub-Kingdom—Vertebrata. 11. Human Physiology. 12. Hygiene and Dietetics. 13. General Botany. 14. Animal Toxicology. 15. Veterinary Practice. 16. General Principles. Chemistry, Geology, Mechanics, and Domestic Economy.

IV. SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTION AND GOVERNMENT.

The System of Instruction and Government is founded upon that of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

As soon as a young man enters the Institution, it assumes over him an entire control, and not only directs his moral and intellectual education, but provides every thing required for his personal wants or comfort. A Cadet, may, if his parents desire it, remain in charge of the Institution for the entire term of four years, as the system of government keeps it always in operation. The months of July and August, in each year, are devoted exclusively to Military Exercises. Furloughs are granted to those who may desire it, in turn, during this period. The Cadets are lodged and boarded in the Institution, their Clothing, Books, and other supplies, being provided by the Quartermaster of the Institute, at cost. The sick are under the special care of the Surgeon, with Hospital and other facilities for nursing.

The energy, system, subordination, and self-reliance which the military government of the Institute cultivates, give a practical character to the education which it supplies. The high reputation which its Alumni have established for the School is the evidence of its value.

V. DEGREES.

A Diploma, signed by the Governor of Virginia and by the Visitors and Faculty, is awarded to all Cadets who may pass approved examinations on all the studies of the Academic School, with the title of “Graduate of the Virginia Military Institute.” A like Diploma is awarded to all who may complete the course prescribed for either of the Special Schools of Applied Science, with the title of “Graduate” in such school.

MILITARY TACTICS IN STATE SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE.

INTRODUCTION.

In the Act of Congress (July, 1862) making grants of public lands to the several States for the endowment of State Schools of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, it is provided that military tactics shall be included in their schemes of instruction; and by an Act of March, 1869, the President is authorized to detail an army officer to each institution, to instruct in such tactics. On these two provisions, with further cooperative legislation, State and National, a system of military instruction can be gradually developed, which, for economy, efficiency, and uniformity, will meet all the conditions of a national armament, and compare favorably, as against foreign invasion or domestic insurrection, with that of Switzerland or Prussia. Thus far the subject has received only slight attention, and the connection of these departments with the State militia, or volunteer companies, or the appointment of cadets to our national military schools or to vacancies in the army, has not been discussed. We state briefly what is attempted in a few of these schools:

CORNELL UNIVERSITY AT ITHACA, N.Y.

In Cornell University (to which the United States Land Grant of 989,000 acres of land was assigned by the Legislature of New York, and which Mr. Ezra Cornell has endowed with the sum of $525,000, securely invested and drawing interest at seven per cent.), the military tactics is incorporated into the general organization of the students, and made the basis of the College of Military Science. (1.) Attendance on military exercises is made obligatory on every able-bodied student; and for this purpose the whole number is organized into a military corps—arms and equipments being furnished by the State—under the Military Professor, who has the title of Commandant, and is aided in his duties by a staff, selected in view of military aptitude, general deportment, and proficiency in studies. (2.) All students are required to observe and conform to such regulations as may, from time to time, be promulgated by the Commandant; provide themselves with the university cap for ordinary wear, and with the blouse or fatigue cap for parade; and are held to strict accountability for the proper use of the arms and other property issued to them. (3.) The practical instruction for all students embraces infantry and artillery tactics, and special exercises with the sabre, sword, and bayonet; and (4.) for those who elect, a military course consisting of (a.) Military Engineering, (b.) the Art of War, and (c.) Military Law. At the close of each year, after the graduating exercises, the Faculty will recommend to the Governor of the State a list (not exceeding one in every ten of such graduates), distinguished for general proficiency in any one of the complete University courses, special attainments in military science, expertness in military exercises, and of good moral character and of sound health, with a request to transmit the same to the President of the United States for his consideration in making appointments for positions in which such qualifications are demanded.

STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AT AMHERST, MASS.

The Military features of the Course of Study were originally administered by Capt. Henry E. Alvord, of the United States Army, who had been specially charged with this instruction in the Military Institute and University at Norwich, Vt. The specifications are:

Freshman Year.—First Term—Military Drill; Infantry Tactics; School of the Soldier; Second Term—Do.; and School of the Company and Manual of Arms. Third Term—Do.; and School of the Company and Battalion.

Sophomore Year.—First Term—Military Drill; Infantry Tactics; Manual of the Bayonet and Instruction in duty as Skirmishers. Second Term—Do.; and Bayonet Exercise. Third Term—Do.; and Skirmish and Battalion Drill; Guard Duty; and Forms of Parade and Review.

Junior Year.—Third Term—Military Drill; Artillery Tactics; School of the Piece. Second Term—Do.; and Artillery and Cavalry Tactics; Manual of the Sabre; School of the Trooper dismounted; Instruction in Heavy Artillery Tactics and Gunnery. Third Term—Do.; School of the Section; Infantry Tactics; Battalion Drill.

Senior Year.—First Term—Military Drill and Cavalry, Artillery and Infantry Tactics; Duty as Drill Masters and Officers in Infantry and Artillery Drill; Theoretical Instruction in Cavalry Tactics, and the organization and uses of Cavalry. Second Term—Military Drill and Cavalry Tactics; Sabre Exercise. Third Term—Military Drill; Target Practice; Sword Play: and General Drill.

The Committee of Examination for 1870 report as follows:

Your Committee can not refrain from alluding to the interest which all the young men take in the drills, the evident beneficial effect upon their bearing and health, and the value of the accomplished soldiers and officers thus, made for the future service of the Commonwealth, in the event of another call to send forth her sons for herself or the nation. Were no other result accomplished by this institution, the money of the Commonwealth could be no more judiciously expended, and yet this is but an incident to the regular course.

The Principal, Col. Clark, writes: “We have a fine hall for in-door exercise, and are furnished by the State with cannon, breech-loading rifles, sabres, &c., and consider our course a decided success. Our graduates are able to act as officers in infantry and artillery regiments, and I believe our system, as we are organized and taught by a West Point graduate, a most excellent and economical substitute for the ordinary militia system.”

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY.

The Louisiana State University was founded as “a State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy” by the Legislature in 1855, near Alexandria, in the Parish of Rapides, on endowments of land made by the General Government at different times, from 1806 to 1827, for establishing “a Seminary of Learning.” It was opened for the reception of students, January 2, 1860, and organized on a military basis, under the superintendence of Col. W. T. Sherman (now General-in-Chief, United States Army), who resigned his position, February 2, 1861, on the hostile demonstration of the State of Louisiana against the authority of the United States. The instruction of the institution continued under Col. W. E. M. Linfield, till April 22, 1863, when its operations were closed by the disasters of the War, to be reopened on the first of October, 1865, only to be closed again by the utter destruction of its extensive buildings by fire on the 15th of October, 1869. On the 1st of November following, its exercises were resumed at Baton Rouge, in the extensive building of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, which was placed temporarily for the occupancy of the classes, and a portion of the students. The session of 1871, under the superintendence of Col. D. F. Boyd, closed with 217 matriculated Cadets, of whom 128 were admitted on the State Cadet warrants.

The Law of March 16, 1870, relative to the appointment of Beneficiary Cadets, provides that each parish shall delegate two, and the city of New Orleans, by its Board of School Directors, twenty cadets, to be selected from the members of the highest class in the public school of such parishes and city, distinguished for their scholarship and good conduct, and whose parents may not be able to provide for their necessary expenses for tuition and maintenance at the State Seminary; and at the expiration of their residence at the University which can not exceed four years, these Beneficiary Cadets are required to teach school within the State for two years, on penalty of default to the amount of the sum paid by the State.

WABASH COLLEGE, CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA.

By arrangement with the Trustees of Wabash College, the Legislature of Indiana has authorized the County Commissioners of each county to appoint one person to receive the advantages of the institution for five years, free of tuition, in consideration of a portion of the State’s quota of the United States Land Grant, for agricultural and mechanical Arts Colleges; and to meet the requirements of the law of Congress, the college has established a Scientific Course, and under the superintendence of a Professor of Military Science, daily instruction in Tactics and Gymnastics is given to the students by divisions with a weekly drill of all, as a battalion. The College Courant thus notices the new hall for Gymnastics and Tactics:

The physical culture of this institution is under the charge of the Chair of Military Science, and for the purpose of this culture a building has been erected which is more comprehensive than usual in gymnasiums, and is quite unique in some particulars. Work was commenced last August, and in fifty days the roof was receiving the slate. The building presents the form of a cross, of equal members, and the ground service of seven thousand five hundred feet, is thus divided: A marching and running course, of three hundred feet, twelve feet wide, and seventeen feet high; a gymnasium sixty feet by twenty-six, and twenty-four feet high, ventilated and lighted by a central tower fifty feet in height; an armory and gun-room, for care of small arms and artillery; and a room for fencing, boxing, quoits and other manly exercises. In the four transepts above, are topographical room, model room; reading room, for maps, charts, etc., and bath rooms. All these, through interior glass fronts, furnish a full view of the Exercise Hall, within and below. The small-arms used are the “light, cadet, breech-loading rifle,” similar to those last issued to the Military Academy at West Point, and were manufactured by the United States at the Springfield Arsenal for the use of students receiving their instruction.

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY.

The University of the State of California has a Military Department to meet the requirements of the Act of Congress, under the directions (1871) of Professor (General) Welcker and Assistant Professor F. Soulé, graduates of the West Point Academy. The Adjutant General (Thos. N. Cazneau) of the State in his Report to the Governor, dated September 1, 1870, remarks:

The gratifying success with which the military department of the State University has been conducted is worthy of special notice, and I am happy to announce that perfect discipline and a high state of proficiency pervade the department of military study at that institution. The cadets were incorporated with the National Guard of the State by Act of the last legislature, and have been formed into four companies of infantry, and instructed most fully and perfectly in that branch of military service. A personal inspection of the battalion enables me to speak of its condition with confidence. I find both officers and cadets thoroughly up to the requirements of the infantry soldier, perfect in carriage, most proficient in the use of arms, steady in marching and all company formations, and, in the manœuvres of the battalion, challenging an admiration worthy to be elicited by a veteran soldiery. Their ensemble is striking, and the effect of a thorough military training upon the young gentlemen of the University is largely manifested in their erect and graceful personal appearance and movements, apparent not only when upon duty but in their ordinary walks of every-day occupation; while the gentlemanly and high-toned courtesy that pervades the whole body may not unjustly be attributed, in a large degree, to their military studies and military habits. The young officers evince excellent characteristics of command, great dignity of deportment and admirable ability in imparting instruction. I can not too highly commend to your attention the whole military condition of the cadets of the State University, and to ask for them your fostering care and encouragement, and that of the Legislature.

There are several colleges in California in which military instruction is introduced; prominent among them is St. Augustine College at Benicia, and McClure’s Academy at Oakland. At each there are about 100 boys, fully equipped and drilled as infantry soldiers.

INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE INSTITUTIONS FOR MILITARY INSTRUCTION.

ALDEN PARTRIDGE.

Alden Partridge, Captain in the United States Corps of Engineers, Professor and Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point, and the Founder of a class of institutions in which the military element is recognized and provided for as an essential part of the training of the American citizen, was born at Norwich in Vermont, on the 12th of January, 1785. His father was a farmer, in independent circumstances, served in the war of the Revolution, and took part in the capture of Burgoyne and his army at Saratoga. He brought up his son in the New England fashion, at such district school as the times and the country afforded in the winter, and at all sorts of work about the house and on the farm at other seasons, until he was sixteen years of age, when, being of studious turn, and fond of reading, he was allowed to fit for college, and entered Dartmouth in August, 1802. We have no knowledge of his studies in college, but it is presumed that his predilections were for the mathematics, and from the lateness with which he commenced his Latin and his subsequent declarations, his aversion was for the languages. Before completing his collegiate course he received the appointment of cadet20 in the regiment of artillerists in the United States service, with orders to repair to West Point, and report himself to the commanding officer of the Military Academy at that place.

The Military Academy at the time Cadet Partridge arrived at West Point was very inadequately equipped with the men and material aids of instruction, although the two teachers appointed were abundantly capable in their respective departments. Jared Mansfield, especially, the teacher of natural philosophy, had won such reputation in mathematical studies that he received his commission as a captain of engineers from Mr. Jefferson for the very purpose of becoming a teacher at West Point, which he did by appointment in 1802, although in reality he did not perform his duties regularly, and then only for one year, having been, in 1808, appointed by President Jefferson to the responsible post of Surveyor-General of the North-western territory. Such instruction as was given was received by Cadet Partridge in 1806, and in July of that year, he was transferred to the Corps of Engineers, and in October, commissioned as first lieutenant. In November, 1806, he was appointed assistant professor of mathematics, Fedinand K. Hassler, a little later, having been made Professor in place of Capt. Barron, retired. From Prof. Hassler, he received great help in his mathematical studies, as he afterwards repeatedly acknowledged. In 1808, Prof. Partridge was called to act in place of the Superintendent in the absence of Col. Williams, and continued to do so, with brief intervals, until January, 1815, when he was appointed to the office which he filled till March, 1816. In 1809, Mr. Hassler resigned the professorship of mathematics, and the instruction before given by him devolved on his assistant, Mr. Partridge. In 1810, he succeeded, after repeated applications to the Secretary of War, in obtaining two field pieces, for practical instruction of the Cadets as Artillerists.

In 1812, the Academy was re-organized, and was made to consist of the Corps of Engineers and the following Professors, in addition to the teachers of the French language and drawing, viz.: “one professor of natural and experimental philosophy; one professor of mathematics; and one professor of the art of engineering; each professor to have an assistant taken from the most prominent of the Officers or Cadets.” The number of Cadets was increased to two hundred and fifty, and were directed to be arranged into companies of non-commissioned officers and privates, according to the directions of the commandant of Engineers, and be officered from that corps, “for the purposes of military instruction, in all the duties of a private, non-commissioned officer, and officer, and to be encamped at least three months of each year, and taught all the duties incident to a regular camp.” The age of admission was fixed, the minimum at fourteen, and maximum at twenty-one, and preliminary knowledge to be well versed in reading, writing, and arithmetic. It was further provided that any Cadet who shall receive a regular degree from the Academical Staff, after going through all the classes, shall be considered among the candidates for a commission in any corps, according to the duties he may be judged competent to perform. The sum of $25,000 was appropriated towards the buildings, library, implements, &c. On this broad basis the Academy was progressively enlarged to its present capabilities of usefulness.

Under the new arrangement of 1812, Mr. Partridge was appointed professor of mathematics, with the pay and emoluments of a major, which appointment was soon after, at the request of the Secretary of War, exchanged for that of professor of engineering, it being found more difficult to fill the latter post than the former. The duties of this professorship he continued to discharge from September 1, 1813, till December 31, 1816.

In 1808, Capt. Partridge was ordered by Col. Williams to take charge of the internal direction and control of the Military Academy as Superintendent, which duties he discharged until January 3, 1815, when, by regulations of that date, he was made the permanent Superintendent, which post he held-till November 25th, 1816, and was finally relieved on the 13th of January, 1817.

By the regulation of January 3, 1815, the commandant of the Corps of Engineers was constituted Inspector of the Academy, and made responsible for instruction, and to report to the Department of War. Out of this appointment, and the instructions relating thereto, grew a difference of opinion, which resulted in the final withdrawal of Capt. Partridge from the institution, the resignation of his commission in the military service of the United States, and his subsequent devotion to the dissemination by lectures and personal efforts of the views which he had formed of the education required by the American citizen, and the establishment of institutions in which these views could be carried out.

After resigning his commission in the military service of the United States, Capt. Partridge was engaged, in the summer of 1818, as military instructor to a volunteer corps, and in giving a course of lectures on fortifications and other branches of military science to a class of officers and citizens in the city of New York. The views which he then presented on the best means of national defense were in advance of the “piping times of peace” in 1818, but have been since demanded to be eminently sound and practical by the terrible experience of 1861–1862.

His chief reliance for national defense was in the military habits of the great body of the American people—organized into suitable militia departments corresponding in the main to the limits of the several states, officered by men of the right capacity, scientific education, and military training. The officers were required to assemble annually at stated periods, either in camps or rendezvous, at some central point in the department, to receive instruction from a few competent teachers of the military art. We give the plan in his own language as published at the time.

I. Let the United States be divided into military departments, say thirty in number; each of those departments to be wholly comprised within the same state, whenever this can be done.

II. To each of those departments let there be attached a military instructor, (under the authority of the United States,) who should receive the pay and emoluments of a colonel of infantry, and have the brevet-rank of a brigadier-general. These instructors to be gentlemen of established character and reputation, and who have received a regular scientific military education.

III. Let the officers of each brigade of militia in the United States be required to assemble annually at stated periods, either in camp or rendezvous at some central point in the brigade, there to remain six days, for the purpose of military instruction. Let each instructor attend in succession at the several camps or places of rendezvous in his department, and devote himself assiduously to the instruction of the officers there assembled. One portion of the day might be devoted to practical drills, and field evolutions—also to the turning off, mounting, and relieving guards and sentinels, while the remainder could be most usefully employed in explaining and illustrating the principles of tactics generally, of artillery, of permanent and field fortification, the duties of troops in camp and in garrison, and such other branches as time and circumstances might permit, by means of familiar explanatory lectures.

IV. Let each officer receive from the government a reasonable allowance for his expenses while attending the instruction, and also while going to, and returning from, the camp or rendezvous.

Some of the principal advantages that would result from the adoption of the foregoing plan, I conceive would be as follows; viz.:—

1. The same system of tactics and discipline would pervade the whole mass of the militia—the instructors being imperatively required to adhere to one system. This would be a very important advantage.

2. By this means the country, in the course of a few years, would be furnished with a well organized military force, of at least one million of men, composed of the best materials in the world for soldiers; the whole of which, the officers having been regularly and correctly instructed, might be rendered, in the course of a few weeks, after being called into service, perfectly competent to the efficient discharge of all the duties of the field. This assertion is not founded upon conjecture. An experience of nearly fifteen years in military instruction, has convinced me, that any of our regiments of militia, in their present state of discipline, if brought into the field and placed under competent officers, could, by three weeks instruction, be prepared for discharging all the duties of regular troops. The instruction, then, in time of peace, of the officers, becomes an object of great importance;—that of the privates is of secondary consideration. There is no difficulty in making soldiers, when officers understand their duty, and are disposed to perform it.

It may perhaps be objected to the foregoing plan, that the time proposed for the officers to remain in camp or rendezvous is too limited to admit of their deriving much advantage therefrom. In answer to this I will observe, that a due share of experience in this species of instruction, has fully convinced me, that they would acquire more correct military information in six days, under a competent and systematic instructor, than they usually acquire under the present system, during the whole period from eighteen to forty-five years of age; and that, after attending two or three similar courses, the great body of them would be perfectly competent to the correct, efficient, and useful discharge of all the duties of the field. From the best calculation I have been able to make, I feel confident, that the whole necessary expense of carrying this plan into full and effective operation, would not exceed six hundred thousand dollars—it would probably fall short of that sum. Whether the expense, then, is to be considered as disproportionate to the object in view, and therefore to constitute a barrier to its accomplishment, must be decided by the sound discretion of the representatives of the people. It appears to me, however, to bear no greater ratio to it, than does a grain of sand to the globe we inhabit. The cultivation of military science must also be viewed as of the first importance in a system of military defense for our country. The plan already detailed, is calculated for the general dissemination of practical military information throughout the community, but is not adapted to the investigation of principles. This can only be done at seminaries, where it constitutes a branch of regular attention and study; and where theory and practice can, in due proportion, be combined. At those seminaries would be formed our military instructors, our engineers, and our generals; and from those, as from so many foci, would all the improvements in the military art be diffused throughout the country.

In the lectures delivered in 1818, Capt, Partridge, in view of the Inevitable disintegration by frost and moisture, and the improvements in the science of attack, anticipated the insufficiency of permanent fortifications—of works of masonry, no matter how expensively or strongly constructed—to the defense of our principal harbors against the attacks of a foreign foe; his reliance was on the general diffusion of military science and training amongst the militia, on an efficient navy, and the following plan of marine defense.