Pierre G. T. Beauregard to William T. Sherman, October 27, 1860

 NEW ORLEANS, October 27, 1860.

DEAR COLONEL: I send you according to promise my two sons René and Henry, the latter being a state cadet from the Parish of St. Bernard.

René, I think, is now prepared to enter your third class, but should he not be so in mathematics I hope he will be permitted to enter that class in all his other studies for he is very well prepared in them. Should he be appointed assistant teacher of French I hope he will be excused from his own French recitations, so that he may devote as much time as practicable to his other branches of studies. I do not desire that he should study Greek, as I wish him to receive, more especially a commercial education. I hope he will be considered worthy of the appointment of sargeant major, which he is anxious to obtain.

With regard to Master Henry, I desire having him thoroughly prepared for West Point, especially in mathematics and drawing, he is to enter there in June, 1862, and I wish him to do honor to your institution and to his name; hence I have particularly to request that he should not learn Latin and Greek but devote that time to the study of mathematics, drawing, English, French and Spanish, which I know from experience will be as much as he can accomplish in eighteen months' application to his studies.

I hope he may be able to room with his brother, but should he not be able to do so, I hope he will be put with well-behaved and studious room-mates. I have to make the same request for his two cousins, young James Proctor and Charles Reggio—the latter is from the parish of Plaquemines—and I recommend them both also to your especial care as well as Master Clement Labarre of this city.

As I feel very solicitous about the health of my sons, I hope you will do me the favor to apprize me of the fact should they become seriously unwell, that I may come up or send for them and I sincerely hope that Mr. J. will do better with his department [the mess hall] than he has done heretofore as otherwise it may become a serious drawback to the success of your institution, for parents generally attach more importance to the health of children than to their intellectual developments.

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 298-9

Pierre G. T. Beauregard to William T. Sherman, July 10, 1860

NEW ORLEANS, July 10, 1860.

DEAR MAJOR: . . . I should like much to be able to accept your kind invitation to attend your examinations but my occupations and this intolerably hot weather will not permit me to do so. I have no doubt however that the result of these examinations will do credit to your institution and be satisfactory to yourself and assistants.

Not wishing to send money by mail and supposing you would, for a like reason, prefer a check, I send one herewith for $50 on the Bank of Louisiana, of which one half is for my son, less the amount due by him or for him and the other half for Mr. Reid's son for the purpose of bringing them home. Should young Proctor have need of any I will send him some, for his father and family have gone to the Virginia Springs for the summer, where he is to go to meet them.

I have just succeeded in getting off from the superintendency of West Point, where I was to have been ordered this summer. The thing is delayed for one or two years longer.¹

I am going to send you my youngest son Henry in October next to be prepared for West Point; he will stay with you two years nearly. I want him to do credit to himself and honor to your Academy. So you must have an eye on him. He has been appointed in René's place a state cadet from the Parish of St. Bernard. René will go back as an ordinary cadet. . .

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¹ Beauregard became superintendent of West Point for a short time in 1861.- ED.

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 242-3