Robert C. Richardson

“ It was only natural that the Army, weary of the long struggle for independence, should gladly welcome their release from service, and resume once again the peaceful pursuits of civil life. For seven long years their days had been filled with arduous marches through heat and through snow, with tedious vigils on outposts, or with bloody encounters with the British, and the great mass of the people joyfully hailed the piping times of peace, and without ado they turned their battle-axes into billhooks, and their helmets into beehives. ”

“ The monumental Riding Hall that rises out of the cliff of which it seems to form a part, first fixes the eye, but as one’s glance wanders a little higher it drinks in the towering pile of Post Headquarters; higher yet, the eye rests for a moment on the crenelated border of the roof of the Academic Building, and then, higher still, it pauses to contemplate the beauty of West Point’s crowning architectural achievement, the Cadet Chapel. For a moment the beholder seems withdrawn from the sordid material world, and filled with a multitude of noble impressions. ”

“ At any official function the guests usually crowd the fascinating old porch to watch the evolutions of the cadets upon the Plain opposite, or sometimes they indulgently stand on the front stone steps to pose for the breathlessly impatient movie men and photographers. The quarters are surrounded by beautiful, well-kept lawns and tall graceful elm trees.
A traveler may go far before he will behold so majestic a view as that of the Hudson River from Trophy Point and Battle Monument. For pure beauty it is unsurpassed. ”

“ After two months’ training in camp, the cadets return to barracks to begin their academic duties. At once, all nonsense ceases, and the new cadet is in no wise interfered with, even in fun. The routine changes completely and the day becomes fuller. Reveille is a half hour later, but the work increases and there are fewer leisure moments.
It is to the more serious and inexorable side of 150 his training that the cadet must now turn. Life in barracks is more sedate, more formal, more cold than the free existence of camp where he and his comrades were living close to Nature. ”

“ The thrill of the leap over the ditch and of the jump over the wall are sensations that he loves. Later on when he goes out to the cavalry drill ground for instruction in tactics, it is the gallop and the charge en masse that give a new meaning to the word “drill.” It is no longer a task but a pleasure.
His progress in handling his horse enables him to proceed to mounted pistol practice and to enjoy the privilege of riding on the road, and of polo. By the time that he has become a First Classman he is ready to devote his time not so much to equitation as to real Cavalry instruction. ”