191-707: Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – c. 1914 ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book The Devil's Dictionary was named one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration . His story " An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge " has been described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature", and his book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (also published as In
382-510: A cause célèbre . Bierce meant his poem to express a national mood of dismay and fear, but after McKinley was shot in 1901, it seemed to foreshadow the crime: The bullet that pierced Goebel's breast Can not be found in all the West; Good reason, it is speeding here To stretch McKinley on his bier. Hearst was thereby accused by rival newspapers—and by then- Secretary of War Elihu Root —of having called for McKinley's assassination. Despite
573-522: A lieutenant general (three star general). The 61st Superintendent, Lieutenant General Steven W. Gilland , took command on 27 June 2022, replacing Darryl A. Williams . The academy is a direct reporting unit, and as such, the Superintendent reports directly to the Army Chief of Staff (CSA) . There are two other general officer positions at the academy. Brigadier General R.J. Garcia is
764-522: A Baltimore newspaper editor, Frank Key Howard , after he criticized Lincoln in an editorial for ignoring Taney's ruling. In Missouri, an elected convention on secession voted to remain in the Union. When pro-Confederate Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson called out the state militia, it was attacked by federal forces under General Nathaniel Lyon , who chased the governor and rest of the State Guard to
955-525: A blockade of the Confederacy to suffocate the South into surrender. Lincoln adopted parts of the plan but opted for a more active war strategy. In April 1861, Lincoln announced a blockade of all Southern ports; commercial ships could not get insurance, ending regular traffic. The South blundered by embargoing cotton exports before the blockade was fully effective; by the time they reversed this decision, it
1146-565: A broad academic program, military leadership performance, and mandatory participation in competitive athletics. Candidates for admission must apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a member of Congress. Other nomination sources include the president and vice president. Students are officers-in-training and are referred to as "cadets" or collectively as the "United States Corps of Cadets" (USCC). The Army fully funds tuition for cadets in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation. About 1,300 cadets enter
1337-490: A cadet's third summer, they may serve as instructors for CBT or CFT. Rising Firstie (senior) cadets also spend one-month training at Camp Buckner, where they train for modern tactical situations that they will soon face as new platoon leaders. Cadets also have the opportunity during their second, third and fourth summers to serve in active army units and military schools around the world. The schools include Airborne, Air Assault, Sapper, Pathfinder, etc. Active duty officers in
1528-445: A child. Above-average high school or previous college grades and strong performance on standardized testing are expected. The interquartile range on the old SAT was 1100–1360 and 68% ranked in the top fifth of their high school class. To be eligible for appointment, candidates must also undergo a Candidate Fitness Assessment and a complete physical exam. Up to 60 students from foreign countries are present at USMA, educated at
1719-497: A course of ultimate extinction. Decades of controversy over slavery were brought to a head when Abraham Lincoln , who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election . Seven Southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. The war began on April 12, 1861, when
1910-705: A draft law in April 1862 for men aged 18–35, with exemptions for overseers, government officials, and clergymen. The U.S. Congress followed in July, authorizing a militia draft within states that could not meet their quota with volunteers. European immigrants joined the Union Army in large numbers, including 177,000 born in Germany and 144,000 in Ireland. About 50,000 Canadians served, around 2,500 of whom were black. When
2101-846: A fictional Ambrose Bierce have received favorable reviews, generated international sales, or earned major awards. Bierce's short stories, "Haita the Shepherd" and " An Inhabitant of Carcosa " are believed to have influenced early weird fiction writer Robert W. Chambers ' tales of The King in Yellow (1895), which featured Hastur , Carcosa , Lake Hali and other names and locations initiated in these tales. Chambers in turn went on to influence H. P. Lovecraft and much of modern horror fiction. In 1918, H. L. Mencken called Bierce "the one genuine wit that These States have ever seen." At least three films have been made of Bierce's story " An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ". A silent film version, The Bridge ,
SECTION 10
#17327868862722292-483: A firm hand by Lincoln tamed Seward, who was a staunch Lincoln ally. Lincoln decided holding the fort, which would require reinforcing it, was the only workable option. On April 6, Lincoln informed the Governor of South Carolina that a ship with food but no ammunition would attempt to supply the fort. Historian McPherson describes this win-win approach as "the first sign of the mastery that would mark Lincoln's presidency";
2483-704: A fort during the American Revolutionary War , as it sits on strategic high ground overlooking the Hudson River 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City . The academy was founded in 1802, and it is the oldest of the five American service academies and educates cadets for commissioning into the United States Army . The academic program grants the Bachelor of Science degree with a curriculum that grades cadets' performance upon
2674-479: A man until she died in 1915 at the age of 71. The small U.S. Navy of 1861 rapidly expanded to 6,000 officers and 45,000 sailors by 1865, with 671 vessels totaling 510,396 tons. Its mission was to blockade Confederate ports, control the river system, defend against Confederate raiders on the high seas, and be ready for a possible war with the British Royal Navy . The main riverine war was fought in
2865-474: A national uproar that ended his ambitions for the presidency (and even his membership in the Bohemian Club ), Hearst kept employing Bierce. During his lifetime, Bierce was better known as a journalist than as a fiction writer. His most popular stories were written in rapid succession between 1888 and 1891, in what was characterized as "a tremendous burst of consummate art". Bierce's works often highlight
3056-556: A nomination from their United States Representative or Senator . Some receive a nomination from the Vice President or even the President of the United States. The nomination process is not political. The academy applicant typically provides written essays and letters of recommendation. The applicant then submits to a formal interview. Admission to West Point is selective: 7.74% of applicants were admitted (total of 1232) to
3247-451: A patriotic fire under the North. On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to field 75,000 volunteer troops for 90 days; impassioned Union states met the quotas quickly. On May 3, 1861, Lincoln called for an additional 42,000 volunteers for three years. Shortly after this, Virginia , Tennessee , Arkansas , and North Carolina seceded and joined the Confederacy. To reward Virginia,
3438-558: A prescribed series of physical fitness courses such as military movement (applied gymnastics), boxing, survival swimming, and beginning in 2009, advanced combatives . Cadets can also take elective physical activity classes such as scuba , rock climbing, and aerobic fitness. As with all soldiers in the Army, cadets also must pass the Army Physical Fitness Test twice per year. Additionally, every year, cadets must pass
3629-586: A profit despite increased circulation of the San Francisco Examiner . Robert O. Cornthwaite appears as Sam Chamberlain. Carlos Fuentes 's 1985 novel The Old Gringo is a fictionalized account of Bierce's disappearance; it was later adapted into the film Old Gringo (1989), starring Gregory Peck in the title role. Fuentes stated: "What started this novel was my admiration for Ambrose Bierce and for his Tales of Soldiers and Civilians ." Two adaptations were made of Bierce's story "Eyes of
3820-421: A republic, but a third challenge faced the nation: maintaining a republic based on the people's vote, in the face of an attempt to destroy it. Lincoln's election provoked South Carolina 's legislature to call a state convention to consider secession. South Carolina had done more than any other state to advance the notion that a state had the right to nullify federal laws and even secede. On December 20, 1860,
4011-553: A revolver that belonged to Göring, and a silver-plated party book, signed by Charles Lindbergh, Herbert Hoover and Mussolini, among others. Arguably, the most prized artifact on display is a gold-plated pistol that belonged to Adolf Hitler . The commanding officer at the USMA is the Superintendent , equivalent to the president or chancellor of a civilian university. In recent years, the position of superintendent has been held by
SECTION 20
#17327868862724202-688: A sharp increase in the demand for army officers, and the academy accelerated graduation of all four classes then in attendance to meet this requirement, beginning with the early graduation of the First Class on 20 April 1917, the Second Class in August 1917, and both the Third and Fourth Classes just before the Armistice of 11 November 1918, when only freshman cadets remained (those who had entered in
4393-587: A terrifying experience that became a source for several short stories and the memoir "What I Saw of Shiloh". In April 1863 he was commissioned a first lieutenant , and served on the staff of General William Babcock Hazen as a topographical engineer , making maps of likely battlefields. As a staff officer, Bierce became known to leading generals such as George H. Thomas and Oliver O. Howard , both of whom supported his application for admission to West Point in May 1864. General Hazen believed Bierce would graduate from
4584-476: A trace , one of the most famous disappearances in American literary history. Bierce's ultimate fate remains a mystery. He wrote in one of his final letters: "Good-bye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it is a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico--ah, that
4775-486: A year later. Those who do not must repay the AOG. Marion Military Institute , New Mexico Military Institute , Georgia Military College , Hargrave Military Academy , Greystone Preparatory School at Schreiner University , and Northwestern Preparatory School are approved programs that students attend on the AOG scholarship prior to admission to West Point. The Academy's research centers and institutes include: West Point
4966-549: Is a highly residential baccalaureate college, with a full-time, four-year undergraduate program that emphasizes instruction in the arts, sciences, and professions with no graduate program. There are forty-five academic majors, the most popular of which are foreign languages, management information systems, history, economics, and mechanical engineering. West Point is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education . Military officers compose 75% of
5157-520: Is adjacent to Highland Falls . Based on the significance both of the Revolutionary War fort ruins and of the military academy itself, the majority of the academy area was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. In 1841, Charles Dickens visited the academy and said "It could not stand on more appropriate ground, and any ground more beautiful can hardly be." One of the most visited and scenic sites on post, Trophy Point , overlooks
5348-451: Is also the burial place of several recent graduates who have died during the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan . Many of the older grave sites have large and ornate grave markers, the largest belonging to Egbert Viele (class of 1847), chief engineer of Brooklyn 's Prospect Park . The cemetery is also home to a monument to Revolutionary War heroine Margaret Corbin . West Point
5539-653: Is among our three greatest writers." When told this, Bierce responded, "I am sure Mr. Howells is the other two." Bierce married Mary Ellen "Mollie" Day on December 25, 1871. They had three children: sons Day (1872–1889) and Leigh (1874–1901) and daughter Helen (1875–1940). Both of Bierce's sons died before he did. Day committed suicide after a romantic rejection (he non-fatally shot the woman of his affections along with her fiancé beforehand), and Leigh died of pneumonia related to alcoholism. Bierce separated from his wife in 1888, after discovering compromising letters to her from an admirer. They divorced in 1904. Mollie Day Bierce died
5730-493: Is euthanasia!" Skeptic Joe Nickell noted that the letter to Partington had not been found; all that existed was a notebook belonging to his secretary and companion Carrie Christiansen. Partington concluded that Bierce deliberately concealed his true whereabouts when he finally went to a selected location in the Grand Canyon and died as a result of suicide. There was an official investigation by U.S. consular officials of
5921-663: Is his much-quoted The Devil's Dictionary , originally an occasional newspaper item, first published in book form in 1906 as The Cynic's Word Book. Described as "howlingly funny", it consists of satirical definitions of English words which lampoon cant and political double-talk. Bierce edited the twelve volumes of The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce , which were published from 1909 to 1912. The seventh volume consists solely of The Devil's Dictionary . Bierce has been criticized by his contemporaries and later scholars for deliberately pursuing improbability and for his penchant toward " trick endings ". In his later stories, apparently under
Ambrose Bierce - Misplaced Pages Continue
6112-571: Is home to historic athletic facilities like Michie Stadium and Gillis Field House as well as modern facilities such as the Lichtenberg Tennis Center, Anderson Rugby Complex, and the Lou Gross Gymnastics Facility. Michie Stadium recently underwent a significant upgrade in facilities for the football team, and the academy installed a new artificial turf field in the summer of 2008. The visitor center
6303-498: Is just outside the Thayer Gate in the village of Highland Falls and offers the opportunity to arrange for a guided tour. These tours, which are the only way the general public can access the academy grounds, leave the visitor center several times a day. The old West Point Visitor Center was housed in the now-demolished Ladycliff College library building. On 9 September 2016, West Point broke ground in order to begin construction of
6494-531: Is responsible for all military arts and sciences education as well as planning and executing the cadet summer training. Within DMI there is a representative from each of the Army's branches. These "branch reps" serve as proponents for their respective branches and liaise with cadets as they prepare for branch selection and graduation. Within DMI sits the Modern War Institute, a research center devoted to
6685-648: The Overland Monthly , The Californian and The Wasp . A selection of his crime reporting from The San Francisco News Letter was included in the Library of America anthology True Crime . Bierce lived and wrote in England from 1872 to 1875, contributing to Fun magazine. His first book, The Fiend's Delight , a compilation of his articles, was published in London in 1873 by John Camden Hotten under
6876-417: The École Polytechnique in the cadet central area just outside Nininger Hall. The remaining campus area is home to 27 other monuments and memorials. The West Point Cemetery is the final resting place of many notable graduates and faculty, including George Armstrong Custer , Winfield Scott , William Westmoreland , Earl Blaik , Margaret Corbin , and eighteen Medal of Honor recipients. The cemetery
7067-490: The 1860 presidential election . Southern leaders feared Lincoln would stop slavery's expansion and put it on a course toward extinction. His victory triggered declarations of secession by seven slave states of the Deep South , all of whose riverfront or coastal economies were based on cotton that was cultivated by slave labor. Lincoln was not inaugurated until March 4, 1861, giving the South time to prepare for war during
7258-541: The Battle of Appomattox Court House , setting in motion the end of the war . Lincoln led the nation through that victory but was shot by an assassin on April 14. By the end of the war, much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million enslaved black people were freed. The war-torn nation then entered the Reconstruction era in an attempt to rebuild
7449-552: The Civil War . In 1835, during the Army's first year of the Second Seminole War , they had only three generals: Winfield Scott , Edmund P. Gaines , and Thomas S. Jesup . The Army's remaining fourteen generals "held their rank by brevet only," and none of them were West Point graduates. Nearly the only way to obtain a commission up to 1835, was through the academy, "which created loud complaint", and added to
7640-689: The Dred Scott decision was proof the Southern states had no reason to secede and that the Union "was intended to be perpetual". He added, however, that "The power by force of arms to compel a State to remain in the Union" was not among the "enumerated powers granted to Congress". A quarter of the US army—the Texas garrison—was surrendered in February to state forces by its general, David E. Twiggs , who joined
7831-618: The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in January 1863, ex-slaves were energetically recruited to meet state quotas. States and local communities offered higher cash bonuses for white volunteers. Congress tightened the draft law in March 1863. Men selected in the draft could provide substitutes or, until mid-1864, pay commutation money. Many eligibles pooled their money to cover the cost of anyone drafted. Families used
Ambrose Bierce - Misplaced Pages Continue
8022-560: The Great Plains . The expedition traveled by horseback and wagon from Omaha, Nebraska , arriving toward year's end in San Francisco, California. In the city, Bierce was awarded the rank of brevet major before resigning from the Army. Bierce remained in San Francisco for many years, eventually becoming famous as a contributor or editor of newspapers and periodicals, including The San Francisco News Letter , The Argonaut ,
8213-533: The Philippines ; and 76 Medal of Honor recipients. The Continental Army first occupied West Point, New York, on 27 January 1778, and it is the oldest continuously operating Army post in the United States. Between 1778 and 1780, the Polish engineer and military hero Tadeusz Kościuszko oversaw the construction of the garrison defenses. However, Kościuszko's plan of a system of small forts did not meet with
8404-609: The Spanish–American War caused the class of 1899 to graduate early, and the Philippine–American War did the same for the class of 1901. This increased demand for officers led Congress to increase the Corps of Cadets' size to 481 cadets in 1900. The period between 1900 and 1915 saw a construction boom as much of West Point's old infrastructure was rebuilt. Many of the academy's most famous graduates graduated during
8595-491: The United States Congress to authorize a more formal system of education at the academy and increased the size of the Corps of Cadets to 250. In 1817, Colonel Sylvanus Thayer became the Superintendent and established the curriculum, elements of which are still in use as of 2020 . Thayer instilled strict disciplinary standards, set a standard course of academic study, and emphasized honorable conduct. He
8786-592: The Virginia to prevent its capture, while the Union built many copies of the Monitor . The Confederacy's efforts to obtain warships from Great Britain failed, as Britain had no interest in selling warships to a nation at war with a stronger enemy and feared souring relations with the U.S. By early 1861, General Winfield Scott had devised the Anaconda Plan to win the war with minimal bloodshed, calling for
8977-522: The Western theater , the Union made permanent gains—though in the Eastern theater the conflict was inconclusive. The abolition of slavery became a Union war goal on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation , which declared all slaves in rebel states to be free, applying to more than 3.5 million of the 4 million enslaved people in the country. To the west, the Union first destroyed
9168-470: The electrical telegraph , steamships, the ironclad warship , and mass-produced weapons were widely used. The war left an estimated 698,000 soldiers dead, along with an undetermined number of civilian casualties, making the Civil War the deadliest military conflict in American history. The technology and brutality of the Civil War foreshadowed the coming World Wars . The origins of the war were rooted in
9359-449: The rank of captain or major serve as Company Tactical Officers (TAC Officers). The role of the TAC is to mentor, train, and teach the cadets proper standards of good order and discipline and be a good role model. There is one TAC for every cadet company. There is also one senior Non-Commissioned Officer to assist each TAC, known as TAC-NCOs. The Department of Military Instruction (DMI)
9550-598: The "Jacksonian Democracy...a deep desire to get rid of the Academy, where, Jacksonians were sure, an aristocratic tradition was being bred." The Mexican–American War brought the academy to prominence as graduates proved themselves in battle for the first time. Future Civil War commanders Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee , who also later became the superintendent of the academy, first distinguished themselves in battle in Mexico. In all, 452 of 523 graduates who served in
9741-487: The 15-year period between 1900 and 1915: Douglas MacArthur (1903), Joseph Stilwell (1904), Henry "Hap" Arnold (1907), George S. Patton (1909), Dwight D. Eisenhower , and Omar Bradley (both 1915). The class of 1915 is known as " the class the stars fell on " for the exceptionally high percentage of general officers that rose from that class (59 of 164). The outbreak of America's involvement in World War I caused
SECTION 50
#17327868862729932-406: The 168,649 men procured for the Union through the draft, 117,986 were substitutes, leaving only 50,663 who were conscripted. In the North and South, draft laws were highly unpopular. In the North, some 120,000 men evaded conscription, many fleeing to Canada, and another 280,000 soldiers deserted during the war. At least 100,000 Southerners deserted, about 10 percent of the total. Southern desertion
10123-711: The 1973 end of American involvement in Vietnam, the strain and stigma of earlier social unrest dissolved, and West Point enjoyed surging enrollments. On 20 May 1975, an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill of 1976 opening the service academies to women was approved by the House of Representatives, 303–96. The Senate followed suit on 6 June. President Ford signed the bill on 7 October 1975. West Point admitted its first 119 female cadets in 1976. Also in 1976, physics professor James H. Stith became
10314-601: The Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Insurance rates soared, and the American flag virtually disappeared from international waters, though reflagging ships with European flags allowed them to continue operating unmolested. After the war, the U.S. government demanded Britain compensate it for the damage caused by blockade runners and raiders outfitted in British ports. Britain paid the U.S. $ 15 million in 1871, but only for commerce raiding. Dinçaslan argues that another outcome of
10505-566: The Bahamas in exchange for high-priced cotton. Many were lightweight and designed for speed, only carrying small amounts of cotton back to England. When the Union Navy seized a blockade runner, the ship and cargo were condemned as a prize of war and sold, with proceeds given to the Navy sailors; the captured crewmen, mostly British, were released. The Southern economy nearly collapsed during
10696-400: The British response to the U.S. was toned down, helping avert war. In 1862, the British government considered mediating between the Union and Confederacy, though such an offer would have risked war with the U.S. British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston reportedly read Uncle Tom's Cabin three times when deciding what his decision would be. The Union victory at the Battle of Antietam caused
10887-621: The British to delay this decision. The Emancipation Proclamation increased the political liability of supporting the Confederacy. Realizing that Washington could not intervene in Mexico as long as the Confederacy controlled Texas, France invaded Mexico in 1861 and installed the Habsburg Austrian archduke Maximilian I as emperor. Washington repeatedly protested France's violation of the Monroe Doctrine . Despite sympathy for
11078-516: The Civil War was a graduate of West Point, and a West Point graduate commanded the forces of one or both sides in every one of the 60 major battles of the war. Immediately following the Civil War, the academy enjoyed unprecedented fame as a result of the role its graduates had played. However, the post-war years were a difficult time for the academy as it struggled to admit and reintegrate cadets from former confederate states. The first cadets from Southern states were re-admitted in 1868, and 1870 saw
11269-621: The Class of 2024. Candidates may have previous college experience, but they may not transfer, meaning that regardless of previous college credit, they enter the academy as a fourth class cadet and undergo the entire four-year program. Candidates considered academically disqualified and not selected may receive an offer to attend to the United States Military Academy Preparatory School . Upon graduation from USMAPS, these candidates are appointed to
11460-619: The Commandant of Cadets, equivalent to a dean of students at the civilian level. Brigadier General Shane Reeves is the Dean of the Academic Board, equivalent to a provost at the civilian level. Brigadier General Diana Holland was the first female commandant. Brigadier General Jebb was the first female Dean. There are 13 academic departments at USMA, each with a colonel as the head of department. These 13 tenured colonels comprise
11651-404: The Commonwealth, which at its greatest extent was over half the state, and it went into exile after October 1862. After Virginia's secession, a Unionist government in Wheeling asked 48 counties to vote on an ordinance to create a new state in October 1861. A voter turnout of 34% approved the statehood bill (96% approving). Twenty-four secessionist counties were included in the new state, and
SECTION 60
#173278688627211842-423: The Confederacy bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina . A wave of enthusiasm for war swept over the North and South, as military recruitment soared. Four more Southern states seceded after the war began and, led by its president, Jefferson Davis , the Confederacy asserted control over a third of the U.S. population in eleven states. Four years of intense combat, mostly in the South, ensued. During 1861–1862 in
12033-400: The Confederacy refused to exchange black prisoners. After that, about 56,000 of the 409,000 POWs died in prisons, accounting for 10 percent of the conflict's fatalities. Historian Elizabeth D. Leonard writes that between 500 and 1,000 women enlisted as soldiers on both sides, disguised as men. Women also served as spies, resistance activists, nurses, and hospital personnel. Women served on
12224-472: The Confederacy's river navy by the summer of 1862, then much of its western armies, and seized New Orleans . The successful 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River , while Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's incursion north failed at the Battle of Gettysburg . Western successes led to General Ulysses S. Grant 's command of all Union armies in 1864. Inflicting an ever-tightening naval blockade of Confederate ports,
12415-410: The Confederacy, France's seizure of Mexico ultimately deterred it from war with the Union. Confederate offers late in the war to end slavery in return for diplomatic recognition were not seriously considered by London or Paris. After 1863, the Polish revolt against Russia further distracted the European powers and ensured they remained neutral. Russia supported the Union, largely because it believed
12606-454: The Confederacy. As Southerners resigned their Senate and House seats, Republicans could pass projects that had been blocked. These included the Morrill Tariff , land grant colleges, a Homestead Act , a transcontinental railroad, the National Bank Act , authorization of United States Notes by the Legal Tender Act of 1862 , and the end of slavery in the District of Columbia . The Revenue Act of 1861 introduced income tax to help finance
12797-519: The Confederate capital was moved to Richmond . Maryland , Delaware , Missouri , West Virginia and Kentucky were slave states whose people had divided loyalties to Northern and Southern businesses and family members. Some men enlisted in the Union Army and others in the Confederate Army. West Virginia separated from Virginia and was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, though half its counties were secessionist. Maryland's territory surrounded Washington, D.C. , and could cut it off from
12988-405: The Corps" with "The ranks of the Corps." In December 2009, President Barack Obama delivered a major speech in Eisenhower Hall Theater outlining his policy for deploying 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan as well as setting a timetable for withdrawal. President Obama also provided the commencement address in 2014. After the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was lifted 20 September 2011,
13179-412: The District of Columbia by seizing prominent figures, including arresting one-third of the members of the Maryland General Assembly on the day it reconvened. All were held without trial, with Lincoln ignoring a ruling on June 1, 1861, by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney , not speaking for the Court, that only Congress could suspend habeas corpus ( Ex parte Merryman ). Federal troops imprisoned
13370-405: The Great Puritan Migration. He often wrote critically of "Puritan values" and people who "made a fuss" about genealogy. He was the tenth of thirteen children, all of whom were given names by their father beginning with the letter "A": in order of birth, the Bierce siblings were Abigail, Amelia, Ann, Addison, Aurelius, Augustus, Almeda, Andrew, Albert, Ambrose, Arthur, Adelia, and Aurelia. His mother
13561-424: The Hudson River to the north, and is home to many captured cannon from past wars as well as the Stanford White -designed Battle Monument . Though the entire military reservation encompasses 15,974 acres (65 km ), the academic area of the campus, known as "central area" or "the cadet area", is entirely accessible to cadets or visitors by foot. In 1902, the Boston architectural firm Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson
13752-544: The Midst of Life ) was named by the Grolier Club one of the 100 most influential American books printed before 1900. A prolific and versatile writer, Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction. For his horror writing, Michael Dirda ranked him alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft . S. T. Joshi speculates that he may well be
13943-479: The North, where anti-slavery sentiment had grown, and for the South, where the fear of slavery's abolition had grown. Another factor leading to secession and the formation of the Confederacy was the development of white Southern nationalism in the preceding decades. The primary reason for the North to reject secession was to preserve the Union, a cause based on American nationalism . Background factors in
14134-658: The North. It had anti-Lincoln officials who tolerated anti-army rioting in Baltimore and the burning of bridges, both aimed at hindering the passage of troops to the South. Maryland's legislature voted overwhelmingly to stay in the Union, but rejected hostilities with its southern neighbors, voting to close Maryland's rail lines to prevent their use for war. Lincoln responded by establishing martial law and unilaterally suspending habeas corpus in Maryland, along with sending in militia units. Lincoln took control of Maryland and
14325-470: The Panther". One version was developed for Shelley Duvall 's Nightmare Classics series and was released in 1990. It runs about 60 minutes. A shorter version was released in 2007 by director Michael Barton and runs about 23 minutes. Bierce was a major character in a series of mystery books written by Oakley Hall and published between 1998 and 2006. Biographer Richard O'Connor argued that, "War
14516-461: The South's post-war recovery. Cotton diplomacy proved a failure as Europe had a surplus of cotton, while the 1860–62 crop failures in Europe made the North's grain exports critically important. It also helped turn European opinion against the Confederacy. It was said that "King Corn was more powerful than King Cotton," as U.S. grain went from a quarter to almost half of British imports. Meanwhile,
14707-545: The South. The Confederacy turned to foreign sources, connecting with financiers and companies like S. Isaac, Campbell & Company and the London Armoury Company in Britain, becoming the Confederacy's main source of arms. To transport arms safely to the Confederacy, British investors built small, fast, steam-driven blockade runners that traded arms and supplies from Britain, through Bermuda, Cuba, and
14898-555: The Treasurer of the United States." Bierce's coverage and diatribes on the subject aroused such public wrath that the bill was defeated. Bierce returned to California in November. In 1899, he moved back to Washington, D.C., and remained a resident until his disappearance in 1913. The best known of his four different residences in the city during this time perhaps is the townhouse at 18 Logan Circle . Bierce's long newspaper career
15089-500: The U.S. and Britain over the Trent affair , which began when U.S. Navy personnel boarded the British ship Trent and seized two Confederate diplomats. However, London and Washington smoothed this over after Lincoln released the two men. Prince Albert left his deathbed to issue diplomatic instructions to Lord Lyons during the Trent affair. His request was honored, and, as a result,
15280-399: The U.S. government to build the first transcontinental railroad . Central Pacific executive Collis P. Huntington persuaded a friendly member of Congress to introduce a bill excusing the companies from repaying the loans, amounting to $ 130 million (worth $ 4.76 billion today). In January 1896 Hearst dispatched Bierce to Washington, D.C. , to foil this attempt. The essence of the plot
15471-534: The U.S. served as a counterbalance to its geopolitical rival, the U.K. In 1863, the Imperial Russian Navy 's Baltic and Pacific fleets wintered in the American ports of New York and San Francisco, respectively. West Point The United States Military Academy ( USMA , West Point , or Army ) is a United States service academy in West Point, New York . It was originally established as
15662-471: The Union Army or pro-Union guerrilla groups. Although they came from all classes, most Southern Unionists differed socially, culturally, and economically from their region’s dominant prewar, slave-owning planter class. At the war's start, a parole system operated, under which captives agreed not to fight until exchanged. They were held in camps run by their army, paid, but not allowed to perform any military duties. The system of exchanges collapsed in 1863 when
15853-456: The Union blockade. The Confederacy purchased warships from commercial shipbuilders in Britain, with the most famous being the CSS ; Alabama , which caused considerable damage and led to serious postwar disputes . However, public opinion against slavery in Britain created a political liability for politicians, where the anti-slavery movement was powerful. War loomed in late 1861 between
16044-464: The Union hospital ship Red Rover and nursed Union and Confederate troops at field hospitals. Mary Edwards Walker , the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor , served in the Union Army and was given the medal for treating the wounded during the war. One woman, Jennie Hodgers, fought for the Union under the name Albert D. J. Cashier. After she returned to civilian life, she continued to live as
16235-544: The Union marshaled resources and manpower to attack the Confederacy from all directions. This led to the fall of Atlanta in 1864 to Union General William Tecumseh Sherman , followed by his March to the Sea . The last significant battles raged around the ten-month Siege of Petersburg , gateway to the Confederate capital of Richmond . The Confederates abandoned Richmond, and on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant following
16426-492: The Union would win if it could resupply and hold the fort, and the South would be the aggressor if it opened fire on an unarmed ship supplying starving men. An April 9 Confederate cabinet meeting resulted in Davis ordering General P. G. T. Beauregard to take the fort before supplies reached it. At 4:30 am on April 12, Confederate forces fired the first of 4,000 shells at the fort; it fell the next day. The loss of Fort Sumter lit
16617-433: The Union, this was never likely, so they sought to bring them in as mediators. The Union worked to block this and threatened war if any country recognized the Confederacy. In 1861, Southerners voluntarily embargoed cotton shipments, hoping to start an economic depression in Europe that would force Britain to enter the war, but this failed. Worse, Europe turned to Egypt and India for cotton, which they found superior, hindering
16808-483: The Union-held Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter is located in the harbor of Charleston , South Carolina. Its status had been contentious for months. Outgoing President Buchanan had dithered in reinforcing its garrison, commanded by Major Robert Anderson . Anderson took matters into his own hands and on December 26, 1860, under the cover of darkness, sailed the garrison from the poorly placed Fort Moultrie to
16999-702: The Union. A February peace conference met in Washington, proposing a solution similar the Compromise; it was rejected by Congress. The Republicans proposed the Corwin Amendment , an alternative, not to interfere with slavery where it existed, but the South regarded it as insufficient. The remaining eight slave states rejected pleas to join the Confederacy, following a no-vote in Virginia's First Secessionist Convention on April 4. On March 4, Lincoln
17190-526: The West, where major rivers gave access to the Confederate heartland. The U.S. Navy eventually controlled the Red, Tennessee, Cumberland, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. In the East, the Navy shelled Confederate forts and supported coastal army operations. The Civil War occurred during the early stages of the industrial revolution, leading to naval innovations, notably the ironclad warship . The Confederacy, recognizing
17381-579: The Western territories destined to become states. Initially Congress had admitted new states into the Union in pairs, one slave and one free . This had kept a sectional balance in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives , as free states outstripped slave states in numbers of eligible voters. Thus, at mid-19th century, the free-versus-slave status of the new territories was a critical issue, both for
17572-461: The academy began admitting and retaining openly gay cadets. By March 2012, cadets were forming a gay-straight alliance group called Spectrum. By March 2015, Spectrum had two faculty and 40 cadet members, a mixture of gay, straight, bi, and undecided. According to a Vanity Fair essay, the LGBT cadets were well accepted. After the ban on transgender service members was lifted in 2016, the Class of 2017 saw
17763-597: The academy each July, with about 1,000 cadets graduating. The academy's traditions have influenced other institutions because of its age and unique mission. It was the first American college to have an accredited civil engineering program and the first to have class rings , and its technical curriculum became a model for engineering schools. West Point's student body has a unique rank structure and lexicon. The academy fields 15 men's and nine women's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports teams. Cadets compete in one sport every fall, winter, and spring season at
17954-504: The academy if they receive the recommendation of the USMAPS Commandant and meet medical admission requirements. The West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) also offers scholarship support to people who are qualified but not selected. The scholarships usually cover around $ 7,000 to civilian universities; the students who receive these scholarships do so under the stipulation that they will be admitted to and attend West Point
18145-442: The academy on Reception Day or R-day, which marks the start of cadet basic training (CBT), known colloquially as Beast Barracks, or simply Beast. Most cadets consider Beast to be their most difficult time at the academy because of the transition from civilian to military life. Their second summer, cadets undergo cadet field training (CFT) at nearby Camp Buckner, where they train in more advanced field craft and military skills. During
18336-571: The academy's authorized strength increased to 1,960 cadets. As World War II engulfed Europe, Congress authorized an increase to 2,496 cadets in 1942 and began graduating classes early. The class of 1943 graduated six months early in January 1943, and the next four classes graduated after only three years. To accommodate this accelerated schedule, summer training was formally moved to a recently acquired piece of land southwest of main post. The site would later become Camp Buckner. The academy had its last serious brush with abolition or major reform during
18527-497: The academy. Founded as a school of engineering, for the first half of the 19th century, USMA produced graduates who gained recognition for engineering the bulk of the nation's initial railway lines, bridges, harbors and roads. The academy was the only engineering school in the country until the founding of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1824. It was so successful in its engineering curriculum that it significantly influenced every American engineering school founded prior to
18718-425: The admission of the first black cadet, James Webster Smith of South Carolina . Smith endured harsh treatment and was eventually dismissed for academic deficiency under controversial circumstances in 1874. As a result, Henry O. Flipper of Georgia became the first black graduate in 1877, graduating 50th in a class of 76. Two of the most notable graduates during this period were George Washington Goethals from
18909-540: The approval of New York Governor (and General) George Clinton or the other general officers. It was determined that a battery along the river to "annoy the shipping" was more appropriate, and Washington's chief engineer, Rufus Putnam , directed the construction of a major fortification on a hill 500 feet (150 m) above sea level that commanded the West Point plain. General Alexander McDougall named it Fort Putnam . The Great Hudson River Chain and high ground above
19100-554: The base-level classes and take advanced or accelerated courses earlier as freshmen or sophomores. Regardless of major, all cadets graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree. As all cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants upon graduation, military and leadership education is nested with academic instruction. Military training and discipline fall under the purview of the Office of the Commandant of Cadets. Entering freshmen, or fourth class cadets, are referred to as New Cadets, and enter
19291-404: The beginning of their second year. This core course of instruction consists of mathematics, information technology, chemistry, physics, engineering, history, physical geography, philosophy, leadership and general psychology, English composition and literature, foreign language, political science, international relations, economics, and constitutional law. Some advanced cadets may "validate" out of
19482-521: The blockade was the rise of oil as a prominent commodity. The declining whale oil industry took a blow as many old whaling ships were used in blockade efforts, such as the Stone Fleet , and Confederate raiders harassed Union whalers. Oil products, especially kerosene, began replacing whale oil in lamps, increasing oil's importance long before it became fuel for combustion engines. Although the Confederacy hoped Britain and France would join them against
19673-503: The board decides to consider." Currently the BOV is chaired by Representative John Shimkus and is composed of three Senators, five Representatives and six presidential appointees. Candidates must be between 17 and 23 years old (waivers have been accepted for 24-year olds in rare cases where the candidate is in the military and deployed and therefore unable to attend before their 24th birthday), unmarried, and with no legal obligation to support
19864-512: The class of 1880, and John J. Pershing from the class of 1886. Goethals gained prominence as the chief engineer of the Panama Canal , and Pershing would become famous for his exploits against the famed Pancho Villa in Mexico and later for leading American Forces during World War I. Besides the integration of southern-state and black cadets, the post-war academy also struggled with the issue of hazing . In its first 65 years, hazing
20055-508: The convention unanimously voted to secede and adopted a secession declaration . It argued for states' rights for slave owners but complained about states' rights in the North in the form of resistance to the federal Fugitive Slave Act, claiming that Northern states were not fulfilling their obligations to assist in the return of fugitive slaves. The "cotton states" of Mississippi , Florida , Alabama , Georgia , Louisiana , and Texas followed suit, seceding in January and February 1861. Among
20246-467: The core of the Academic Board. These officers are titled "Professors USMA" or PUSMA. The academy is also overseen by the Board of Visitors (BOV). The BOV is a panel of Senators, Congressional Representatives, and presidential appointees who "shall inquire into the morale and discipline, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, academic methods, and other matters relating to the academy that
20437-489: The country, bring the former Confederate states back into the United States, and grant civil rights to freed slaves. The war is one of the most extensively studied and written about episodes in U.S. history . It remains the subject of cultural and historiographical debate . Of continuing interest is the fading myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy . The war was among the first to use industrial warfare . Railroads,
20628-477: The crisis was Secretary of State William H. Seward , who had been Lincoln's rival for the Republican nomination . Embittered by his defeat, Seward agreed to support Lincoln's candidacy only after he was guaranteed the executive office then considered the second most powerful. In the early stages of Lincoln's presidency Seward held little regard for him, due to his perceived inexperience. Seward viewed himself as
20819-657: The de facto head of government, the " prime minister " behind the throne. Seward attempted to engage in unauthorized and indirect negotiations that failed. Lincoln was determined to hold all remaining Union-occupied forts in the Confederacy: Fort Monroe in Virginia, Fort Pickens , Fort Jefferson , and Fort Taylor in Florida, and Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on
21010-529: The desire of the Southern states to preserve the institution of slavery . Historians in the 21st century overwhelmingly agree on the centrality of slavery in the conflict. They disagree on which aspects (ideological, economic, political, or social) were most important, and on the North 's reasons for refusing to allow the Southern states to secede. The pseudo-historical Lost Cause ideology denies that slavery
21201-551: The disappearance of one of its citizens. Some of Villa's men were questioned at the time of his disappearance and afterwards, with contradictory accounts. U.S. Army chief of staff Hugh L. Scott contacted Pancho Villa's U.S. representative Felix A. Sommerfeld , and Sommerfeld investigated the disappearance. Bierce was said to have been last seen in the city of Chihuahua in January. Oral tradition in Sierra Mojada , Coahuila documented by priest James Lienert states that Bierce
21392-493: The ensuing guerrilla war engaged about 40,000 federal troops for much of the war. Congress admitted West Virginia to the Union on June 20, 1863. West Virginians provided about 20,000 soldiers to each side in the war. A Unionist secession attempt occurred in East Tennessee , but was suppressed by the Confederacy, which arrested over 3,000 men suspected of loyalty to the Union; they were held without trial. The Civil War
21583-486: The essential role of cotton in the European economy. The European aristocracy was "absolutely gleeful in pronouncing the American debacle as proof that the entire experiment in popular government had failed. European government leaders welcomed the fragmentation of the ascendant American Republic." However, a European public with liberal sensibilities remained, which the U.S. sought to appeal to by building connections with
21774-719: The establishment and funding of the school with the Military Peace Establishment Act of 1802 , which Jefferson signed on 16 March. The academy officially commenced operations on 4 July 1802. The academy graduated Joseph Gardner Swift , its first official graduate, in October 1802. He later returned as Superintendent from 1812 to 1814. In its tumultuous early years, the academy featured few standards for admission or length of study. Cadets ranged in age from 10 years to 37 years and attended between 6 months to 6 years. The impending War of 1812 caused
21965-506: The establishment of a military academy at West Point and introduced "A Bill for Establishing a Military Academy" in the House of Representatives. In 1801, shortly after his inauguration as president, Thomas Jefferson directed that plans be set in motion to establish at West Point the United States Military Academy. He selected Jonathan Williams to serve as its first superintendent. Congress formally authorized
22156-641: The expense of the sponsoring nation, with tuition assistance based on the GNP of their country. Of these foreign cadets the Code of Federal Regulations specifically permits one Filipino cadet designated by the President of the Philippines . The actual application process consists of two main requirements: candidates apply to USMA for admission and separately provide a nomination. The majority of candidates receive
22347-729: The faculty, while civilian professors make up the remaining 25%. A cadet's class rank, which determines their Army branch and assignment upon graduation, is calculated as a combination of academic performance (55%), military leadership performance (30%), and physical fitness and athletic performance (15%). The academy's teaching style forms part of the Thayer method, which was implemented by Sylvanus Thayer during his tour as Superintendent. This form of instruction emphasizes small classes with daily homework, and strives to make students actively responsible for their own learning by completing homework assignments prior to class and bringing
22538-512: The field training regimen and the Cadet Honor Committee was formed under his watch in 1922. MacArthur was a firm supporter of athletics at the academy, as he famously said "Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that, upon other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory." West Point was first officially accredited in 1925, and in 1933 began granting Bachelor of Science degrees to all graduates. In 1935,
22729-491: The first openly transgender graduate. However, she was denied a commission and was honorably discharged. Brig. Gen. Diana Holland became West Point's first woman Commandant of Cadets in January 2016. In 2020, the campus confronted its first major pandemic in a century, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing limitations on classes, and the relocation of the traditional Army-Navy football game to ensure social distancing . For
22920-677: The first tenured African American Professor. In 1979, Cadet, later General, Vincent K. Brooks became the first African American to lead the Corps of Cadets. Kristin Baker, ten years later, became the first female First Captain (a depiction of her is now on display in the Museum), the highest ranking senior cadet at the academy in 1989. Six other women have been appointed as First Captain: Grace H. Chung in 2003, Stephanie Hightower in 2005, Lindsey Danilack in 2013, Simone Askew in 2017, Reilly McGinnis in 2020, and Lauren Drysdale in 2022. Simone Askew
23111-543: The first time in many years, the 121st iteration of the game was held at West Point rather than the traditional Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia . Ultimately, West Point beat Navy 15–0. The academy is located approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City on the western bank of the Hudson River . West Point, New York , is incorporated as a federal military reservation in Orange County and
23302-545: The following year. Bierce was an avowed agnostic and strongly rejected the divinity of Christ . He had lifelong asthma , as well as complications from his war wounds, most notably episodes of fainting and irritability assignable to the traumatic brain injury experienced at Kennesaw Mountain. In October 1913 Bierce, then age 71, departed from Washington, D.C. for a tour of his old Civil War battlefields. According to some reports, by December he had passed through Louisiana and Texas, crossing by way of El Paso into Mexico, which
23493-412: The greatest satirist America has ever produced, and in this regard can take his place with such figures as Juvenal , Swift , and Voltaire . His war stories influenced Stephen Crane , Ernest Hemingway , and others, and he was considered an influential and feared literary critic. In recent decades, Bierce has gained wider respect as a fabulist and for his poetry. In 1913, Bierce told reporters that he
23684-583: The guidance for the development of all four classes. The class of 1990 was the first one to be issued a standard and mandatory computer to every member of the class at the beginning of Plebe year, the Zenith 248 SX . The academy was also an early adopter of the Internet in the mid-1990s, and was recognized in 2006 as one of the nation's "most wired" campuses. During the Gulf War , alumnus General Schwarzkopf
23875-439: The homefront economy could no longer supply. Surdam contends that the blockade was a powerful weapon that eventually ruined the Southern economy, costing few lives in combat. The Confederate cotton crop became nearly useless, cutting off the Confederacy's primary income source. Critical imports were scarce, and coastal trade largely ended as well. The blockade's success was not measured by the few ships that slipped through but by
24066-422: The honor and glory of war from people who'd never seen or experienced it personally. According to Milton Subotsky , Bierce helped pioneer the psychological horror story. In addition to his ghost and war stories, he also published several volumes of poetry. His Fantastic Fables anticipated the ironic style of grotesquerie that became a more common genre in the 20th century. One of Bierce's most famous works
24257-444: The influence of Maupassant , Bierce "dedicated himself to shocking the audience", as if his purpose was "to attack the reader's smug intellectual security". Bierce's bias towards Naturalism has also been noted: "The biting, deriding quality of his satire, unbalanced by any compassion for his targets, was often taken as petty meanness, showing contempt for humanity and an intolerance to the point of merciless cruelty". Stephen Crane
24448-571: The inscrutability of the universe and the absurdity of death . Bierce wrote realistically of the terrible things he had seen in the war in such stories as " An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ", " A Horseman in the Sky ", " One of the Missing ", and " Chickamauga ". His grimly realistic cycle of 25 war stories has been called "the greatest anti-war document in American literature". To the end of his life, nothing would so infuriate him as hearing accounts of
24639-554: The international press. By 1861, Union diplomats like Carl Schurz realized emphasizing the war against slavery was the Union's most effective moral asset in swaying European public opinion. Seward was concerned an overly radical case for reunification would distress European merchants with cotton interests; even so, he supported a widespread campaign of public diplomacy. U.S. minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams proved adept and convinced Britain not to challenge
24830-633: The intramural, club, or intercollegiate level. Its football team was a national power in the early and mid-20th century, winning three national championships. Among the country's public institutions, the academy is the top producer of Marshall and Rhodes scholars. Its alumni are collectively referred to as "The Long Gray Line," which include U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ulysses S. Grant ; Confederate President Jefferson Davis ; Confederate general Robert E. Lee ; American poet Edgar Allan Poe ; U.S. generals Douglas MacArthur and George Patton ; presidents of Costa Rica , Nicaragua , and
25021-593: The military academy "with distinction" and William T. Sherman also endorsed the application for admission, even though stating he had no personal acquaintance with Bierce. In June 1864, Bierce sustained a traumatic brain injury at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and spent the rest of the summer on furlough, returning to active duty in September. He was discharged from the army in January 1865. His military career resumed in mid-1866, when he joined General Hazen as part of an expedition to inspect military outposts across
25212-607: The movement to abolish slavery and its influence over the North. Southern states believed that the Fugitive Slave Clause made slaveholding a constitutional right. These states agreed to form a new federal government, the Confederate States of America , on February 4, 1861. They took control of federal forts and other properties within their boundaries, with little resistance from outgoing President James Buchanan , whose term ended on March 4. Buchanan said
25403-582: The narrow "S" curve in the river enabled the Continental Army to prevent the Royal Navy from sailing upriver and dividing Patriot forces in the Northern colonies from the south. While the fortifications at West Point were known as Fort Arnold during the war, as commander, Benedict Arnold committed his act of treason , attempting to turn the fort over to the British. After Arnold betrayed
25594-476: The need to counter the Union's naval superiority, built or converted over 130 vessels, including 26 ironclads. Despite these efforts, Confederate ships were largely unsuccessful against Union ironclads. The Union Navy used timberclads, tinclads, and armored gunboats. Shipyards in Cairo, Illinois, and St. Louis built or modified steamboats . The Confederacy experimented with the submarine CSS Hunley , which
25785-418: The new 31,000 square foot Malek West Point Visitors Center. It is being built on the location of the former visitor center. The Malek West Point Visitors Center is named after Frederic Malek, USMA Class of 1959 and a 2014 Distinguished Graduate. The West Point Museum is directly adjacent to the visitor center, in the renovated Olmsted Hall on the grounds of the former Ladycliff College . Originally opened to
25976-418: The new Confederacy sent delegates to Washington to negotiate a peace treaty. Lincoln rejected negotiations, because he claimed that the Confederacy was not a legitimate government and to make a treaty with it would recognize it as such. Lincoln instead attempted to negotiate directly with the governors of seceded states, whose administrations he continued to recognize. Complicating Lincoln's attempts to defuse
26167-828: The oldest private residences for the faculty, are built in the Federal , Georgian , or English Tudor styles. A few buildings, such as Cullum Hall and the Old Cadet Chapel , are built in the Neoclassical style. The academy grounds are home to numerous monuments and statues. The central cadet parade ground, the Plain , hosts the largest number, and includes the Washington Monument , Thayer Monument , Eisenhower Monument , MacArthur Monument , Kosciuszko Monument , and Sedgwick Monument . Patton Monument
26358-417: The ordinances of secession, those of Texas, Alabama, and Virginia mentioned the plight of the "slaveholding states" at the hands of Northern abolitionists. The rest made no mention of slavery but were brief announcements by the legislatures of the dissolution of ties to the Union. However, at least four—South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas —provided detailed reasons for their secession, all blaming
26549-570: The patriot cause, the Army changed the name of the fortifications at West Point, New York, to Fort Clinton , named after General James Clinton . With the peace after the American Revolutionary War, various ordnance and military stores were left deposited at West Point. "Cadets" underwent training in artillery and engineering studies at the garrison since 1794. During the Quasi-War , Alexander Hamilton laid out plans for
26740-407: The pattern of freshmen's systemic hazing. When MacArthur returned as superintendent, he made an effort to end the practice of hazing the incoming freshmen by placing Army sergeants in charge of training new cadets during freshman summer. The practice of hazing continued on some levels well into the late 20th century, but is no longer allowed in the present day. The demand for junior officers during
26931-469: The pseudonym "Dod Grile". Returning to the United States, he again took up residence in San Francisco. From 1879 to 1880, he traveled to Rockerville and Deadwood in the Dakota Territory , to try his hand as local manager for a New York mining company. When the company failed he returned to San Francisco and resumed his career in journalism. From January 1, 1881, until September 11, 1885, he
27122-536: The public in 1854, the West Point Museum is the oldest military museum in the country. During the summer months, the museum operates access to the Fort Putnam historic site on main post and access to the 282 acre Constitution Island . Some of the most notable items on display at the museum are George Washington 's pistols, Napoleon's sword, a dagger carried by Hermann Göring when he was captured,
27313-427: The run up to the Civil War were partisan politics , abolitionism , nullification versus secession , Southern and Northern nationalism, expansionism , economics , and modernization in the antebellum period . As a panel of historians emphasized in 2011, "while slavery and its various and multifaceted discontents were the primary cause of disunion, it was disunion itself that sparked the war." Abraham Lincoln won
27504-769: The size of the Corps expand to 4,400 cadets while the barracks and academic support structure grew proportionally. West Point was not immune to the social upheaval of American society during the Vietnam War . The first woman joined the faculty of the all-male institution amidst controversy in 1968. West Point granted its first honorable discharge in 1971 to an African-American West Point cadet, Cornelius M. Cooper, of California, who applied for conscientious objector status in 1969. The academy struggled to fill its incoming classes as its graduates led troops in Southeast Asia, where 333 graduates died. Following
27695-579: The southwestern corner of Missouri (see Missouri secession ). Early in the war the Confederacy controlled southern Missouri through the Confederate government of Missouri but was driven out after 1862. In the resulting vacuum, the convention on secession reconvened and took power as the Unionist provisional government of Missouri. Kentucky did not secede, it declared itself neutral. When Confederate forces entered in September 1861, neutrality ended and
27886-532: The stalwart island Fort Sumter. Anderson's actions catapulted him to hero status in the North. An attempt to resupply the fort on January 9, 1861, failed and nearly started the war then, but an informal truce held. On March 5, Lincoln was informed the fort was low on supplies. Fort Sumter proved a key challenge to Lincoln's administration. Back-channel dealing by Seward with the Confederates undermined Lincoln's decision-making; Seward wanted to pull out. But
28077-623: The start of the American Civil War , he enlisted in the Union Army 's 9th Indiana Infantry . He participated in the operations in Western Virginia (1861), was present at the Battle of Philippi (the first organized land action of the war) and received newspaper attention for his daring rescue, under fire, of a gravely wounded comrade at the Battle of Rich Mountain . Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862),
28268-446: The state reaffirmed its Union status while maintaining slavery. During an invasion by Confederate forces in 1861, Confederate sympathizers and delegates from 68 Kentucky counties organized the secession Russellville Convention, formed the shadow Confederate Government of Kentucky , inaugurated a governor, and Kentucky was admitted into the Confederacy on December 10, 1861. Its jurisdiction extended only as far as Confederate battle lines in
28459-463: The steam engine. With the outbreak of the Civil War, West Point graduates filled the general officer ranks of the rapidly expanding Union and Confederate armies. 294 graduates served as general officers for the Union, and 151 served as general officers for the Confederacy. Of all living graduates at the time of the war, 105 (10%) were killed, and another 151 (15%) were wounded. Nearly every general officer of note from either army during
28650-449: The story had been adapted as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents . Another version, directed by Brian James Egen, was released in 2005. It was also adapted for the CBS radio programs Escape (1947), Suspense (1956, 1957, 1959), and Radio Mystery Theater (1974). In his 1932 book Wild Talents , American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena Charles Fort wrote about
28841-468: The study of contemporary conflict and the evolving character of war. The Department of Physical Education (DPE) administers the physical program, which includes both physical education classes, physical fitness testing, and competitive athletics. The head of DPE holds the title of Master of the Sword, dating back to the 19th century when DPE taught swordsmanship as part of the curriculum. All cadets take
29032-457: The substitute provision to select which man should go into the army and which should stay home. There was much evasion and resistance to the draft, especially in Catholic areas. The New York City draft riots in July 1863 involved Irish immigrants who had been signed up as citizens to swell the vote of the city's Democratic political machine , not realizing it made them liable for the draft. Of
29223-435: The summer of 1918). In all, wartime contingencies and post-war adjustments resulted in ten classes, varying in length of study from two to four years, within a seven-year period before the regular course of study was fully resumed. Douglas MacArthur became superintendent in 1919, instituting sweeping reforms to the academic process, including introducing a greater emphasis on history and humanities . He made major changes to
29414-451: The thousands that never tried. European merchant ships could not get insurance and were too slow to evade the blockade, so they stopped calling at Confederate ports. To fight an offensive war, the Confederacy purchased arms in Britain and converted British-built ships into commerce raiders . The smuggling of 600,000 arms enabled the Confederacy to fight on for two more years, and the commerce raiders targeted U.S. Merchant Marine ships in
29605-402: The unexplained disappearances of Ambrose Bierce and Ambrose Small , and asked, "Was somebody collecting Ambroses?" Actor James Lanphier (1920–1969) played Bierce, with James Hampton as William Randolph Hearst , in the 1964 episode "The Paper Dynasty", of the syndicated western television series Death Valley Days , hosted by Stanley Andrews . In the story line, Hearst struggles to turn
29796-430: The war created jobs for arms makers, ironworkers, and ships to transport weapons. Lincoln's administration initially struggled to appeal to European public opinion. At first, diplomats explained that the U.S. was not committed to ending slavery and emphasized legal arguments about the unconstitutionality of secession. Confederate representatives, however, focused on their struggle for liberty, commitment to free trade, and
29987-478: The war due to multiple factors: severe food shortages, failing railroads, loss of control over key rivers, foraging by Northern armies, and the seizure of animals and crops by Confederate forces. Historians agree the blockade was a major factor in ruining the Confederate economy; however, Wise argues blockade runners provided enough of a lifeline to allow Lee to continue fighting for additional months, thanks to supplies like 400,000 rifles, lead, blankets, and boots that
30178-481: The war in 1945, Maxwell Taylor (class of 1922) became superintendent. He expanded and modernized the academic program and abolished antiquated courses in fencing and horsemanship. Unlike previous conflicts, the Korean War did not disrupt class graduation schedules. More than half of the Army leadership during the war was composed of West Point graduates. The Class of 1950, which graduated only two weeks prior to
30369-496: The war received battlefield promotions or awards for bravery. The school experienced a rapid modernization during the 1850s, often romanticized by the graduates who led both sides of the Civil War as the "end of the Old West Point era." New barracks brought better heat and gas lighting , while new ordnance and tactics training incorporated new rifle and musket technology and accommodated transportation advances created by
30560-467: The war's outbreak, suffered some of the heaviest casualties of any 20th century class and became known sourly as "the class the crosses fell on." A total of 157 alumni perished in the conflict. Garrison H. Davidson became superintendent in 1956 and instituted several reforms that included refining the admissions process, changing the core curriculum to include electives, and increasing the academic degree standards for academy instructors. The 1960s saw
30751-489: The war, when some members of Congress charged that even the accelerated curriculum allowed young men to "hide out" at West Point and avoid combat duty. A proposal was put forth to convert the academy to an officer's training school with a six-month schedule, but this was not adopted. West Point played a prominent role in WWII; four of the five five-star generals were alumni and nearly 500 graduates died. Immediately following
30942-603: The war. In December 1860, the Crittenden Compromise was proposed to re-establish the Missouri Compromise line, by constitutionally banning slavery in territories to the north of it, while permitting it to the south. The Compromise would likely have prevented secession, but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected it. Lincoln stated that any compromise that would extend slavery would bring down
31133-436: The winter of 1860–1861. Nationalists in the North and "Unionists" in the South refused to accept the declarations of secession. No foreign government ever recognized the Confederacy. The U.S. government, under President James Buchanan , refused to relinquish its forts that were in territory claimed by the Confederacy. According to Lincoln, the American people had shown they had been successful in establishing and administering
31324-423: The work to class to discuss collaboratively. The academic program consists of a structured core of thirty-one courses balanced between the arts and sciences. The academy operates on the semester system, which it labels as "terms" (Term 1 is the fall semester; Term 2 is the spring semester). Although cadets choose their majors in the spring of their freshmen year, all cadets take the same course of instruction until
31515-425: The world" within a few years. Some European observers at the time dismissed them as amateur and unprofessional, but historian John Keegan concluded that each outmatched the French, Prussian, and Russian armies, and without the Atlantic, could have threatened any of them with defeat. Unionism was strong in certain areas within the Confederacy. As many as 100,000 men living in states under Confederate control served in
31706-426: Was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union. The central conflict leading to war was a dispute over whether slavery should be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states , or be prohibited from doing so, which many believed would place slavery on
31897-440: Was a descendant of William Bradford . His parents were a poor but literary couple who instilled in him a deep love for books and writing. Bierce grew up in Kosciusko County , Indiana, attending high school at the county seat , Warsaw . He left home at 15 to become a printer's devil at a small abolitionist newspaper, the Northern Indianan . Bierce briefly attended the Kentucky Military Institute until it burned down. At
32088-453: Was awarded a major construction contract that set the predominantly neogothic architectural style still seen today. Most of the buildings of the central cadet area are in this style, as typified by the Cadet Chapel , completed in 1910. These buildings are nearly all constructed from granite that has a predominantly gray and black hue. The barracks that were built in the 1960s were designed to mimic this style. Other buildings on post, notably
32279-496: Was editor of The Wasp magazine, in which he began a column titled "Prattle". He also became one of the first regular columnists and editorialists on William Randolph Hearst 's newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner , eventually becoming one of the most prominent and influential writers and journalists on the West Coast . He remained associated with Hearst Newspapers until 1909. The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad companies had received large, low-interest loans from
32470-568: Was executed by firing squad in the town's cemetery. Bierce has been fictionalized in more than 50 novels, short stories, movies, television shows, stage plays, and comic books. Most of these works draw upon Bierce's vivid personality, colorful wit, relationships with famous people such as Jack London and William Randolph Hearst , or, quite frequently, his mysterious disappearance. Bierce has been portrayed by such well-known authors as Ray Bradbury , Jack Finney , Carlos Fuentes , Winston Groom , Robert Heinlein , and Don Swaim. Some works featuring
32661-447: Was first dedicated in front of the cadet library in 1950, but in 2004 it was placed in storage to make room for the construction of Jefferson Hall. With the completion of Jefferson Hall, Patton 's statue was relocated and unveiled at a temporary location on 15 May 2009, where it will remain until the completion of the renovation of the old cadet library and Bartlett Hall. There is also a statue commemorating brotherhood and friendship from
32852-408: Was high because many soldiers were more concerned about the fate of their local area than the Southern cause. In the North, " bounty jumpers " enlisted to collect the generous bonus, deserted, then re-enlisted under a different name for a second bonus; 141 were caught and executed. From a tiny frontier force in 1860, the Union and Confederate armies grew into the "largest and most efficient armies in
33043-510: Was in the throes of revolution . In Ciudad Juárez he joined Pancho Villa 's army as an observer, and in that role he witnessed the Battle of Tierra Blanca . It was reported that Bierce accompanied Villa's army as far as the city of Chihuahua . His last known communication with the world was a letter he wrote there to Blanche Partington , a close friend, dated December 26, 1913. After closing this letter by saying, "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination," he vanished without
33234-450: Was killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and ninety graduates have died during operations in Afghanistan , Iraq , and the ongoing Global War on Terror . The Class of 2005 has been referred to as The Class of 9/11 as the attacks occurred during their first year at the academy, and they graduated 911 students. In 2008 gender-neutral lyrics were incorporated into West Point's "Alma Mater" and "The Corps" – replacing lines like "The men of
33425-406: Was made in 1929 by Charles Vidor . A French version called La Rivière du Hibou , directed by Robert Enrico , was released in 1962; this black-and-white film faithfully recounts the original narrative using voiceover. It aired in 1964 on American television as one of the final episodes of the television series The Twilight Zone : " An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ". Prior to The Twilight Zone ,
33616-405: Was made of bullion lost from mints. He stated that it would be US policy "to collect the duties and imposts"; "there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere" that would justify an armed revolution. His speech closed with a plea for restoration of the bonds of union, famously calling on "the mystic chords of memory" binding the two regions. The Davis government of
33807-566: Was marked by intense and frequent battles. Over four years, 237 named battles were fought, along with many smaller actions, often characterized by their bitter intensity and high casualties. Historian John Keegan described it as "one of the most ferocious wars ever fought," where, in many cases, the only target was the enemy's soldiers. As the Confederate states organized, the U.S. Army numbered 16,000, while Northern governors began mobilizing their militias. The Confederate Congress authorized up to 100,000 troops in February. By May, Jefferson Davis
33998-449: Was not successful, and with the ironclad CSS Virginia , rebuilt from the sunken Union ship Merrimack . On March 8, 1862, Virginia inflicted significant damage on the Union's wooden fleet, but the next day, the first Union ironclad, USS Monitor , arrived to challenge it in the Chesapeake Bay . The resulting three-hour Battle of Hampton Roads was a draw, proving ironclads were effective warships. The Confederacy scuttled
34189-430: Was of the minority of Bierce's contemporaries who valued Bierce's experimental short stories. In his essay " Supernatural Horror in Literature ", H. P. Lovecraft characterized Bierce's fictional work as "grim and savage." Lovecraft goes on to say that nearly all of Bierce's stories are of the horror genre and some shine as great examples of weird fiction . Critic and novelist William Dean Howells said, "Mr. Bierce
34380-456: Was often controversial because of his penchant for biting social criticism and satire. On several occasions his columns stirred up a storm of hostile reaction, which created difficulties for Hearst. One of the most notable of these incidents occurred following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 when Hearst's opponents turned a poem Bierce had written about the assassination of Governor William Goebel of Kentucky in 1900 into
34571-460: Was pushing for another 100,000 soldiers for one year or the duration, and the U.S. Congress responded in kind. In the first year of the war, both sides had more volunteers than they could effectively train and equip. After the initial enthusiasm faded, relying on young men who came of age each year was not enough. Both sides enacted draft laws (conscription) to encourage or force volunteering, though relatively few were drafted. The Confederacy passed
34762-420: Was secrecy; the railroads' advocates hoped to get the bill through Congress without any public notice or hearings. When the angered Huntington confronted Bierce on the steps of the Capitol and told Bierce to name his price, Bierce's answer ended up in newspapers nationwide: "My price is one hundred thirty million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend,
34953-708: Was sworn in as president. In his inaugural address , he argued that the Constitution was a more perfect union than the earlier Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , was a binding contract, and called secession "legally void". He did not intend to invade Southern states, nor to end slavery where it existed, but he said he would use force to maintain possession of federal property, including forts, arsenals, mints, and customhouses that had been seized. The government would not try to recover post offices, and if resisted, mail delivery would end at state lines. Where conditions did not allow peaceful enforcement of federal law, US marshals and judges would be withdrawn. No mention
35144-491: Was the commander of Allied Forces, and the American senior generals in Iraq , Generals Petraeus , Odierno and Austin , and Afghanistan, retired General Stanley McChrystal and General David Rodriguez , are also alumni. Following the September 11 attacks , applications for admission to the academy increased dramatically, security on campus was increased, and the curriculum was revamped to include coursework on terrorism and military drills in civilian environments. One graduate
35335-413: Was the first African American woman to lead the Corps. In the 21st century, women comprise approximately 20% of entering new cadets. In 1985, cadets were formally authorized to declare an academic major; all previous graduates had been awarded a general bachelor of science degree. Five years later there was a major revision of the Fourth Class System , as the Cadet Leader Development System (CLDS) became
35526-566: Was the making of Bierce as a man and a writer... [he became] truly capable of transferring the bloody, headless bodies and boar-eaten corpses of the battlefield onto paper." Essayist Clifton Fadiman wrote, "Bierce was never a great writer. He has painful faults of vulgarity and cheapness of imagination. But ... his style, for one thing, will preserve him; and the purity of his misanthropy , too, will help to keep him alive." American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names )
35717-439: Was the principal cause of the secession, a view disproven by historical evidence, notably some of the seceding states' own secession documents . After leaving the Union, Mississippi issued a declaration stating, "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world." The principal political battle leading to Southern secession was over whether slavery would expand into
35908-525: Was too late. " King Cotton " was dead, as the South could export less than 10% of its cotton. The blockade shut down the ten Confederate seaports with railheads that moved almost all the cotton. By June 1861, warships were stationed off the principal Southern ports, and a year later nearly 300 ships were in service. The Confederates began the war short on military supplies, which the agrarian South could not produce. Northern arms manufacturers were restricted by an embargo, ending existing and future contracts with
36099-399: Was travelling to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution . He disappeared and was never seen again. Bierce was born in a log cabin at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio , on June 24, 1842, to Marcus Aurelius Bierce (1799–1876) and Laura Sherwood Bierce. He was of entirely English ancestry: all of his forebears came to North America between 1620 and 1640 as part of
36290-482: Was uncommon or non-existent beyond small pranks played upon the incoming freshmen, but took a harsher tone as Civil War veterans began to fill the incoming freshman classes. The upper class cadets saw it as their duty to "teach the plebes their manners." Hazing at the academy entered the national spotlight with the death of former cadet Oscar L. Booz on 3 December 1900. Congressional hearings, which included testimony by cadet Douglas MacArthur , investigated his death and
36481-404: Was very much inspired by the curriculum of the French École Polytechnique where he had been sent upon his demand for two years in order to study the scientific and technological achievements developed by the French Republican faction and bring them back to the United States. Known as the "Father of the Military Academy," he is honored with a monument on campus for the profound impact he had upon
#271728