MILITARY ACADEMY, UN ITlill STATEs. The national for the theoretical and practical training of cadets for commissions in the United States Army. It, is situated at West Point, N. V., eni the west bank of the Iludsmi, 50 miles from its mouth, amid the pieturesque peaks of the Highlands. This place has been occupied as a military post continuously since January 20,1778. (See WEST POINT for Revolu tionary history of the locality and description of the modern post buihlings, surroundings, etc.) The Academy itself had its origin in a. resolution passed by Congress on October 1, 1776, which appointed a committee to prepare a plan for "a military academy for the army." On June 20, 1777, it, was ordered that a Corps of Invalids organized as "a military school for young gen tlemen previous to their being appointed to marching regiments" be instituted; which order .; ea rried into effect almost immediately. Gen eral Washington was untiring in his efforts to establish the academy, and ite. .. wits at his request in 1781 that the Corps of Invalids was marched from Philadelphia to join the garrison at \Vest Point. Two years later Washington again brought the idea of a military academy before his officers at Newburgh, and made a special reference to it in his message of Deeenhner 3. 1793. (In May 9, l794, his ideas and aspirations were erystallized in a law approved on that date, whereby was authorized the organization of a corps of engineers and artillerists with two 'cadets' to each company, and a school of in struction for them was established at West Point in the same year.
Prior to 1781 there were at West Point three separate buildings, used as an engineer school, Laboratory, and library respectively. In 1796 the buildings occupied by the t'o'ps were burned down. and thins for a time the work of the Acad emy was suspended. instruction was res nl on September 1, 1801, by order of the Seeretary of \Var, who. um July 20th of that year, issued an order directing that all the cadets of the Corps Artillerists should report at West Point for instruction. The faeulty of the Academy at this time was made up of four army officers and a civilian, who acted as administrators and in st ruetors. The actual creation of the „Military Academy as it is known to-day occurred in 1802. under the authorization of an act of Congress approved on March 16th. \Vest POillt was se lected for its lineation. and with a (lass of len cadets present it was formally opened on July 4, 1802. The bill authorized the establishment of a corps of engineers to consist of live per sons, a major. two first lieutenants. two sceond
lieutenantss and ten cadets, with the pay of :1)16 month. Provision was also made for promo• that, in the corps, not to exceed one colonel. one lieutenant, two major's. four captains, four first lieutenants, and four second tient en:1111s; but it was also ordained that the entire corps should not exceed twenty officers and cadets.
The following year an increase of forty cadets was authorized, and in 1808 156 became eligible, but, owing to the lack of provision for them at the Academy, very few of them were enabled to report for instruction.
The Academy passed tlu•ough many vicissi tudes about this time, and in March, 1812, was without a single instructor. Students entered without any mental or physical examination and without any regard to age. The War of 1812, however. called the attention of the Government to the pressing needs of the Academy. Only 71 students had been graduated in its first ten years, and President Madison called the attention of Congress to the necessity of making the Acad emy a scientific as well as a military college, in consequence of which, on April 29, 1812, the Academy was reorganized upon the principles which underlie its present organization. In 1818 the rules approved by President Monroe went into effect and provided that the assign ment of cadets to the different corps in the army and their relative' rank must upon their general merits, to be determined by a competent hoard of examiners, and that cadets should not be promoted until after they had received a di ploma. Colonel Sylvauus Thayer was appointed Superintendent of West Point in 1817, and suc ceeded in making the institution famous among the military schools of the world. in 1815 he was sent by the Government to Europe, to study mili tary schools, and during the sixteen years of his superintendency (1817 to 183:3) completely re organized the curriculum of the United States school. Ile organized the systeM of divisions of classes into sections; organized the corps of cadets into a battalion; and created the position of commandant of cadets. In 1833 he took is sue with President Andrew .Jackson regarding de tails of management and resigned his post. In 1838 it was again offered him, together with con cessions that gave him almost absolute control, but he declined to accept. From this time on little change has been made in the organization of the Academy other than those natural to the progrest of time.