Celebrate! - WINTER 2019 - A Publication of the West Point Association of Graduates
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WINTER 2019
Celebrate!
ST POINT
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A Publication of the West Point Association of Graduates
FRIENDS AND FAMILY PROGRAM
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thank
you!
Throughout the year, you may be asked to contribute to the following funds, each of
which supports the Academy and WPAOG in important ways. Please accept our deepest
gratitude for your support.
Superintendent’s and West Point Army A Club
Parents Fund unrestricted funds for intercollegiate athletics
unrestricted funds for cadets and the Academy Class Gift Funds
recognized in the Superintendent’s Circle for restricted by classes in reunion campaigns
annual gifts of $1,000 or more
Other Restricted Funds
Long Gray Line restricted for specific programs
unrestricted funds for WPAOG alumni programs
recognized in the Chairman’s Circle for
annual gifts of $1,000 or more
We look forward to seeing our Superintendent’s Circle and Chairman’s Circle
members at Donor Tribute Day on May 2, 2019.
SECTION : TITLE FROM THE PRESIDENT
VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1 • WINTER 2019
Dear Fellow Graduates:
The mission of West Point magazine is to tell the The holidays may be over, but the celebration is just starting for the West Point
West Point story and strengthen the grip of the Association of Graduates. It is going to be an especially joyous 2019 for the
Long Gray Line. Association and for members of the Long Gray Line as we honor the past and look to
the future while commemorating 150 years of support for West Point and the
PUBLISHER “fraternal fellowship” of its graduates. Part of this anniversary involves the
West Point Association of Graduates magazine you are reading right now.
Todd A. Browne ’85, President & CEO
EDITOR IN CHIEF All year long, West Point magazine will highlight the history, achievements and
Elizabeth A. Barrett people of your Association, starting with the first meeting at the College of the City
editor@wpaog.org of New York in the office of its president, Dr. Horace Webster, Class of 1818, on May
ASSOCIATE EDITOR 22, 1869. We hope you’ll join us in wishing WPAOG “Happy Birthday” via our virtual
Keith J. Hamel toast on the sesquicentennial of that date. In addition, there will be a trove of
EDITORIAL ADVISORY GROUP WPAOG-related “On This Day” facts posted on our 150th website pages and shared
Kim McDermott ’87 Terence Sinkfield ’99 via our social media channels. We will have 150th-themed merchandise available
Patrick Ortland ’82 Samantha Soper through the WPAOG Gift Shop, and we will be saluting the 150th anniversary of
ADVERTISING WPAOG at every major event in 2019, including Founders Day, Leaders Conference
Jess Scheuler and Army-Navy festivities.
845.446.1577 | ads@wpaog.org
ADDRESS UPDATES
Speaking of Army-Navy, congratulations to head coach Jeff Monken and the Army
Tammy Talmadge West Point Football Team for another victory over the Midshipmen on December 8,
West Point Association of Graduates 2018. For the third year in a row, we sang second, and for the second year in a
698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607 row, we won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. Given all the grads I saw in
845.446.1642 | address@wpaog.org
Philadelphia, I am confident that the Long Gray Line had a hand in the
MEMORIAL ARTICLE MANAGER game’s outcome. Are there any fans better than those who cheer for the Brave Old
Marilee Meyer Army Team? I doubt it. You proved it again when we beat the Houston Cougars
845.446.1545 | memorials@wpaog.org
on December 22, 2018 in the Armed Forces Bowl, our third bowl victory in as
CONTENT many years.
Anthony DiNoto Kim McDermott ’87
Keith Hamel Guest Contributors Competing in a bowl game is becoming a regular part of the West Point calendar, as
DESIGN much as the annual Nininger and Thayer awards, both of which are covered in this
Marguerite Smith issue. Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Myer ’01 received the 2018 Nininger Award for
Valor at Arms for his role in the 2008 Battle of Wanat, and Secretary Leon Panetta
Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do received the 2018 Sylvanus Thayer Award. We applaud and congratulate both for
not necessarily reflect the opinions, policy, or attitude of the U.S.
Army, United States Military Academy, West Point Association of
their service to the nation.
Graduates, its officers, or the editorial staff. The appearance of
advertisements in this publication does not necessarily constitute an As we begin our sesquicentennial year, there are two new initiatives we have
endorsement by the U.S. Army, United States Military Academy, West recently launched. The first is WPAOG’s enhanced Career Services Program: please
Point Association of Graduates, its officers, or the editorial staff for see pages 28-29 for more details. As graduates heard during the 2018 Alumni
the products or services advertised.
Leaders Conference, we are also offering a new web-based service platform free of
charge to West Point Societies. Called “SALLYPORT,” this program will enable
POSTMASTER Societies to leverage technology to manage memberships, communications, and
West Point is published quarterly in Winter, Spring, Summer and
Fall by the West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road,
events in order to increase participation, facilitate networking within the
West Point, NY 10996-1607. community, and more. One hundred and fifty years later, your Association of
West Point is printed by Sheridan NH. Graduates is still finding new ways to promote “fraternal fellowship” between
members of the Long Gray Line, working to realize our vision to be the most highly
connected alumni body in the world.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscriptions may be ordered for $35 (domestic mail) online at
WestPointAOG.org; by calling 800.BE.A.GRAD; or by sending Serving West Point and the Long Gray Line,
a check to WPAOG, West Point magazine, 698 Mills Road,
West Point, NY 10996-1607. (International shipping incurs Todd ST POINT
additional fees: please inquire.) WE
Todd A. Browne ’85
ON THE COVER: Founded in 1869, the West Point Association of President and CEO
T ES
AS S O
Graduates proudly celebrates its 150th Anniversary in 2019. West Point Association of Graduates
UA
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Image: Lee Ross ’73 D
I O N OF G R A
2 WestPointAOG.org
IN THIS ISSUE | WPAOG 150TH ANNIVERSARY
5 Celebrate with Us!
Throughout 2019, WPAOG will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary. Here’s how you can
be a part of the celebration!
6 COVER STORY | Happy Sesquicentennial!
Celebrating 150 Years of the West Point DEPARTMENTS
Association of Graduates: Part I (1869-1900) 2 From the President
On May 22, 2019, the West Point Association of
Graduates will turn 150 years old. All 2019 issues 4 From the Superintendent
of West Point magazine will celebrate this milestone 30 Poster: Army Football Spirit
by highlighting WPAOG history. Join us in celebrating
42 Gripping Hands
one of America’s oldest alumni associations, which
continues to proudly serve West Point and the Long 48 WPAOG News
Gray Line. 52 West Point Bookshelf
ADVERTISERS
Academy Leadership
Army Residence Community
43
27
12
Meet the Founders
54 Parents Corner
55 Mailbox
Balfour
Battle Monument Partners
47
57
14
Inside Cullum Hall: A Gift that Transformed 56 Start the Days
Century 21 C2 West Point and the Association of Graduates
Eisenhower Hall 57
58 Be Thou at Peace
Herff Jones
Indian River Colony Club
27
37
16
Who is George W. Cullum (1833)? 59 Past in Review
Graduate, Instructor, Superintendent, founding
Knollwood Officer Retirement Community 43
SACC 56
Alumni Association member. Learn more about
USAA 17, C3 West Point’s first significant alumni donor, who left a bequest for a landmark that forever
changed the landscape of West Point and the fellowship of the Long Gray Line.
18 WPAOG Staff and Services: Class Services, Reunions and Special Events
20 “Earn the Moment”: The 2018 Nininger Award Recipient Addresses
the Corps
22 “ An American Patriot”: The Honorable Leon E. Panetta Receives the
2018 Thayer Award
24 .S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Visits West Point for
U
Zengerle Family Lecture
28 Grads Spoke, We Listened: WPAOG’s New Enhanced Career Services
32 Three-Peat! Army Beats Navy 17-10
36 Army Wins Armed Forces Bowl 70-14
38 Inspiring Innovation and Collaboration: USMA’s New Cyber &
Engineering Academic Center (CEAC)
44 Army West Point Men’s Soccer: Winning the Moments
51 Branch Night: Class of 1969 Gives “First Brass” to USMA 2019
From Your West Point Send your thoughts about West Point magazine to editor@wpaog.org or @WPAOG on
Association of Graduates Twitter. View the online version of this magazine at WestPointAOG.org/wpmag
FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
“I’ve enjoyed meeting and speaking with many of you over the past few months,
whether here at West Point for your class reunions or throughout the country at
various events.”
To the Long Gray Line: 1. Develop Leaders of Character who pursue excellence
in every pillar: This is an enduring priority and at the core
I’ve enjoyed meeting and of everything we do here—building those future second
speaking with many of lieutenants who are prepared for the crucible of ground
you over the past few combat. As General Milley told last year’s graduating class:
months, whether here at “You didn’t come here to play ping-pong...you came here to
West Point for your class learn how to fight.”
reunions or throughout
2. Build the team: Key to readiness—whether it’s our
the country at various
readiness at West Point to execute our mission or the
events. I have appreciated
readiness of the operational force—is building an effective
your many words of support
team that leverages and maximizes the diversity, talent and
and encouragement to me
experience of every member of the team. We will continue
personally, but, more
to attract, recruit and retain the best talent for the Corps, as
importantly, I appreciate
well as the best talent for our staff and faculty who will
your support and passion for your alma mater and our
educate, train and inspire our cadets.
mission to develop leaders of character. As I stated in my
initial letter to you, leader development is a team sport and 3. Pursue installation modernization, force protection
all of you are shareholders in that process. and energy resilience: Developing leaders for the future
force requires modern, high-quality and energy-efficient
Our senior national defense leadership has placed a major
facilities, utilities and information technology. Working
emphasis on readiness, ensuring America’s military is ready
with the Army’s senior leadership, we continue our efforts
and prepared to deploy, fight and win across the whole
to upgrade cadet barracks and our IT infrastructure, while
spectrum of conflict. That emphasis is echoed by our
preparing for future projects, such as the academic
Army’s senior leaders in their Army Vision, to ensure that
building upgrade program, the new Cyber and Engineering
the Army’s Total Force is ready to deploy, fight and win in
Academic Center and the modernization of Camp Buckner
the crucible of ground combat.
and other military training areas. Additionally, we will
At the Association of the United States Army’s annual pursue every effort to ensure a safe and secure installation
meeting this past October, General Milley, the 39th Chief of for the Corps of Cadets and all who live and work here.
Staff of the Army, reiterated the importance of readiness
4. Strengthen partnerships: We will increase our
and preparedness, stating that, as much as we’d like to
connection with the operational force and, through our
think otherwise, war is not going away from the human
world-class civilian and military faculty and our research
experience. He said:
centers, leverage our intellectual capacity and innovation
“The only thing more expensive than preventing a war is to support the Army’s efforts to modernize for the future
actually fighting a war. And the only thing more expensive fight. Additionally, we will seek opportunities to increase
than fighting a war is losing a war. War is a very unforgiving our strategic engagement with our allies and partners.
act to those not prepared. The faint clouds of a coming
5. Enhance a culture of dignity and respect: We will
storm are visible on the horizon, and our first duty to our
continue to maintain an environment where everyone is
soldiers and our nation is readiness. Readiness today and
valued, respected and contributes to the team, while
readiness tomorrow to prepare for that storm.”
feeling secure, both emotionally and physically.
Our job here at West Point, therefore, is to support the
Of course, none of this is possible without your support,
Army’s current and future readiness by developing the
and I truly appreciate all you do for this Academy. Together,
smart, thoughtful and innovative leaders of character
we will continue to develop leaders of character who will
who are ready to lead in the crucible of ground combat
live honorably, lead honorably and demonstrate excellence,
and who know what it takes to fight and win where and
and who are ready to fight and win, anywhere, anytime.
when required.
To that end, we are focusing on these priorities of effort this Darryl Williams ’83
academic year: Lieutenant General, U.S. Army
60th Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy
4 WestPointAOG.org
Celebrate with Us!
150 Years | 1869 – 2019
Honor the Past. Prepare for the Future.
Throughout 2019, the West Point Association of Graduates will • George W. Cullum (1833), one of West Point’s most notable
be celebrating its 150th Anniversary. Here’s how you can be a part graduates, will be seen everywhere in 2019! The spring issue of
of commemorating this important milestone. West Point magazine will include a “Flat Cullum” to
incorporate in your photos and share with us. To learn more,
Learn and Inspire: Discover Our History see “Who is George W. Cullum (1833)?” on page 16.
• “On This Day:” Throughout 2019, WPAOG will be sharing • Virtual Toast: On WPAOG’s “Birthday,” May 22, 2019,
“On this Day” facts highlighting historic events and graduates around the world will offer their best wishes with a
achievements of West Point graduates. Daily facts can be found virtual birthday toast. Details on how your group can send a
on our website at WestPointAOG.org/150thtimeline. We will message are coming via email in January 2019.
also share selected facts on social media, so be sure to follow us
on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. WPAOG gratefully • West Point Alumni Leaders Conference in August 2019 will
acknowledges the historical research for “On This Day” done feature a special 150th celebration.
by Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Voigtschild Minus ’93 • Share your 150th celebrations on social media using
(Retired). For more than a year, Minus, an American history #WPAOG150. Follow WPAOG on Facebook, Twitter and
major who also holds an MA in American history from Rutgers Instagram for more information.
and taught in the USMA History Department, combed
through West Point and WPAOG history to collect 365 facts, Commemorate 150 Years with Exclusive Memorabilia
one for each day of the year. Minus currently serves on the • Founders Day: West Point Societies: WPAOG is providing
WPAOG Advisory Council, and as her West Point Class 150th celebration packets—free of charge—to all West Point
Secretary and Reunion Chair. Societies for Founders Day events. Limited to one packet per
•
West Point magazine will feature articles in each issue of 2019 Society. Society Presidents should submit requests. Included in
on WPAOG’s history and the WPAOG of today. the packet will be items such as cocktail napkins, placemats,
and balloons branded with the 150th logo.
• Our website, WestPointAOG.org/150th will be a
communications hub for the celebration, containing a • A selection of exclusive 150th-themed memorabilia will be
wealth of information on history and events. available to order online at WPAOGGiftShop.com or by phone
at 800.426.4725.
Participate: Celebrate with fellow graduates and share your
stories and images • WPAOG will proudly display a 150th logo, flag and building
decorations throughout the year. West Point Societies will be
• Founders Day: West Point Societies around the world will able to purchase special signage for their events.
celebrate WPAOG’s 150th during Founders Day events taking
place February – April 2019. Find an event near you on our More information: Need more information or have a fact you
website at WestPointAOG.org/founders-day-events. want to share? Contact us at 150@wpaog.org
“I invite all graduates to share in the celebration of our 150th Anniversary in 2019.
Your 150th Planning Committee has been working hard over the last two years to
create fun and meaningful ways for everyone to join in commemorating the proud
Photos: WPAOG archives
traditions of service and fellowship that forever bind and connect the Long Gray
Line—past, present and future.” –LTC(R) Deirdre Dixon ’84, Ph.D.
Chair, 150th Anniversary Planning Committee, WPAOG Board of Directors
WEST POINT | WINTER 2019 5
Happy Sesquicentennial!
Celebrating 150 Years of the
West Point Association of Graduates
Part I (1869-1900) By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff
O n May 22, 2019, the West Point Association of Graduates
will turn 150 years old. Think about it—one hundred and
fifty years! When “the Association,” as it used to be known,
Webster’s office one Saturday afternoon for that first meeting, is
often cited as the reason the “Association” was formed; that is, to
heal the divide between West Point graduates who fought on
held its first organizational meeting in the office of Dr. Horace opposing sides of the U.S. Civil War. While it may be
Webster, Class of 1818, President of the College of the City of romanticized, such a theory is plausible. After all, bridging
New York, the light bulb had yet to be invented; the telephone chasms seemed to be the spirit of the age in 1869. On May 2 of
had not been patented; the U.S. flag had only 37 stars; and the that year the “golden spike” of the First Transcontinental
machine gun, dynamite, and the torpedo were less than a Railroad was driven into the ground at Promontory Summit of Photos: Library of Congress; WPAOG archives
decade old. Utah Territory, linking America’s East Coast with its West
The year was 1869, an important year in the history of West Coast. Later that year, on November 17, the Suez Canal officially
Point graduates. On March 4 of that year, Ulysses S. Grant, Class opened, finally completing a centuries-old idea to create a
of 1843, became the 18th President of the United States. Grant, waterway between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
of course, received national acclaim for commanding the Union Yet when Robert Anderson, Class of 1825, wrote to Sylvanus
Army to victory during the U.S. Civil War, accepting the Thayer, Class of 1808, on January 28, 1869 to propose the
surrender of Confederate forces from another West Point formation of “an association of the graduates of the Military
graduate, Robert E. Lee, Class of 1829. That recent conflict, Academy,” he never mentioned the Civil War as a raison d’être
roughly four years over by the time a handful of graduates met in for this endeavor (and Anderson was the officer in charge of
6 WestPointAOG.org
HAPPY SESQUICENTENNIAL! CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF THE WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES
Above, from left to right: The College of the City of New York was the site of the first Association meeting in 1869. The Association’s first reunion took place at the old Cadet
Chapel in 1870. An artist’s rendering of West Point and the Hudson River ca. 1870. The Thayer Monument showing its original location in front of the old gymnasium. Cullum
Hall, dedicated by the Association in 1900, was its first home at West Point.
Fort Sumter when it was fired upon by P. G. T. Beauregard, meeting of the Association of Graduates (and, interestingly, his
Class of 1838, to start that war!) Instead, Anderson plainly told name does not appear on the roll of members until 1872), this
Thayer he wanted to form an association “to see what should be passage marries Thayer’s legacy with the creation of the
done to perfect and perpetuate this truly national Institution,” Association, including his desire to form such an organization
[West Point] and, in his February 12, 1869 reply to Anderson, for the benefit of West Point. Going forward, both implicit
Thayer agreed. political matters and the promotion of West Point routinely
Three months later, 15 graduates gathered in Webster’s office for enter into the dialogue regarding the Association’s early history
the purposes of officially forming an “Association of the and business.
Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy.” Neither the Civil War Take the Association’s first public act after a committee of 13
nor the “perpetuation” of West Point was explicitly mentioned in graduates, chaired by Webster, met on June 16, 1869 and drafted
the minutes from that meeting. Instead, the graduates present, the constitution and bylaws for the new Association. Soon after,
including Anderson, passed seven resolutions, the last pertaining the committee mailed the proposed constitution and bylaws to
to the “fundamental principle that the characteristic of this all graduates; 128 joined (of more than 1,350 living graduates),
Association shall be.” According to the “Preliminary Meeting” including three former Confederate officers: Richard S. Ewell,
Photos: USMA library, Archives and Special Collections Division; Library of Congress; WPAOG archives
minutes, Reverend Dr. Francis Vinton, Class of 1830, Assistant Class of 1840; James Longstreet, Class of 1842; and Nathaniel
Minister of Trinity Church in New York City, introduced a R. Chambliss, Class of May 1861. In fact, Ewell sent a letter back
resolution that the Association be “formed purely for the with his dues stating, “I cannot think that any graduate of the
promotion of social and fraternal intercourse.” Vinton’s Academy would, unless blinded by prejudices, decline to aid the
resolution became Article II of the new Association’s work of reuniting…a bond broken asunder by civil discord and
Constitution: “The objects of this Association shall be to cherish war.” Conversely, Simon Bolivar Buckner, Class of 1844, the first
the memories of our Alma Mater, and to promote the social Confederate general to surrender an Army to Union forces,
intercourse and fraternal fellowship of its graduates.” perhaps stinging from so-called “Radical Republicans” attempts
Does this end the debate regarding the purpose of the to strip ex-rebels of their right to vote and hold office in the First
Association of Graduates’ founding? Not quite. Article IV of the Reconstruction Act (1867), wrote back to the committee saying,
Association’s original Constitution complicates matters. It states, “Fraternal fellowship can exist only in the light of an
“Political, or any other discussions foreign to the purposes of the acknowledged equality, [which] is denounced by the legislation
Association, as set forth in this Constitution, or any proceedings of the central government which extends its fostering care to our
of such a tendency, are declared inimical to the purposes of this class of graduates of our Alma Mater and at the same time
organization, and are prohibited.” Such an article calls attention prescribes the other...an acknowledgement of the inequality
to itself and seems to support the notion that the recent U.S. which renders agreeable social intercourse impossible.” Buckner’s
Civil War and its political aftermath might impede the sentiment becomes an important theme taken up by committee
formation of an Association of West Point Graduates. member Charles Davies, Class of 1815, in his address to
Furthermore, Article III, paragraph 2, states, “The oldest graduates at the Association’s first reunion on June 17, 1870.
graduate belonging to the Association shall be President; and in Forty-three graduates sat in the pews of the West Point Chapel
his absence the senior graduate present shall preside at the (now known as the Old Cadet Chapel) to hear Davies’ address.
meeting of the Association.” This made Thayer the Association’s Although no Southern graduates attended that first open
“official” first president. Although Thayer never attended a meeting (more likely due to the prohibitive cost of travel than to
WEST POINT | WINTER 2019 7
HAPPY SESQUICENTENNIAL! CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF THE WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES
ideological allegiances), Davies used poetic language in his most overt gesture to reunification between graduates from the
speech to delicately and diplomatically address the issue raised North and South via renewed allegiance to the nation. He began
by Buckner, that is the seeming rift between graduates who by reminding graduates of the resolution passed at the annual
fought on opposite sides of the U.S. Civil War. “We come meeting a year earlier to invite graduates from “all sections of the
together as the scattered members of a household after a long country” to the 1875 reunion. Seven of the Association’s 12
separation—some full of years, some full of honors,” said Davies, former Confederate officer members attended this reunion, the
recalling the metaphor of a “divided house” used by President most ever up to that point. “[W]e have come here today, to bury
Abraham Lincoln in a famous 1858 speech. Why would Davies within the circuit of these mountains all recollections which can
use such language? The answer is reunification. But, digging separate us from each other, or from our common country,”
deeper, it is not just a reunification of graduates from the North Davies said, “…and to say to all, for each, and to each for all, that
and the South; it is a reunification between West Point graduates from this auspicious day, all the graduates of this Institution will
and the United States of America. Just one sentence prior, Davies recognize each other as friends. Henceforth, and forever, we have
said, “We come together under the old flag, dear to every one flag—one country—one destiny.”
American heart, to recall and contemplate that springtime of Interestingly, before championing the patriotism of West Point
life… .” In this and his future reunion addresses, Davies graduates, Davies lauded the accomplishments of West Point
continually uses a “reunification with the country” theme to itself through its graduates. “We behold, also, a great
tacitly unite graduates from the North and from the South Institution,” he said in his 1875 address, “…scattering science
behind a single purpose. and knowledge over the nation,” which seems to pay homage to
Thayer and Anderson’s original aim for the Association, “to see
“…and to say to all, for each, what should be done to perfect and perpetuate this truly national
Institution.” Davies died in 1876, and, according to David
and to each for all, that from Pinder ’86, in his paper “The Association of Graduates of the
this auspicious day, all the U.S. Military Academy, 1869-1902: The Healing Years,” the
leadership of the AOG passed to George Cullum, Class of 1833.
graduates of this Institution One of the original 15 members of the Association, Cullum
became a member of AOG’s Executive Committee in 1871 and
will recognize each other as chaired this committee until his death in 1892. A year before
friends. Henceforth, and those 15 grads met in Webster’s office to form the Association,
Cullum published the first edition of his three-volume
forever, we have one flag—one country— Biographical Register of the Officers of the United States Military
Academy, which he described in its preface as a record of West
one destiny.” –Charles Davies, Class of 1815 Point graduates’ service to the nation so as to give “world-renown
to their Alma Mater.” In the preface to his third edition of the
Register, published in 1891, Cullum’s intent became more
“We meet to revive cherished memories…and to renew, together, explicit. There he wrote that he hoped “this last legacy to Alma
vows of perpetual allegiance to our country,” Davies said in the Mater and her numerous sons may further prove the usefulness
opening to his 1870 address. As noted by George Pappas in his of that noble national institution,” nearly echoing Thayer and
book To the Point: The United States Military Academy 1802- Anderson’s original aim for the Association. While reunification
1902, “The defection of southern cadets and graduates, termed seemed to be Davies’ primary ambition, championing the
treason by many antagonists, was used as a stepping-stone for accomplishments of graduates for the glory of West Point was
criticizing West Point in general and its graduates in particular.” clearly the achievement for which Cullum was known. In fact, at
The Civil War thrust West Point and its graduates, particularly that first meeting in 1870, the first order of business after
those who defected to fight for the Confederate cause, into the approving the constitution and by-laws was adopting a resolution
national spotlight, and, as noted by Harry Williams in his article that gave thanks to Cullum “for his truthful and admirable
“The Attack Upon West Point During the Civil War,” “…the annals of the Military Academy and its Graduates.”
[Academy] faced and weathered a series of dangerous attacks Cullum demonstrated his philosophy for West Point and its
designed to destroy its existence.” graduates in the biographies he wrote for “Necrology,” that
Those who gathered in those early reunions must have been section of the Association’s published annual report identifying
aware that West Point stood on precarious footing in the years the graduates who had died since the last meeting. In the 1871
immediately following the Civil War, as well as the distrust felt Annual Reunion, the first to acknowledge the author of each
for Southern graduates. In his address at the Second Annual graduate’s biography, Cullum is cited as having written five of
Photo: West Point Museum Art Collection, USMA
Reunion on June 17, 1871, Davies’ concluding words seem to be them, the first being for Ethan Allen Hitchcock, Class of 1817.
as much for the graduates as for a public he felt may still be wary And while other authors devoted paragraphs to the deceased,
of the future political intentions of West Point alumni. “But Cullum wrote pages (Hitchcock’s biography is 10 pages long).
above all, fellow graduates,” Davies said, “let us remember that Cullum continued writing “Necrology” biographies right up
the nation which sustains and has spread its mantle over this until his own death, the last one for Montgomery C. Meigs,
institution, expects from every graduate, at all times, and Class of 1836, who died January 2, 1892. Cullum himself died
wheresoever he may be, the full measure of his duty.” Then in his February 28 of that year, and his own “Necrology” biography
last (and longest) address to graduates, commemorating the appears just six pages after Meigs’.
centennial of the Battle of Bunker Hill (1875), Davies made his
8 WestPointAOG.orgASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES OF THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY
Photos: Library of Congress; West Point Museum Collection, USMA; VMI Archives Digital Collection; Biographical Register of the Officer and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, Vol. IV; Brady National Photographic Art Gallery, USMA Library Archives and Special Collections; WPAOG archives
TIMELINE
1869
(1869-1900)
First meeting of Association of
Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy
at the College of the City of New York.
Adopted constitution and bylaws;
elected Prof. Charles Davies (1815) as
1870
permanent chairman First Association reunion held at West
Point Chapel (now Old Cadet Chapel)
1872
Eugene McLean (1842), one of seven Southern members, is first
former Confederate officer to attend an Association reunion
1874
Annual meeting: Resolved that all graduates should be encouraged
to join the Association and attend the 1875 meeting celebrating the
1877 centennial of the Battle of Bunker Hill
Annual meeting: Committee of five,
including former SUPT George W. Cullum
(1833), coordinates re-interment of the 1879
remains of Sylvanus Thayer (1808), SUPT
1817-33 at West Point Francis H. Smith (1833), Virginia Military Institute
Superintendent and classmate of Executive Committee
Chairman Cullum, is first Southern graduate to deliver the
1882 opening address at an Association reunion
Annual meeting: Thayer Monument Committee Chairman reports
that a model of the statue and pedestal was reviewed by committee
and improvements suggested 1883
Thayer statue dedicated; former SUPT (1864-66)
George W. Cullum (1833) delivers dedicatory address
1891
Annual meeting: Resolved that the Association be incorporated
under the laws of New York. Cullum (1833), formally presents third
(1890) edition of his Biographical Register
1892
George W. Cullum (1833) dies
1894
Annual meeting: Memorial Hall bequest of George W. Cullum
(1833) briefed
1896
George S. Greene (1823) is last Association president
appointed on the basis of age, and, in 1897, becomes
1900 first elected president of the Association, holding
office for a year
Cullum Memorial Hall dedicated, funded by
Cullum’s generous bequest of $250,000
WEST POINT | WINTER 2019 9HAPPY SESQUICENTENNIAL! CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF THE WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES
Cullum had started writing an extended biography of Thayer for Committee resolved to have the body of Joseph Swift, Class of
the 1873 Annual Reunion, but, according to a Secretary note in 1802, exhumed and re-interred at the West Point Cemetery, but
that record, Cullum’s absence in Europe prevented the this ambition never materialized). Thayer’s remains were re-
completion of it in time for publication. Ten years later, Cullum interred at West Point on November 8, 1877, but the monument
likely incorporated portions of that biography into the intended to honor his memory remained unfinished, as only
momentous address he delivered at the unveiling of the Thayer $1,225 of an anticipated $3,100 had been raised from
Statue on June 11, 1883, touting Thayer’s impact on West Point graduates. At the 10th Annual Reunion on June 12, 1879,
and the nation. Consider this passage: “With each evolving year feeling that the plans to obtain funds to build a stone memorial
of Colonel Thayer’s Superintendency, class after class was of Thayer for placement on the Plain were “impractical,”
graduated, adding to our army 570 officers, of whom the nation Cullum proposed that a smaller monument be built over
may be justly proud, for in that galaxy are many bright particular Thayer’s grave. However, in his address at that reunion,
stars which have given lustre to our arms, illuminated the paths Cullum’s classmate Francis H. Smith, Class of 1833, the first
of science, brightened halls of learning, and adorned various Southern graduate to speak before AOG members, implored
vocations of usefulness.” Cullum was perpetuating the national graduates not to forget the original monument plan, saying,
institution of West Point by demonstrating the perfections of its “He was a noble specimen of West Point character, and I trust
honorific father. But this is not all that Cullum did as the the scheme will not be abandoned of putting, in enduring
Association’s de facto leader. marble or bronze, a colossal statue of Brvt. Brig. Gen. Sylvanus
Cullum had been Chairman of the Thayer Monument Thayer, the father of the U.S. Military Academy.”
Committee, which was established at the June 12, 1873 annual A year later, at the 11th Annual Reunion, George Andrews, Class
meeting, and was instrumental in bringing Thayer’s remains of 1851, Treasurer of the Thayer Monument Fund, reported that
from his hometown of South Braintree, Massachusetts to West all but $160 of the funds needed for the monument remained
Point. This accomplishment could be viewed as the Association’s uncollected. The project was further delayed when the
first official act of external business (a year earlier the Executive committee hired the New England Granite Company “to execute
a statue eight feet three inches high, standing upon a well-
proportioned pedestal of eight feet, both of pure white granite,”
and the cost jumped to $4,000. To raise money to cover the
escalating cost, Cullum reportedly addressed “personal letters to
each living graduate who has a diploma signed by General
Thayer.” In his June 10, 1882 Thayer Monument Committee
report to AOG’s Executive Committee, Cullum noted that the
statue would be ready by winter, “in ample time to be erected
before the Reunion of this Association in June 1883” (it was
completed on June 9, 1883, which would have been Thayer’s 98th
birthday). At the 14th Annual Reunion on June 12, 1883,
Cullum furnished a final report on the Thayer Monument to the
Association, saying the statue “is worthy of the great
Superintendent, whose majestic port [sic] and intellectual visage
[it] so faithfully represents; and it is worthy of this Association
which has preserved, amid so many difficulties, to raise such a
memorial to the ‘Father of the Military Academy.’” Showing its
appreciation for Cullum’s efforts to bring the Thayer Monument
to fruition, the Executive Committee unanimously passed a
resolution that thanked him for admirably performing
his duties.
A year after erecting Thayer Monument, AOG moved on to its
next order of major business, another project that took years to
materialize and one that ultimately depended greatly on Cullum.
At the 15th Annual Reunion in 1884, John S. McCalmont, Class
of 1842, proposed that Congress should be petitioned to make an
appropriation for the purposes of furnishing a hall for AOG use
at West Point, given that the Association had received so many
gifts of manuscripts, portraits, books, letters, and more and had
no room to safely keep them or exhibit them. The matter was
tabled and reintroduced three years later at the 1887 meeting, but
members felt that the USMA Board of Visitors would have better
luck securing the funds from Congress for building such a hall
Photo: WPAOG archives
than their resolution. “The Association of Graduates cannot raise
the necessary money,” Charles Braden, Class of 1869, AOG’s
Handwritten minutes from the first meeting of the Association of Graduates on Secretary at that time, flatly stated. Then, given the lack of
May 22, 1869 are housed at WPAOG.
10 WestPointAOG.orgHAPPY SESQUICENTENNIAL! CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF THE WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES
“The objects of this Association shall be to cherish the
memories of our Alma Mater, and to promote the social
intercourse and fraternal fellowship of its graduates.”
—Article II of the Association of the Graduates of the
U.S. Military Academy Constitution
reference to it in meeting notes, the Executive Committee seems percent in one year.
to forget about this idea for a memorial hall for half a decade, butAt the turn of the 20th century the Association, now with a home
Cullum did not forget. Upon his death, Cullum bequeathed and with funds, started to focus on growth and accountability.
$250,000 to the U.S. government for the purposes of erecting a This began with two notable changes to the Association’s
such a hall at West Point. Constitution and Bylaws. First, in 1897, the Executive
According to a March 7, 1892 New York Times article reporting Committee decided that an elected graduate, rather that the
on his will, Cullum’s gift, “Follow[ed] an idea which he had for oldest graduate, would serve as the Association’s President, and
some years entertained.” Part of that idea likely involved Cullum’s voted accordingly to change Article III of the Constitution. They
1891 proposal that Executive Committee incorporate the nominated George Greene, Class of 1823, to be President, and he
Association under the laws of New York state. The committee was unanimously elected (ironically, Greene was also the oldest
unanimously adopted Cullum’s proposal and filed a certificate of graduate on the Association’s membership roll). Then, at the
incorporation in November of that year. As some have 1900 Annual Reunion, the Executive Committee voted to amend
hypothesized, Cullum proposed this idea because he had already the Bylaws so that initiation fees were reduced from a one-time
made his estate plans, and, rather than gift his considerable $10 payment to an initial $2 fee with an additional $1 paid each
fortune to what might be characterized as an informal fraternal subsequent year for the next decade. The prorated fee cycle
club, he wanted to leave it to an organization with legitimacy and spurred growth in new membership. In 1898, only three
longevity. Furthermore, showing his prescience, Cullum graduates elected to pay the prescribed $10 initiation fee; in
explicitly stated in his will for the memorial hall to be built “at 1902, more than 70 paid the new $2 fee. New membership also
farthest within five years after my death” (perhaps because he fostered more graduate participation. In 1899, only seven
witnessed no movement on an idea that originated in 1884!). members attended the 30th annual reunion, but in 1902
Cullum’s bequest was formally accepted by an act of Congress, reportedly some 350 graduates returned to West Point for the
and the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White was annual alumni reunion.
appointed in 1894 to design the building. Construction began in During the dedication of Cullum Hall, Alexander S. Webb,
1896, with the cornerstone being ceremoniously laid on April 15, Class of 1855, who was present in Webster’s office at the
and construction was completed on December 21, 1898. After it original May 22, 1869 meeting, looked back on that historic
was furnished (Cullum also left $20,000 in his will for this day and gave a brief account of the organization of the
purpose), the hall was dedicated on June 12, 1900, the date of the Association. No records exist of his remarks, but it is easy to
31st Annual Reunion. According to a July 1900 article by Charles imagine he would have said that the 15 graduates who gathered
Larned, Class of 1870, in Junior Munsey Magazine, “This hall is to form an “Association of the Graduates of the U.S. Military
distinctly a monument to West Point and all that it stands for, Academy” would be proud that, 31 years later, their idea had
given by a son of the Academy to his brother alumni and their figuratively and literally found a home, that more and more
well beloved mother; designed to commemorate their deeds, to graduates were coming back to that home each year, and that
preserve their names, and to bear witness to the enduring work of the Association was continuing to promote the social
the foremost military school of the age.” intercourse and fraternal fellowship of USMA graduates.
Thirty-one years after its founding, the Association of the Editor’s note: Multiple accounts exist for some of AOG’s early
Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy had 473 members on its milestones. Where possible, primary source documents, including
rolls, and those members now had a home at West Point. In his the original handwritten minutes of the meetings of the Graduates
will, Cullum indicated that it was his desire that the gifted of the U.S. Military Academy (currently housed at WPAOG),
memorial hall be used for “the Assemblage and Dinners of the Annual Reunion reports, and Cullum’s Registers were used to verify
Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy, the organizational history and graduate information discussed in
and, if practicable, I wish that lodging accommodations should this article.
be provided in some part of it for the members of that Association
while attending its annual reunions.” Furthermore, they now had All four 2019 issues of West Point magazine will celebrate
funds. Cullum’s will also provided $10,000 for “the current and WPAOG’s 150th Anniversary by highlighting different eras in its
necessary expenses” of the Association. This is the genesis of what history, from our founding in 1869 through today. Part I in this issue
Photo: WPAOG archives
is now known as the West Point Association of Graduates’ “Long covers 1869-1900. We hope you join us in celebrating of one of
Gray Line Endowment.” While Cullum was Chairman of AOG’s America’s oldest alumni associations, which continues to proudly
Executive Committee, AOG’s balance sheet consistently ran serve West Point and the Long Gray Line. For more information,
between $1,000-$1,500, but, thanks to his gift, it grew by 300 visit West Point AOG.org/150th.
WEST POINT | WINTER 2019 11MEET THE FOUNDERS
Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy
INAUGURAL MEETING | MAY 22, 1869*
Photos: all photos public domain; Library of Congress; U.S. National Archives; NY State Archives; Internet Book Archives; Medal of Honor recipients; National Park Service, Martin Van Buren historic site; USMA Library; WPAOG Archives
Dr. Horace Webster, Chair (1818)
USMA Mathematics Professor 1818-25
Professor of Math & Natural Philosopy, Geneva College 1825-48
Founding President, The College of the City of New York
Brevet MG Alexander Stewart Webb (1855), Secretary
Union Civil War General
Received Medal of Honor for gallantry at Battle of Gettysburg;
2nd President, The College of the City of New York (33 years)
Brevet BG Thomas Jefferson Leslie (1815)
USMA Treasurer 1816-41
45-year career as military paymaster
President of AOG (August 1874-November 1874)
Brevet MG Robert Anderson (1825)
Indian Wars (Battle of “Bad Axe” 1832 and fight with Seminoles 1837-38)
Artillery instructor at West Point 1835-37
Defended, then surrendered, Fort Sumter, opening war between the states
Brevet LTC Abraham Van Buren (1827)
Eldest son of U.S. President Martin Van Buren
Aide de camp to MG Alexander Macomb, Commanding General U.S. Army
Major in Mexican War (Battle of Monterrey 1846)
Brevet MAJ Joseph Smith Bryce (1829) (Joseph Brice Smith at graduation)
Asst Prof Mathematics USMA until 1831
NYC Lawyer, Asst Adjutant General on Brevet MG Wadsworth’s staff
Oldest living USMA grad (January 1899 – April 1901)
Rev. Dr. Francis Vinton (1830)
Graduate: Harvard Law School; General Theological Seminary, Episcopal Church of New York
Assistant minister Trinity Church NYC 1855-72
Two-time member and President (1867), USMA Board of Visitors
*Graduates listed in handwritten minutes of the meeting on file at WPAOG
12 WestPointAOG.orgBrevet MG George Washington Cullum (1833)
USMA Instructor 1848-51, 52-55
16th USMA SUPT 1864-66
Originated Cullum’s Register and Cullum numbering system for all USMA Graduates
Bequeathed $250K for a Memorial Hall (Cullum Hall) & funds to continue publishing Register
Brevet BG Henry Prince (1835)
Brevet CPT in Mexican War (Battles of Contreras and Churunusco)
Chief Paymaster Dept of the East and then NYC 1869-75
Civil War POW (Battle of Cedar Mountain 1862)
Brevet MG Zealous Bates Tower (1841)
15th USMA SUPT July-Sept 1864
Union Civil War General-Chief Engineer in defense of Fort Pickens, FL and later Nashville, TN
Civil Engineer, directed Initial USACE fortification of Alcatraz (1853-57)
Brevet BG Thomas Gamble Pitcher (1845)
1LT in Mexican War (Battles of Contreras and Churunusco)
17th USMA SUPT 1866-71
Governor of Soldiers’ Home 1870-77
BG Egbert L. Viele (1847)
Union Civil War General
NYC Park Commissioner 1863-84; Engineer in Chief of Central Park, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park
U.S. House of Representatives 1885-87
President of AOG (1899-1900)
Buried at West Point cemetery in landmark “Pyramid” tomb
Photos: all photos public domain; Library of Congress; U.S. National Archives; USMA Library; WPAOG Archives
Brevet LTC Charles C. Parsons (1861)
Led Artillery battery in the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862)
USMA Asst Prof Ethics and English studies (1863-64) and Geography, History & Ethics
(1868-70)
Episcopal Clergyman 1870-78
CPT Alexander Macomb Miller (1865)
Asst Prof Engineering, USMA 1872-76
Supervised construction of bridges across Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO and Alton, IL
1893-97, in charge of improvement of Galveston Harbor and Bay
1897-98, in charge of defensive works on Lake Champlain, NY; improvements of
Burlington Harbor VT
LT Luigi Lomia (1867)
Born in Sicily, emigrated to New York age 13
Taught at USMA (1868-70) later at Ohio State College
(1876-81); University of Wisconsin(1885-88);
graduate of City College of New York
Retired as Colonel, 1906
WEST POINT | WINTER 2019 13Inside Cullum Hall
A Gift that Transformed West Point
and the Association of Graduates
By Anthony DiNoto, WPAOG staff
Photos: Jim Smith photography; WPAOG archives
Top: The Grand Ballroom in Cullum Hall houses a unique collection of oil portraits, commemorative plaques, statues and cannon trophies that serve as a tribute to the achievements
of West Point’s notable graduates. Above: Cullum Hall, designed by McKim, Mead & White, was completed on December 21, 1898, and was dedicated on June 12, 1900, the date of
the 31st Annual Reunion of the AOG.
14 WestPointAOG.orgINSIDE CULLUM HALL: A GIFT THAT TRANSFORMED WEST POINT AND THE ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES
Left: Cullum Hall remains one of the most richly decorated buildings at West Point. Right: The Memorial Room contains the names of all West Point graduates killed in action from
the War of 1812 to the present day Global War on Terror, along with a separate wall listing the names of all USMA graduates who have received the Medal of Honor.
O ne year before the formation of the Association of
Graduates of the United States Military Academy in 1869,
George Cullum, Class of 1833, published the first edition of his
had passed 1,000 annually. A century after its dedication,
Cullum Hall was due for renovations and upgrades. The building
had to be reimagined because the Academy had changed so
three-volume Biographical Register of the Officers of the United much. In 2014, Cullum Hall was restored to its original splendor,
States Military Academy, a “record of West Point graduates’ including restoration of the historic 19th century ballroom and
services to the nation, so as to give world-renown to their Alma Memorial Hall. The lower two floors, originally officers’
Mater.” Later, in 1871, Cullum became a member of AOG’s quarters, were fully renovated to accommodate USMA club
Executive Committee, which he chaired until his death in 1892. functions. “Memorials change to reflect the needs of the living,
It was evident from the earliest days of AOG that Cullum’s legacy and by redesigning Cullum Hall to put the names of those who
would be forever linked to championing the accomplishments of died in service to their country front and center, it’s a powerful
graduates for the glory of West Point. reminder of the Academy’s mission, our sacrifice, and the nation’s
At its Annual Meetings beginning in 1884, the Association of need for West Point,” said Colonel Ty Seidule, Head of the
Graduates discussed the need for a hall for the Association’s use Department of History at the United States Military Academy,
for meetings and to house the many manuscripts, portraits, regarding the 2014 restoration.
books and letters that had been given to the organization since its The main floor is now the location of the Memorial Room
establishment. It was proposed to petition Congress for an (formerly The Pershing Room) which opens onto the Terrace
appropriation to fund this hall, but the proposal was tabled for overlooking the Hudson River. The Memorial Room was
several years and debated again in 1887. At that time, AOG dedicated on November 10, 2014 and contains the names of all
members felt that Congress would not be responsive to a funding West Point graduates killed in action from the War of 1812 to the
request, and also felt that the AOG itself could not raise the funds present day Global War on Terror. The Memorial Room also
required, and the matter was dropped. It seems that Cullum, contains a separate wall listing the names of all USMA graduates
however, privately determined to persevere with the project. who have received the Medal of Honor. Today, this inspiring
Upon his death in February 1892, he bequeathed the room is often used for ceremonies, receptions or exhibitions.
considerable sum of $250,000 (worth more than $6.5 million in On the second floor of Cullum Hall, the Grand Ballroom houses
2018) to the U.S. government for the purpose of erecting a a unique collection of oil portraits, commemorative plaques,
memorial hall at West Point. Furthermore, Cullum wanted AOG statues and cannon trophies that serve as a tribute to the
to move forward with construction in a timely fashion, and achievements of West Point’s notable graduates. The Cullum
explicitly stated in his will a wish for the memorial hall to be built Hall paintings, under the care of the West Point Museum, are
Photos: Jim Smith photography; Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG
“at farthest within five years after my death.” among the most significant of memorial portraits at the
Cullum’s bequest was formally accepted in 1892 by an act of Academy. Around the ceiling are carved the names of many
Congress. The architectural firm McKim, Mead & White was historic battles where graduates have served with distinction.
selected in 1894 to design the building, and the cornerstone was Over the years, the number of lights in the ceiling of Cullum
laid on April 15, 1896. Construction of Cullum Hall was Hall has even entered into West Point lore and tradition as one of
completed in December 1898, and the building was dedicated on the many facts of “plebe knowledge” in Bugle Notes that must be
June 12, 1900, at the 31st Annual Reunion of the AOG. Cullum memorized (“How many lights in Cullum Hall?”* Answer on
Hall was officially opened as a repository honoring deceased page 16).
graduates through portraits, sculptures, and plaques, and was Today, Cullum Hall remains one of the most richly decorated
also the home of the Association of Graduates until 1994, when buildings at West Point and continues to serve the original purpose
the Association moved to the Herbert Alumni Center. charted by Cullum in his will—that is, to be the site of social
When Cullum Hall was dedicated in 1900, the Academy events, military ceremonies, and lectures while honoring the
graduated only 54 officers, but by the mid-1980s that number officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy.
WEST POINT | WINTER 2019 15INSIDE CULLUM HALL:A GIFT THAT TRANSFORMED WEST POINT AND THE ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES
Who is George W. Cullum (1833)?
A Peerless West Point Graduate
Cullum numbers, Cullum Hall, Cullum’s Register, the Thayer
grave and monument: George W. Cullum is a unique graduate who
left an indelible legacy to West Point and the Association of
Graduates. He is one of the faces of the history of the Association
of Graduates.
1833: Graduated 3rd in his class of 43 cadets
1848-51; 52-55 USMA Instructor
1864-66: Served as 16th USMA Superintendent during the
conclusion of the Civil War
1868: First edition published of Cullum’s three-volume
Biographical Register of the Officers of the United States Military
Academy, a “record of West Point graduates’ services to the
nation, so as to give world-renown to their Alma Mater.” In it,
Cullum assigned each graduate of the Academy a number in order of
graduation. This became known as each graduate’s “Cullum number” and continues to this
day. The last Cullum number assigned to date is 75403, for a graduate from the Class of 2018.
1869: Cullum is one of 15 graduates present at the Association of Graduates founding meeting in New York City.
1871: Cullum became a member of AOG’s Executive Committee, which he chaired until his death.
1877: Member of Committee to reinter Sylvanus Thayer’s remains at West Point cemetery.
1882: Member of Committee to create Thayer memorial statue at West Point.
1883: Delivers dedication address for Thayer memorial.
1891: Formally presents the third (1890) edition of his Biographical Register at AOG annual meeting.
1892: George Washington Cullum dies.
1894: Bequest of $250K for a Memorial Hall (Cullum Hall) & funds to continue the Register of Graduates announced.
“This Memorial Hall I wish to be a receptacle of statues, busts, mural tablets and
portraits of distinguished deceased officers and graduates of the Military
Academy, or paintings of battle scenes, trophies of war, and such objects as may
tend to give elevation to the military profession; It is also my desire that this Hall
should be adapted for use on any ceremonial occasion taking place at West Point,
New York, and for the Assemblage and Dinners of the Association of Graduates of
Photos: WPAOG archives
the United States Military Academy.”
–Last Will and Testament, paragraph 33, George W. Cullum, Class of 1833
* Plebe knowledge (from page 15): There are 340 lights in Cullum Hall.
16 WestPointAOG.orgYou can also read
