OCR Text |
Show LDosnGn a UDey4 Poinl ; ;Vi-V'' . ... . :" ,. ' f : : : s - - ' - 2 ' I x x x : v ' ' f ? ' J ) : ' ":, L. v . v. K . I '-v t;:: II - 1 J J ; vv- "-. t? (T 1 ' V- () F r 1 'y By ELMO SCOTT WATSON s , . ' .' - - s " ( ' ' - - XE Joos not usually think of the j' '.. " v VnittHi States Military academy at , '. , ', V , y ..'r- - w-.1T1J . '3 West Foint as other than a man's 'N ' J ; ' - -V.ii' s iTiii"."iSrL. ,. i-., . - -r By ELMO SCOTT WATSON X1- Joos uot usually think of the v Vnited States Military academy at West Point as other than a man's '' V, y - world, yet there have been several r1 v' women have haJ such a part JJcre la lts history as to make their ir.-p--''' nnn;es a part of the "West Point j jgi tradition." The first of these was Ll-'' w the woman known to fame as -Captain Molly." In the cemetery at West Point stands a monument monu-ment bearing a bronze tablet which shows In bas-relief a stalwart woman standing behind a annon. ramrod and port tire in hand, and below It Is this Inscription: "In Memory of Margaret Corbin. a Heroine of the Revolution known as "Captain Moilie.' 1T".1-1n. Who at the Rattle of Fort Washington, New fork, when her husband. hus-band. John Corbin. was killed, kept his field rlece in action until severely wo;::-...le 1 and thereafter there-after by net of cor.-ress received half the pay and allowance of 'A Soldier in the Service.' She lived, died and was b::r:el on the Hnin river-bank river-bank near the vi'la-te now called Highland Fails. In appreciation of her .! Is for the ca-:se of liberty and that her heroism n ay not be forgotten, forgot-ten, her dust was moved to this spot and the memorial erectei by the National Society of the Dau?hters of the American Revolution in New York State. IK-'.' Such Is the brief story which the tablet tells but there are other details worth recording. Cn-til Cn-til her death in she lived in a private home near West Point, supplies for her heir.; sent direct di-rect from the secretary of war. An interesting sidelight on that part of her career was revealed recently when Capt. Walter H. Wells, intellisenee and publicity officer at 'West Point, in digging through some of. the old files at the academy, came across the manuscript letters written by Maj. George Fleming, commander com-mander of the arsenal and ordnance and military mili-tary storekeeper nt West Point, to "The Honorable Hon-orable Maj. Gen. Knox. Secretary of War." On October 7. 1TC0. Fleming wrote to Knox: "I have sent another account of Mrs. Swim's for taking care of Captain Molly up to the 27th of September and have removed her to another place, as I thought she was not so well treated as she ought to be." On July S. 17S7, there was another letter which does not paint a very flattering portrait of the Revolutionary heroine. It said: "I have drawn three orders on you, for the maintainance of Captain Molly, in favor of Mr. Denniston: one Is from January 19 to April 12, the other from April 13 to July 5, 17SG. Inclusive, which accounts ac-counts were lodged In the war oflice last fall, and are Mrs. Swim's. The other 13 from September Septem-ber 23 to July 5. 17S6, inclusive, and will be delivered de-livered by Mr. Denniston for Mrs. Randall. As Molly is such a disagreeable object to take care of, and I promised to pay them every quarter, I have been obliged to borrow the money to pay the people; If It can possibly be replaced, I should be very glad." On April 21, 17S7, there was another letter with a curious touch of an eternal feminine problem prob-lem something to wear! On that date Fleming writes: "I am Informed by the woman that takes care of Captain Molly, that she Is much In want of Shifts. If you think proper to order three or four, I should be glad." Two months later, on Jane 12, he wrote again to Knox "If the Shifts which you informed me should be made for Captain Molly are done, I should be glad to have them Bent, as she complains much for want of them." Whether or not Captain Molly ever got her "Shifts" is unknown, for there is no further reference to the matter nor does her name again appear In the records after 17S9. In contrast to the militant spirit of "Captain Molly," both In war and In peace, was the spirit of another woman whose name is written high In the annals of West Point. She was Miss Susan Warner, the daughter of a New York city attorney, who upon retiring from practice In the metropolis made his home on Constitution Island In the Hudson river opposite West Point. He was accompanied there by his two daughters, daugh-ters, Anna and Susan, and every Sunday afternoon after-noon for years Miss Susan conducted a Bible class for the cadets at the military academy. Had she lived she would have found among the names of the general officers In the World war many who had attended her classes. A frail, small woman who still clung to the poke bonnet and the silk dress of the Civil war period, she was rowed across from her Island home and carried In a military conveyance to the hall set apart for her In one of the academic buildings. She came to be regarded as almost a part of the teaching corps of the Institution and on Uer ..' -- ., ,y;.;. V?- - . x - s 4 , V? v. ,- . .vfVl- : yy. . i U vViVi .- . . . v N -V : rr--"-.- ; , . i - - - f ,r-' ' . i v ,i I v" :',:.:y:. j .'.s h r ; . . h' ' m;1 . . : 1. Mrs. Louise Regan, maker of chevrons for West Point cadet uniforms for 50 years. 2. Letter to General Knox, secretary of war, from the military storekeeper at West Point referring re-ferring to an "Account for Mrs. Randall taking care of Captain Molly twenty-four weeks, being from June 7 to November 21, 1787, inclusive." 3. Miss Anna Warner, sister of Susan Warner, War-ner, author of "The Wide, Wide World" and Sunday school teacher for West Point cadets. 4. The monument to "Captain Molly" In the cemetery at West Point. 5. Inscription on the "Captain Molly" monument monu-ment telling of her heroism in a Revolutionary war battle. 6. Picture of Cadet Henry Moore Harrington framed In Indian beadwork. s s death she was buried with military honors beside be-side the cadet monument in the West Point cemetery. Her sister. Anna, following her wishes, save Constitution Island to the United States government, gov-ernment, and their home there Is preserved as a memorial. But Miss Susan's connection with West Point was not her only claim to fame. Under the pen name of Elizabeth Wetherell, she wrote two bonks, "The Wide. Wide World," published In 1S51, and "Queechy," published In 1S.12, which attained a wide popularity. Of "The Wide, Wide World" It has been said that "it was the most popular novel ever written by an American with the single exception of Mrs. Stowe's famous story, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' " It attracted as much attention In England as In America and it was translated Into French, German and Swedish. However, Miss Susan was Indifferent to this fame for It Is recorded that she "never liked" her book, "The Wide, Wide World." Perhaps she unconsciously anticipated the criticism that followed Its publication. A French critic marveled marv-eled at America's reception of a three-volume novel devoted "to the history of the moral progress prog-ress of a girl of thirteen." An American critic described It as having little story, not a semblance semb-lance of melodrama, and declared that Its success suc-cess was "purely artistic." It is one of the literary liter-ary traditions of New York that, after the readers read-ers for George P. Putnam had advised against It, he was persuaded by his mother, who read the manuscript, to publish it Long before Miss Susan became the Sunday school teacher for the cadets there was another woman who had an Important place in cadet life at the academy. She was Miss Blanche Berard, who was postmaster there for half a century. Appointed by President Polk in 1847. Miss Berard held her position there until 1897 and few of the cadets, perhaps, realized that back of her pleasant smile, as she passed out their mall to them, there was the bitter memory of a tragedy in her life. As a young girl Miss Berard was engaged to an officer attached to the academy. One afternoon this officer rode his spirited horse, of which he was very proud, to the post oflice to demonstrate its good points. But the horse became frightened suddenly and threw the officer oft, killing him. So the woman postmaster remained "Miss" Berard to the end of her days, true to the memory of her first and only love. But one big thrill came to her In her later life. While on leave of absence from her duties at West Point, which she spent In Europe, Eu-rope, Miss Berard had the honor of being presented pre-sented to Queen Victoria of England. It is an interesting coincidence that the pres ent postmaster at West Point Is a grnndnleee of Miss Hornrd and that there has nlso been tragedy trag-edy In her life. For she Is Miss Grace Alleen Harrington and she la the daughter of Lieut. Henry Moore Harrington of C troop of the Seventh Sev-enth cavalry who perished with Gen. George A. Custer nt the I'.attle of the Little I'.ig Horn on June 2. 1S7d. anil who was one of the three officers of-ficers whose bodies were never found, at least, not Identified after the battle. Not only Is the ignorance of her father's fate one of the tragic Incidents In the life of the woman who Is postmaster at West Point, where so many of Custer's ollicers were once cadets, but there Is another tragic memory which she has carried through lif' a memory of her mother, moth-er, who suddenly disappeared several years after the Custer battle. "Amnesia It would be called nowadays," Miss Harrington says, "but at that time If was ascribed to grief and the uncertainty uncertain-ty of what had happened to my father. Several times we heard from Indians that a lady dressed In black had been seen on the battlefield. Other reports came from Indian territory. We investigated investi-gated all these rumors and finally after two years we found her In Texas where a severe attack at-tack of pneumonia had served to bring back her memory so that she knew who she was. But she was never able to give any account of her wanderings while she was gone or why she was there." As Miss Harrington stands behind her desk In the post office amid, the busy turmoil of mall distribution for the 1. lY.il cadets at the academy and an equal number of officers and regular soldiers, sol-diers, she can look up to two pictures on the wall which serve as a link between the bloodstained blood-stained battlefield of the Little Big Horn In far-off far-off Montana and the peaceful hanks of the Hudson. Hud-son. One of them Is a picture of her father in the regimentals of the Seventh cavalry, the uniform uni-form which he wore on that fatal day In June more than half a century ago. The other Is a picture of Cadet Henry Moore Harrington. It Is enclosed in a frame made of beads and these beads were obtained by her mother from Indians in Dakota perhaps members of the very same tribe who overwhelmed Custer and Harrington and all the other gallant officers and troopers of the Old Seventh. Among the other West Point traditions Is one of perfection In attire and one of the requirements require-ments for that perfection Is perfectly aligned and perfectly sewn chevrons worn as the Insignia In-signia by the officers and non-commissioned officers of-ficers In the corps of cadets. Those ornate chevrons chev-rons of gold lace, black braid and broadcloth are very difficult to make, since they require great skill and experience in the making, but there Is a woman who has proved herself capable of the Job. For more than fifty years without a break Mrs. Louise Regan of Highland Falls, N. Y., has made every chevron, gold or gray, worn by the stralghtstanding West Pointers. She really started start-ed sewing them when she was ten years old but her uninterrupted service with the cadet store of the academy began when she was eighteen eight-een and since 1S79 all the corporals' stripes and Insignia from sergeants up to regimental commanders com-manders have come from her hands. She Is past seventy years of age now and she has made stripes .for many cadets who are generals in the army today. It is difficult, says Harris P. Scott, manager of the cadet store, to turn the straight-rolled gold lace into the curves necessary to make those long V's turned up without drawing or wrinkling the material. Five yards of gold lace are required to make a pair of chevrons for a regimental adjutant of the corps of cadets. There is also the background of broadcloth with the silk striping between the gold lace. This lace is of real gold and is imported from France. It Is all hand labor and the material must be worked in cool weather as hand perspiration deadens it. She works from January to June each year making chevrons for the cadet officers-to-be in June after graduation. Mrs. Regan is a widow and without children. She was born in Highland Falls, moving to Yonkers upon her marriage and then returned to her birthplace. The cadet store has sent her the work wherever she was. Her health is splendid and though the work Is hard on the eyes she hones to continue as the only maker of the splendid gold and gray and black chevrons chev-rons that grace the uniformed sleeve of the West Pointer. O by Western Newspaper Union.) |