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West Point "Mutiny" of 1818 and Its Aftermath
West Point Mutiny of 1818 and Its Aftermath Author:Ward This is the story of five distinguished cadets: two were former Cadet Adjutants, one was a former Post Adjutant, three were former Cadet Colonels (a rank abolished earlier in 1818), two were Acting Assistant Professors of Mathematics, one was the senior Company Commander, and another had held that office. One had been a commissioned officer and ... more »combat veteran before entering West Point at the age of 16. Another was the grandson of the Lord Fairfax for whom George Washington had surveyed. Another was the orphaned son of an author of the Bill of Rights.
In 1818 when the Commandant, Captain John Bliss, who was wont to drag cadets out of formations, push them off railings, and throw stones at them. As had been the practice the Corps elected a committee to seek redress from the Superintendent, Sylvanus Thayer. The book follows the roller coaster adventure and ordeal of the five for the next year and more a time in which they found themselves facing the full power of the Army, the Secretary of War, the Cabinet, and the President. Their case was eventually considered at several cabinet meetings and an interim decision was rendered in the presidents own handwriting.
In the end these five young men won a victory for their fellow cadets but a Pyrrhic one at the cost of their nascent military careers.« less