“ They have made an Academy, where a certain number of young gentlemen are educated annually at the public expense, and to which there is, in consequence, a general rush, not so much from sentiments of patriotism, and a taste for military life, as from motives less worthy—the avenue, and the only avenue, to rank in your army.
I deny utterly the expediency and the right to educate at the public expense, any number of young men who, on the completion of their education, are not to form a portion of your military force, but to return to the walks of private life. ”

“ It must not, however, be supposed that the present state of things, though happily modified by the recent principle of competition, is the extreme limit of progress. In the name of liberty, I am too anxious that Great Britain should maintain her position in the world, to pay a full compliment to her self-esteem and enslumber her aspirations for reform. She has done much in these latter times; but there is still much to be done, and she is aware of it, to raise the moral power of her officers to the level of modern times, where enlightenment pervades every class of society. ”

“ As all its standing, all its honors, are won by competition, so should the original right to compete for them be won. I would give all the youth of the country a fair chance; and, more desirable than that, I would give the country a fair chance for all its youth. I would have the Academy filled up by those young men who, upon examination by competent judges, should be found most likely to render the best service to the country; to make the best officers; whose qualifications, physical, intellectual, and moral, whose tastes and habits, should seem to best fit them for military life. ”

“ It is the proud boast of England that in time of war she is “Ready, aye Ready,” but a much prouder and nobler cry for us would be, the prompt “Here” at the roll-call of our militia when summoned, like the minute men of the Revolution, to the defense of the country. We want no large standing army. In times of peace let our merchants, artisans, farmers, and mechanics, enrich and develop the resources of the country. It needs their industry and will amply repay their toil. ”

“ Believing that the best preparation for professional and official service of any kind, either of peace or war, is to be made in the thorough culture of all manly qualities, and that all special schools should rest on the basis, and rise naturally out of a general system of education for the whole community, we devoted our first efforts to the fullest exposition of the best principles and methods of elementary instruction, and to improvements in the organization, teaching, and discipline of schools, of different grades, but all designed to give a proportionate culture of all the faculties. ”

“ I differ entirely from those who are fond of disparaging the Military Academy. It has been of incalculable service to the country; it is the origin and the constant supply of that military science without which mere courage would be constantly foiled, and battles would be but Indian fights on a large scale. Not to speak of the Mexican war, throughout the whole of which West Point shone with conspicuous luster, it is safe to leave the vindication of the Academy to the gallant and able men who have illustrated the annals of the war that is now raging. ”

“ Many a manœuvre has ended without any accident, yet sometimes a hot-blooded cadet forgets the ramrod, and wounds a soldier from the hostile lines or a spectator, for the people mingle without fear among the combatants. Every Swiss is a soldier, and the crack of the guns is a congenial sound to him. The European diplomatists who met in Zurich in the Fall of 1860 for the settlement of the peace of Villafranca, were all present at the manœuvres, and undoubtedly depicted the cadet system to their respective governments in glowing colors, recommending the general adoption of the system. ”

“ In these emphatic words Colonel Portlock has struck at the root of most of the evil which has long been felt, and heretofore combated without success, in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. Whatever is wanting in the morale of that establishment, it owes to the original sin of its constitution. We know how to deal with boys so long as we recognize their boyhood, even while appealing to the point of honor among them. But we no sooner dress them up in uniform, and affect to treat them as soldiers, than we lose all moral control over them. ”

“ Living in the midst of a civil war like our own, when the preservation of constitutional liberty had summoned troops from the field, the shop, and the study, and placed men in command who had not been trained to the profession of arms, Milton directs or points out the value of studies, the mastery of whose general principles “may at some time or other save an army, and not let the healthy and stout bodies of young men rot away under them for want of this discipline, which is a great pity, and no less shame to the commander.” ”

“ It is certainly discouraging for a nation which has hitherto held, and which means to keep, the first place in the world as a naval Power to find that in systematic training Russia and Germany are dangerously surpassing us. No doubt in the raw material of a navy we can compete fearlessly with any country on the face of the earth; our sailors can not be matched for enterprise, resolution, and discipline, nor can our captains, in spite of some late disasters, be out-sailed or out-manœuvred by any who sail under foreign flags. ”

“ It is the most sacred duty of the whole Staff of the Academy, and in particular of the Chiefs and Professors, never to lose sight of its object; and while they devote themselves to extend the knowledge of the student Officers, to impress upon them, by teaching and example, the precepts of the purest morality, the true and exact performance of their professional duties, an unconditional obedience to their superiors, and an inviolable devotion to the throne and their country. ”

“ We are a peace-loving and domestic people, and we have indulged in the delusive fancy that peace was to shine over us forever, until rudely awakened from our dreams by a formidable attack at the very foundation of our nationality. Every family circle is represented in that mighty army which is battling for the Union, and we know that much of the suffering caused to our brothers by this new and unexpected calling, is due to the defects of their physical education, and to the want of a sufficient number of well trained officers. ”

“ Once set in the path of instruction and development, real genius will assert its own claims to attention, and will, on a first or second trial, before any board of examiners, make its vigor, courage, and persistence felt. The result will be the same in this institution, as in every really good Public High School and Free Academy—all classes as to wealth, occupation, religious and political affinities will be represented,—provided the regulations are judicious, and the examination practical and impartial. ”

“ If there were training-ships in every port of the United States for apprentices to the sea service, and the apprentices, after being taught the rudiments of an English education and all the seamanship that could be taught on board of a vessel in port, were sent on long sea voyages, the seamen of the country would soon become more elevated in character than they are at present, and ship-owners would realize the importance of cherishing and protecting a valuable class of our countrymen who are now left to the tender mercies of hard-hearted landlords, crimps, and runners. ”

“ But a great school should form the whole and not merely a part of the man; and as doing this, as strengthening the whole mind, instead of forcing on one or two of its faculties—as giving, in a word, what is justly called a liberal education—we are persuaded that the system of cultivating the taste for historical and other similar studies, as well as for mere science, is based on a sounder principle than that which has produced the brilliant results of the Polytechnic. ”

“ To this want of preparatory knowledge, maturity of mind, and taste for mathematical and military studies, do we attribute most of the difficulties of internal administration, and class-room instruction. So long as the cadet is a boy, or if full grown in body, a youth with only boyish tastes, and without scholarly and soldierly aspirations,—so long as not a few are in the Academy, not because they sought its privileges from an inward and irrepressible impulse to a military career, but for the eclat of a military position to be resigned when such position involves sacrifices ”

“ I find both officers and cadets thoroughly up to the requirements of the infantry soldier, perfect in carriage, most proficient in the use of arms, steady in marching and all company formations, and, in the manœuvres of the battalion, challenging an admiration worthy to be elicited by a veteran soldiery. Their ensemble is striking, and the effect of a thorough military training upon the young gentlemen of the University is largely manifested in their erect and graceful personal appearance and movements, apparent not only when upon duty but in their ordinary walks of every-day occupation ”

“ It is thus we would teach our public school boys when they reach a certain age, to act together as citizen soldiers and be prepared when called upon, to do yeomen service in the country; to make it their pride as well as their duty, to defend the Country and State which so liberally educates them, let us cultivate in them a lofty and noble patriotism, which shall have its effect upon future generations, for it is upon these qualities, their intelligence and enterprise, aided by physical strength and health, that the Future of our country depends. ”

“ All branches of human learning may be embraced in the proper schedule of university instruction; but has any university given equal attention to all branches of education? What are called colleges in our country, all aim at fitting young men for the civil professions—Law, Medicine, and Theology. They therefore make the classics the principal branch of study, and are right, since Law, Medicine, and Theology have their foundation deep laid in the classic ages. Literature also is a part of professional knowledge, necessary to adorn and illustrate the history and theory of professional science. ”

“ An experience of nearly fifteen years in military instruction, has convinced me, that any of our regiments of militia, in their present state of discipline, if brought into the field and placed under competent officers, could, by three weeks instruction, be prepared for discharging all the duties of regular troops. The instruction, then, in time of peace, of the officers, becomes an object of great importance;—that of the privates is of secondary consideration. There is no difficulty in making soldiers, when officers understand their duty, and are disposed to perform it. ”

“ Perhaps the general passion for science has led to an overstrained teaching for the army, even for its scientific corps; and yet would it be allowed by officers of the highest scientific ability, either in the French or the English army, that less science is required for the greatest emergencies of military than for those of civil engineering, or for the theory of projectiles than for working the department of saltpetre? ”

“ But the Swiss sharp-shooter festival means that in which the whole country unites, and it has existed now for many, many years, always fresher and more beautiful, representing not only the united citizens of the Swiss cantons, but of Switzerland as a political power.
Such a festival takes place every second year. Then, thirty thousand free, warlike men, the best marksmen from all parts of the land, the “élite” of Switzerland’s defenders, assemble with their rifles, which they handle with more skill than any other nation. ”

“ The principles of liberty are equally obnoxious to them, whether found in Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. If rendering mankind ignorant of the art of war, (as a science,) would prevent wars, then would I unite most cordially with those, usually termed peace-men, for the purpose of destroying every vestige of it. But such, I am confident, would not be the result. Wars amongst nations do not arise because they understand how to conduct them skillfully and on scientific principles; but are induced by the evil propensities and dispositions of mankind. ”

“ The least that should be demanded of any candidate is that amount of general culture and attainments, which constitutes a good English education, and which it is now the aim of the public schools, and their boast, to give without partiality, to all, poor and rich alike, if the advantages they proffer are properly improved. And we see no injustice in fixing the standard of general attainments and culture as high as that now reached by cadets in good standing at the close of their first year in this Academy, including even an elementary knowledge of one modern language. ”

“ At the command to fire a hundred muskets at once, but a single peal as of thunder is heard, and the smoke of the powder fills the air with the sweetest of savors. For a change we turn to the artillery. Though they do not possess any rifled cannon, they are nevertheless intent upon aiming their guns accurately, and the little self-possessed gunners who serve the pieces would prove dangerous adversaries to any foe. They mount and dismount a piece as quickly as any trained artillery-man, and where the ground offers great impediments, one can see the stronger boys carrying their own pieces. ”

“ Manhood, when it arrives, finds him bright, active, self-reliant and ready to become a public spirited member of society.
Let the necessity of military exercises be placed before the boy in a patriotic light and it will induce him not only to take greater care in the execution, but likewise implant a still greater love of country from the very knowledge that some day he may be of use to her,—of use to her in the pulpit, in the legislative forum, in the busy pursuits of industry and the various walks of life. ”

“ In collecting them at Annapolis for purposes of instruction, you will begin with the principle that a warrant in the navy, far from being an excuse for licentious freedom, is to be held a pledge for subordination, industry and regularity,—for sobriety, and assiduous attention to duty. Far from consenting that the tone of the discipline and morality, should be less than at the universities or colleges of our country, the President expects such supervision and management as shall make of them an exemplary body, of which the country may be proud. ”

“ Is not self-restraint, the regularity of habits, and the art of using the mind in intellectual pursuits, the most important elements of a moral education? It is to all these, and not merely the training and exercise of arms, that the eléves of the Academy owe so large a share of the health and strength of life. ”

“ But how should our naval officers know how to manage an iron-clad ship? They are taught nothing about the construction of these triumphs of modern science; they do not, as a rule, possess even the elementary knowledge which would enable them to commence the study of the subject.
Whether the unequaled advantages offered by Greenwich Hospital be turned to account or some more expensive method be adopted by a Government which pins its credit on economy, the necessity of providing for the education of naval officers can no longer be ignored. ”

“ If he attempt a description of the cities, he finds himself embarrassed for want of a knowledge of fortification. If he attempt an investigation of the principles and organization of their institutions, or of their governments, he finds the military so interwoven with them all, that they can not be thoroughly understood without it. In fine, he will return with far less information, than with the aid of a military education he might have derived. ”