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Show )omGn at We A Poini N TjTjTTTnTn H By ELMO SCOTT WATSON . ff F rJ. United Stites Military academy at Wwto,V w' - (Alf n 8 nest Point as other than a man's . VJ ILyY norl(i' yet tnere have been several v ; , Vt s Jfifl I) rTa hWl haTO hf a ,?3lt :i e vB&f ; ent Postmaster at West Point Is a grandnlece of M in Its history as to make their m f , 4 Miss Berard and that there has also been trag- J tradltlon Thf first of toese - u A is JJS Harrington and she Is the daughter of Lieut. IA the woman known to fame as - i) ,f Henry Moore Harrington of C troop of the Sev- I 'Captain Molly" , A fv S' enth cavalry who perished with Gen George A. stie cemetery at -Rest Point stands a monu ", vf ' v Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn on taring a bronze tablet which shows in xN ' A f?T I 't ' June 25, 1876, and who was one of the three of- ilef a stalwart woman stinding behind a . fM -hsP&e "sas fleers whose bodies were never found, at least, A nmrod and portfire in hand, and below ! f ltfe'ifMTff fl not identified after the battle tlis inscription "In Memory of Margaret s T$P 1 Not onlv Is the ignorance of her father's fate t a Heroine of the Revolution known as J 1 one of the traSic incidents in the life of the in Jlolhe ' 1751 1S00 Who at the Battle 'AJ''' ' t woman who is postmaster at West Point, where it Washington, Jsew York, when her hus g , Jf?- .&m so macy of Custer's officers were once cadets, John Corbin was killed, kept his field I ft H 1 v'twi'l I $ but tnere is another tragic memory which she b action until severely wounded and there- Ef'!4 fr' I "V J-1I has carried through life a memory of her moth- by act of congress received half the pay fi;,,mtmiHii f-y-"f -fli tm':;tyi er, who suddenly disappeared several years after Iwance of 'A Soldier In the Service-' She kp-pe G ) the Custer battle. "Amnesia it would be called iiei and was buried on the Hudson river- nowadays," Miss Harrington says, "but at that 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. $ $ I Ey ELMO SCOTT WATSON does not usually think of the r . United States Military academy at s VI West Point as other than a man's iL7 worl(i' yet tnere have been several tW)ii women who have had such a part fc 7 in Its alstory as t0 make their :f,w names a part of the "West Point J tradition." The first of these was .." the woman known to fame as . f "Captain Molly." J the cemetery at 'Rest Point stands a monu-I monu-I taring a bronze tablet which shows In kef a stalwart woman standing behind a A. ramrod and portfire in hand, and below pis Inscription : "In Memory of Margaret t Heroine of the Revolution known as ?M JlolUe,' 1751-1800. Who at the Battle it Washington, New York, when her hus-, hus-, John Corbin, was killed, kept his field abaction until severely wounded and there-r there-r ty act of congress received half the pay ,.. iwance of 'A Soldier In the Service ' She iiei and was buried on the Hudson river-ar river-ar the village now called Highland Falls, ireciation of her deeds for the cause of ; i iid that her heroism may not be forgot-Must forgot-Must was moved to this spot and the !il erected by the National Society of the j te of the American Revolution In New f State, 1926." i is the brief story which the tablet tells . e are other details worth recording. Un- ' death In 1800 she lived In a private home :' fest Point, supplies for her being sent di-f di-f tan the secretary of war. interesting sidelight on that part of her ' "as revealed recently when Capt. Walter ells, Intelligence and publicity officer at "tot, In digging through some of the old I tie academy, came across the manuscript ;9 WI"itten by Maj. George Fleming, com-fft com-fft of the arsenal and ordnance and mlli-jjXorekeeper mlli-jjXorekeeper at West Point, to "The Hon- Ii H Gen. Knox, Secretary of War." October 7, 1786, Fleming wrote to Knox : e SMt another account of Mrs. Swim's for care of Captain Molly up to the 27th Wember and have removed her to another i I thought she was not so well treated f ought to be." ilj 8, 1787, there was another letter which ;W paint a very flattering portrait of the rranary heroine. It said: "I have drawn i s on you, for the maintalnance of JMly, In favor of Mr. Denniston ; one b January 19 to April 12, the other from " to July 5, 1786, inclusive, which ac-, ac-, w.ere lodsed In the war office last fall, rs. Swim's. The other Is from Septem-,f Septem-,f July 5, 1786, Inclusive, and will be de-"l! de-"l! Dennlston for Mrs. Randall. As ,1 8 such a disagreeable object to take care f 1 Promised to pay them every quarter, teoDi bl'ged t0 borrow the money to pay r"6; if it can possibly be replaced, I f k vy glad." Icifi' 21, 1787' tllere was anther letter JWtM8 t0UCh 0f an eternal feminine prob-e-tlilng to wear! On that date Fleming k f ar lnforme1 by the woman that takes lifts if MIly' that she 13 much ln want 1 j you tlllnk proper to order three or p oma be glad." Two months later, on . e wrote again to Knox "If the Shifts fin Von rmed me sll0uld be made for (sent dne' 1 should be Slad to have i" WtiPti3 Sl'6 comP,alns much for want of Shifts" i r r not Pta'11 MoIy ever Eot fence t s ""known, for there Is no further St i e natter nor does her name again j Je records after 17S9. i contrast tn n both i mutant spirit of "Captain ""flier WD War anc5 ln Peace. was the spirit ht annaim!ln Whose name ls written hiSn in ttam f West Point- She was Miss attorn n' !'16 dauSllter of a New York le Hetron i- UPn retlrine from Practice id in the iT,made his home on Constitution 6 as ann river opposite West Point. ' Ana anrtTnIe,i there by llls two daush" I for vear -San' an1 every Slmday ner-s ner-s tor the 3 Susan conducted a Bible she vefl CndetS at the military academy. s of the W0Uld have f0l,Ild amonS the ffl'o naif0611 racers ln the World war II foman ,hattended her classes. A frail, lhe silk dr stIU clung to the poke bonnet rowed acr 3 f the Clvil war Perlod' she lH ln a miltS fl'm ber lsland home and for her in conve5'ance to the hall set lecame i , one of the academic buildings. Caching cor rearded as almost a part of ps f the institution and on her ent postmaster at West Point Is a grandnlece of Miss Berard and that there has also been tragedy trag-edy ln her life. For she is Miss Grace Alleen Harrington and she Is the daughter of Lieut. Henry Moore Harrington of C troop of the Seventh Sev-enth cavalry who perished with Gen. George A. Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876, and who was one of the three officers of-ficers whose bodies were never found, at least, not Identified after the battle-Not 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 officers were once cadets, but there is another tragic memory which she has carried through life 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 It 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 ln 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 1,260 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 ln far-off far-off Montana and the peaceful banks 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 ls 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 ls one of perfection ln 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 ln 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 straightstandlng 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 1879 all the corporals' stripes and Insignia from sergeants up to regimental commanders com-manders have come from her hands. She ls 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 ls 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 ln Highland Falls, moving to Yonkers upon her marriage and then returned to her birthplace. The cadet store has sent j her the work wherever she was. Her health is splendid and though the work is hard on the j eves she hopes to continue as the only maker j of the splendid gold and gray and black ehev- : rons that grace the uniformed sleeve of the j West Pointer. i (I by Wef.OT Newspaper L'Elon.) j death she was buried with military honors beside be-side the cadet monument In the West Point cemetery. Her sister, Anna, following her wishes, gave 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 books, "The Wide, Wide World," published In 1851, and "Queechy," published ln 1852, 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 ln 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 ls 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 M.ss Blanche Berard, who was postmaster there for half a century. Appointed by President Polk in 1S47 Miss Berard held her position there until 1S9 and few of the cadets, perhaps, realized tha back or her pleasant smile, as she passed out S mail 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 Sted horse, of which he was very proud, to H DC-st office to demonstrate its good points Rut tie horse became frightened suddenly and Si Ule'officer o TTd only6 love But one big gHJ can,, toln !16r Harl at W st Point which she spent in Eu-ne Eu-ne Sss Be Lrd had the honor of being pre- Pt'J to Queen Victoria of England. S6I t ,s an ?nte resting coincidence that the pres- |