fifty, while the corps of teachers was increased. Candidates were for the first time examined for admis- sion to the Academy. Provision was also made for the maintenance of the establishment and the proper instruction of the cadets in all branches of military science. To Major Thayer, appointed Superintendent in 1 81 7, the Academy owes more than to any one man for the ground plan of its system of work and the first great impulse towards its present efficiency. He was Superintendent for sixteen years, during which time 570 cadets were graduated, — men who were soon to test the. value of their instruction and training under the skies of Mexico, where, in two campaigns, accord- ing to General Scott's tribute, "we conquered a great country and peace without the loss of a single battle or skirmish. ' ' In no war that has occurred within the knowledge Digitized by Microsoft® 372 The Hudson River of man has such a display of mih'tary skill been ex- hibited by the leaders on both sides, through a series of operations of such magnitude and extending over so long a period of time, as made the American Civil War for ever memorable. We cannot forget that the list of those who won distinction in that deplorable but un- avoidable strife, in the Confederate as well as the Fed- eral armies, was mainly from the roster of West Point graduates. McClellan and Jackson, Burnside and Beauregard, Hooker and Pemberton, Sherman and Johnston, Grant and Lee, — the list rolls on. In blue and grey, for conscience sake, they fought a good fight, and fought it better because the old Academy with its training was behind them. The military post at West Point formerly was dis- tinct from the Academy, and, until 1842, was some- times under separate command; but at that time Congress very wisely put an end to contentions arising from a conflict of rank and authority between the Com- mander of the post and the Superintendent of the Academy, by providing that the latter should also command the post. , While the requirements for examination, both for admission and. graduation, have increased, and the training has become more thorough and proportion- ately severe with each decade of the history of "the Point, ' ' the superstructure has been reared, as we have already suggested, on the foundation laid by Major Thayer. From the first, the tendency of the Academy Digitized by Microsoft® 3 5 ■>. t ■«. Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® West Point 375 has been towards a spirit of democracy. Mere birth counts for less here than perhaps in any other -uni- versity in the world, except our Naval Academy. It is an article of faith among army men that West Point graduates gentlemen, and yet it is conceded that not fifty per cent, of the cadets are born of distinguished or wealthy parents. The majority of the fathers of West Pointers are wage-earners; but their sons, almost without exception, go out after five years of training the finest types of physical manhood that the race has produced, with cultivated minds and polished manners, and a splendid sense of honour. Take a man who can ride, dance, fight, speak the truth in his own and sev- eral other languages, and pass a stiff college examina- tion, and you have the kind of man that West Point is turning out by the scores every year. While the standards of physical, mental, and moral excellence have been rigorously upheld at the Acad- emy, and the instruction and drill have advanced with the progress of the world in science, many of the buildings erected at an earlier day, and still in use, have become antiquated and insufficient. There are more than a hundred and sixty buildings of all sorts. Among the older ones are the north wing of the quadrangle, built previous to 1851, and containing most of the cadet quarters; the cadet mess-hall, erected in 1850, of native granite ; and the quaint riding-hall, with its arched roof, that dates from 1855; while the Adminis- tration and Academic buildings are more modern. Digitized by Microsoft® 376 The Hudson River The former is usually known as headquarters, contain- ing the offices of Superintendent, Adjutant, Quarter- master, etc. Opposite is the Academic building, erected in 1891-95. It is, like the other, of granite, and cost in round figures $500,000. It forms the east side of the quadrangle, of which the cadet quar- ters constitute the north and west sides. The Chapel lies to the north of the Administration and to the east of the Academic buildings. It was built in 1 836, and is decorated within with flags, cannon, and other trophies. Tablets honouring the memory of Washington's generals are placed upon