New York Military Academy - Shrapnel Yearbook (Cornwall on Hudson, NY)

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I I . ilu 11111: 5 -fill fr The I-IISTCDRY of NEW ORK ILITARY ACADEMY 1889 - 1939 EW YORK MILITARY ACADEMY, as it stands today, is the distillation of the characters of all those who have passed through its doors, but its history falls naturally into four cycles-the regimes of its four superintendents: Colonel Charles Wright, Colonel Sebastian C. jones, General Milton F. Davis and Lieutenant Colonel Frank A. Pattillo. Of vastly different phil- osophies, each of them made important contributions to the school and its background. The founder, Colonel Charles jefferson Wright, had an unusual personality, in which the dreams of a visionary were combined with the energy and acumen of a businessman. He not only dreamed of opening his own military school but initiated the project and saw it successfully launched in September, 1889. Colonel Sebastian Chatham jones presided over the Academy from 1894 through the most critical period of its growth, and when he retired, after 28 years of service, he had guided it through more than half of its existence with a sure and steady hand. A worthy successor to Colonel jones in 1922 was General Milton F. Davis, distinguished soldier, administrator and explorer. Enjoying the confidence and admiration of both his students and associates, General Davis impressed the stamp of his own fine character upon the thousands of boys who were privileged to know him, and he kept the school in the advance guard of American education. Under his careful supervision it had grown to take its place among the most eminent training grounds for young men in America. And, from 1956 on, Colonel Frank A. Pattillo has ably faced the problems that educational directors the country over must deal with, in fitting young men for a world of rapidly shifting values and increasing complexities. In the three years he has already served, Colonel Pattillo has given ample proof that the future of the Academy rests safely in his hands. Coming out of New Hampshire, by way of the Civil War, Colonel Wright's ability brought him, in 1872, to the principalship of Peekskill Military Academy. There he stayed for almost seven- teen years, but toward the end of that time his active mind was chafing under the perfect routine which he had established. He sought greener fields for his boundless energies, and his eye fell upon Cornwall, twelve miles further north across the Hudson. Page Seven

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M360 lxll 'fig Once a popular summer resort for wealthy New York- ers, a steadily increasing influx of summer residents had awakened this hamlet from its rustic dreams and made it a scene of gaiety. Several large hotels, among them the Glen Ridge House, were erected to accommodate the visi- tors from the metropolis down the river. By 1885, however, improved transportation facilities had carried the bulk of summer vacationists further from New York, and Corn- wall had sunk back into the quiet of any small country town. One by one the hotels closed as the How of guests dwindled to a small stream and then dried up entirely. And it was upon the Glen Ridge House that Colonel Wright fastened his eye when he finally decided to open his own military school. Situated on an eminence just west of the town proper, the four-story building contained seventy rooms and was comparatively modern, having been erected about fifteen years before. It was surrounded by about thirty acres of parks and gardens, with the Hudson River to the east and Storm King Mountain to the south. The late spring and summer of 1889 were spent in renovating the building and conditioning the grounds. A corps of workmen, driven by Colonel Wright's unflagging energy, knocked down and erected partitions, cut new doors and plastered up others, installed blackboards and desks and laid out a parade ground. Meanwhile Colonel Wright was recruiting a faculty, and when New York Military Academy came into being in September, 1889, he had as direct assistants Major Belden F. Hyatt, Commandantg Frank H. Greene, Head- master, and Lieutenant Charles Braden, Instructor in Mil- itary Science. Seventy-live cadets, many of whom had followed Colonel Wright from Peekskill, were on hand for the opening of the new school. Their uniforms, reminiscent of the Union Army dress in the Civil War, consisted of dark blue blouse with turn-down collar and five brass buttons down the front, lighter blue trousers with a broad white stripe, forage cap for fatigue, and a dress uniform, prac- tically unchanged, except for the shako, to this day. Classes were organized and military drill begun at once. Colonel Wright had secured an issue of military equipment from the government with the result that the first corps had the use of 150 of the old Springfield army rifles and a pair of 3.2-inch muzzle-loading field pieces. In a letter written many years later, one of the very first cadets, H. A. C. deRubio, has left a personal record of the opening year: At 6 P.M. on September fifteenth 1889, occurred the first roll-call that ushered the N.Y.M.A. into being. Wardwell, Cadet Adjutant to be, clad in the first dress uniform ever made for the school, read the roll and the order appointing the first Cadet Officers. On the rostrum sat the founder and Superintendent, Col. Jefferson Wright, U.S.V., Maj. B. F. Hyatt, the Commandant, and Lieut. Charles Braden, U.S.A. retired, the tGovernment detail,' as he was then called. Lieutenant Braden had been saved from taking part in the annihilation of General Custer and the 7th Cav- alry by a wound received a few weeks before in the battle of the Little Big Horn. As a result he had been retired for physical disability, and was known as prob- ably the most successful coach of candidates for West Point in the country. His 'cramming' establishment occupied the present Bard Hall and his original nine candidates grew to some forty before' the end of the year. At First these students wore uniforms and were part of the cadet corps, but later, as their numbers grew and constantly changed, they became, in effect, a separate school. The first year was not entirely satisfactory: Major Hyatt left the school at Christmas and Colonel Wright could only visit it for a couple of days each week. The school's first band was the town band of Canter- bury and its leader was George Bayard, the school barber for many years. It wore a uniform fumished, I think, by the school, and it was always necessary to com- plete their wardrobe, especially in the matter of trousers, from that of the cadets when they accompanied us to New York for a Memorial Day parade or some such ceremonial. On the day of the parade the school rose at dawn and took train to town where it stood in the streets for two or three hours before the start, then not infrequently marching from Cortland Street to Forty-second and thence to the West Shore Ferry. Colonel Wright usually commanded the so-called Cadet Division at the tail of the parade, but it must be said that wherever he rode he was as distinguished and soldierly a figure as there was in it .... Sunday was a day of horror never to be forgotten. On the theory that if we had nothing to do we would get into mischief, the following schedule prevailed: Morning Prayers, Inspection of Quarters in full dress, marching to various churches in Cornwall and Canter- bury also in full dress. Second Mess, Bible Class, Sacred Singing fevery one doing his worstj, Evening Prayers. Third Mess, Inspection, letter home, study for Monday. As was the custom throughout the land, Friday after- noon was devoted to public speaking. Every honest man did his worst so as not to be caught for the commence- ment day exercises. This was easily accomplished by re- citing 'The Polish Boy,' 'Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight' or some similar tripe as rapidly as possible in an inaud- ible monotone and with appropriate gestures at the wrong place. The other five days were in general very happy ones. Drill was completely formal at Cornwall, as else- where in that remote decade. Much time was spent in learning Silent Manuals, for which bird shot was dropped in rifle barrels to make pieces ring when smartly handled. There was no rifle practice. Arms were kept in racks in the drill hall and were supposed to be cleaned by an armorer. Formal Guard Mount, Parades and Bat- talion drill occupied the drill hours, but such as they were these drills were well done. .1- There were extra-curricular activities, too, to occupy the immediate attention of the cadets. A football team was organized but did not engage in formal competition, and an intramural track meet was held in November with seven events contested. The first appearance of a New York Military Academy team in interscholastic competition was in the spring of 1890, when the baseball team encountered the Siglar School nine from Newburgh and emerged vic- tor, after a close game, by a score of 29 to 28. Page Eight