Life of Wm Tecumseh Sherman .. . I am very glad ofit. I hope that our Army, Navy, and the MilitaryAcademy, may never be affected by the j>arty rancorwhich has for some time past, and does now, §o materiallyinjure other institutions. Again he wrote : I presumeyou have seen the register of cadets for the last year, andremarked that I still maintain a good standing in myclass ; and if it were not for that column of demerits itwould still be better, for they are combined with pro-ficiency in study to make out the standing in generalmerit. In fact, this year, as well as the last, in studiesalone
Life of Wm Tecumseh Sherman .. . I am very glad ofit. I hope that our Army, Navy, and the MilitaryAcademy, may never be affected by the j>arty rancorwhich has for some time past, and does now, §o materiallyinjure other institutions. Again he wrote : I presumeyou have seen the register of cadets for the last year, andremarked that I still maintain a good standing in myclass ; and if it were not for that column of demerits itwould still be better, for they are combined with pro-ficiency in study to make out the standing in generalmerit. In fact, this year, as well as the last, in studiesalone, I have been among the stars— meaning amongthe first five in the class. I fear I have a difficult partto act for the next three years, he wrote, as graduationday approached, because I am almost confident that yourfathers wishes and intentions will clash with my incli-nations. In the first place, I think he wishes me to striveand graduate in the Engineer Corps. This I cant to resign and become a civil engineer. . .. V/» i HIS STANDING IN HIS CLASS. 39 Whilst I propose and intend to go into tfie infantry, bestationed in the Far West, out of the reach of what istermed civilization, and there remain as long as possible. In June, 1840, he received his diploma. The class hadoriginally numbered more than one hundred, but hadbeen reduced to forty-three. In reviewing, from thepoint of view of maturer years, his life at West Point,General Sherman wrote : At the Academy I was notconsidered a good soldier, for at no time was I selected forany office, but remained a private throughout the wholefour years. Then, as now, neatness in dress and form,with a strict conformity to the rules, were the qualifi-cations required for office, and I suppose I was found notto excel in any of these. In studies I always held a re-spectable reputation with the professors, and generallyranked among the best, especially in drawing, chemistry,mathematics and natural philosophy. My average de-merits,
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Keywords: ., bookauthorj, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectgenerals
