SIR:—I am officially
informed that you have been appointed a State Cadet in this Institution, and I
hereby request that you will present yourself here in person between the 29th
and 31st of October prepared to be examined on the 1st day of November for
admission.
The qualifications for
admission are: Age from fifteen to twenty-one years, of good moral character,
free from any contagious or infectious disease; you should read the English language
fluently and well, write a plain and legible hand, and be able to perform with
facility and accuracy the operations of Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication,
Division, Vulgar and Decimal Fractions, Simple and Compound Proportion; and
indeed to understand all subjects embraced in the ordinary Books on Arithmetic.
That of Davies’ is adopted as our standard, and it would be well for you to
procure it and study it well. You will be examined on the foregoing subjects,
and will immediately enter on the regular course of study, beginning with
Davies’ Algebra (Bourdon,) Geometry (Legendre,) The French Grammar of Noel
& Chapsal, The English Grammar by Noble Butler, and the Latin Grammar by
Rudiman. If these Texts Books can be procured at home you will do well to get
them, and study them before coming here, as all such knowledge will be so much
gained, and will be of marked advantage to you in your class.
Bring with you a
good trunk, 7 good shirts, 4 pairs of drawers, 4 pairs of white drill pants, 7
pairs of cotton socks, 2 pairs of good stout shoes or boots, 2 pairs of white Berlin
gloves, 6 pocket handkerchiefs, 6 towels, clothes brush, hair brush, tooth
brush, comb, and 2 bags for soiled clothing, clothing well marked.
You will need here
as an outfit 1 chair $1.50, 1 mattress $4, 1 linen cover to wrap the bedding in
$1.15, 1 pair of leather straps $1, 2 pair of good blankets $8, 2 pair of
sheets $2.80, 2 pillowcases 60 cts., 1 feather pillow $2, 1 looking glass 75
cts., water bucket 30 cts., dipper 30 cts., candlestick and snuffers $1 and 1
uniform hat $8, in all say $32. These must be paid for in cash, unless brought
from home.
The state will
provide annually,
|
Board 10 months at
$12 |
$120.00 |
|
Washing 10 months at
$2 |
20.00 |
|
Medical attendance
and Medicines |
15.00 |
|
Rent of fixed Room
Furniture |
5.00 |
|
Uniform Clothing,
1 Cloth Suit |
25.00 |
|
Uniform Clothing,
1 suit of jeans |
17.00 |
|
Summer clothing |
20.00 |
|
2 pairs of shoes |
6.00 |
|
Straw hat and forage
cap |
5.50 |
|
Text Books and Stationery |
30.00 |
|
Wood |
12.00 |
|
Candles |
8.00 |
|
Absolutely
necessary expenses |
$283.50 |
The appropriation by
the Legislature for the two next years, amounts to $283 per annum for each
State Cadet, and the amount is distributed as above. It is probable you may
absolutely require more clothing, and also that you should have other minor
articles such as letter envelops, postage stamps, ferry money when you go to
church or for such like expenses and if possible you should deposit with the
Treasurer a small sum of money, say about $25, to be disbursed by order of the
Superintendent for your account. The articles enumerated as outfit should
last four years.
No Cadet will be
permitted to contract a debt without the written order of the Superintendent,
and parents are earnestly requested to recognize no such debts as the Merchants
here are well informed of this rule, and one of the chief objects of this
Institution is to establish habits of order, system and economy.
As soon as you are
examined and admitted you will be placed in a room with three or four other
Cadets, provided in all respects like yourself, a copy of our printed
regulations will be placed in your hands and you will he required to conform to
them with absolute strictness. Every departure even in the slightest degree
will be noticed, and will be marked with demerits according to its degree, and
should your number of demerits exceed one hundred in six months you will be
liable to dismission. In like manner any marked disobedience or disorderly
conduct calculated to impair the discipline or bring discredit on the
Institution will be followed by a summary dismission.
If however yon come
with an earnest desire to obtain a good education, you will find your
professors indulgent, patient and forbearing. Your success must depend entirely
on yourself, for your teacher can only guide you in the right path to honor and
fame.
This is peculiarly a
State Institution. The Regulations encourage the practice of true Religion and
Morality, and will aid you in the enjoyment of your religious duties, but there
are no Religious Ceremonies connected with the Institution itself, and none can
be compulsory. Ministers of the Gospel frequently visit it, in which event
Cadets are encouraged to attend, but when such is not the case, the Cadets are
permitted under proper restrictions to attend the Church of their choice in the
town of Alexandria, three miles distant.
The Cadets are
organized into companies and drilled, the first year as Soldiers, and in subsequent
years as Corporals, Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains and Field Officers. The
daily routine of duties and discipline will be the same or similar to that of
West Point, but our course of study will embrace more of the Classic Languages
and Literature than is usually taught in Military Schools, however, this is not
designed for professional Soldiers, but to train tip and prepare you for the
high duties of a good citizen.
If you come,
satisfied with this prospect, and are determined to reap the advantages thus
afforded you by a generous State, you will find your course, though laborious,
useful, honorable and pleasant, but if you paint to yourself a less honorable
course, you had better change your mind and save the expense of a journey
hither, and the cost of an outfit.
Iam, with respect,
SOURCE: Walter
L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 228-9
No comments:
Post a Comment