Military Education--United States Military Academy

Opened in 1802 at West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy is the oldest federal service academy in the United States. Proposed in legislation from Alexander Hamilton, and begun at the direction of President Thomas Jefferson, the academy (often referred to as “West Point”) started with few standards regarding age of cadets or length of study. The War of 1812 prompted revisions within the program and in 1817 the academy’s superintendent Colonel Sylvanus Thayer established a curriculum modeled after the École Polytechnique school in Paris, France, that emphasized technical and engineering instruction. The program was so successful, that it became the model engineering program within the United States during the nineteenth century.

By the 1830s, most commissioned officers in the U.S. Army were West Point graduates. However, distrust among many Americans of a strong national government and aristocracy (as well as jealousy among other aspiring military officers), led to some calls for the elimination of the academy. These calls went unheeded, and the strong performance by West Point graduates during the Mexican War in the late 1840s highlighted the value of the academy to the U.S. military.

The Civil War divided West Point alumni. Some of the most notable academy graduates and staff served the Confederacy, most notably Robert E. Lee. Most of the leading Union generals were also West Point alum, including Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and George B. McClellan. Over the course of the war, 294 West Point graduates achieved the rank of general in the Union Army and 151 rose to the rank of general in the Confederate Army. The war also cost the lives of 105 West Point graduates, while 151 were wounded.

Due to political tensions within the U.S. from the Civil War, southern applicants were not admitted to West Point until 1868—three years after the end of the war. The first Black cadet, James Webster Smith, was admitted in 1870, however he faced severe discrimination by other cadets and some staff, leading to altercations, a suspension, and eventually dismissal under controversial circumstances. The first African American cadet to graduate West Point was Henry O. Flipper in 1877.

West Point continues to operate as military service academy training college-aged cadets for the officer corps of the U.S. Army. (Wikipedia)