1. What graduate of West Point, son of a former president, died from poison in a glass of wine served him at the table of his country's president??
A) Jose Maria Figueres. (Class of 1979). B) Fidel V. Ramos. (Class of 1950). C) Antonio Barrios. (Class of 1889) D) Chih Wang. (Class of 1932)
A) As a plebe, his classmates and other cadets carried him around on a barrel and forced him to recite poetry.. B) He served as Chief of Staff to the American Relief Administration expedition to the Caucasus. C) He acted in movies, was assistant director of a famous movie , and was technical advisor for another. D) He wrote what has been described as the first staff manual ever prepared for American armies..
Time, flying Time, oh it must be In some "closed curve" he flies, and he Will turn, return and bring us back Old days and old felicity. When next Time's in his perigee. When next we in "the Corps" shall be, With all the files, all ''as they were", Oh glad and merry-mad we'll be. We'll "laugh in ranks continually," " Exhibit undue levity," We'll be "B.J.," and every day We'll "laugh in ranks continually." We'll wear our forage caps a-jee, Our ponpons at "arms port" shall be, Our arms we'll swing like anything, And "laugh in ranks continually." At drill we'll "gaze about" - ah me! Each true and olden sight to see, And "out of dress" and "out of step" We'll dance a joyous jubilee. When dreams are told, a dream we'll tell, A frightful dream, the heart to quell, A dream that years and years had fled - Then reveille, and all was well. When next Time's in his perigee When next we all cadets shall be, With all the files, with all the files, Oh glad and merry-mad we'll be.
A) Edgar Allen Poe (ex- 1834) B) Williston Fish (Class of 1881) C) Charles D. Curran (Class of 1928). D) William P. Yarborough (Class of 1936).
A) Captain of the West Point Football Team. B) Enlisted as a Private to get into WWI.. C) Developed a successful orchard and sales cooperative in the Northwest. D) Solved a calculus problem that had stumped even the professor of Mathematics at West Point..
A) Sylvanus Thayer and Samuel Babcock.. B) Ethan Allen Greenwood and Daniel Arzo Buck.. C) Joseph Proveaux and John Duncan Wyndham. D) William Partridge and Alden Partridge..
A) They each became college football coaches. B) They each scored 3 touchdowns in the Army Navy Game their First Class Year. C) They each were descended from Sylvanus Thayer. D) They each pitched a no-hitter for the West Point baseball team.
A) Major General Sir Edward Packenham B) Major General Robert Ross C) Major General Phineas Riall D) Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost
1. Commodore of the Nantucket Yacht Club. 2. Son of an Admiral. 3. Refereed dog fights. 4. Developer of a new photographic technique. 5. Author of a military march played by his regimental band. 6. Served as purser of a Mississippi River Steamboat as a teenager. 7. Indian fighter on several punitive expeditions. 8. Father of two West Point First Captains. 9. Commander of the ``Andrews Rough Walkers`` in the Spanish American War. 10. Married the Superintendent's adopted daughter.
A) 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10. B) 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. C) 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9. D) 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10.
A) Charles Edward Hazlett B) Henry Walter Kingsbury. C) Edmund Kirby. D) John Pelham
A) 1817 B) 1826 C) 1855. D) 1866.
Answer to Teaser from last time: John Y. Fillmore Blake, Class of 1880 (Classmate of George W. Goethals), was the graduate who served initially against the Apache in the Southwest, taking some time out to pursue train robbers. After more than 6 years on the frontier, Blake was transfered eastward, his place was taken by a young lieutenant named John J. Pershing - who would go on to greater things. Blake then married a lady from Michigan, who influenced him to resign his commission. He then went into the cold storage business in Michigan and was quite successful. But life was boring in comparison to serving in campaigns against Geronimo, Chatto, and the other Apache leaders. When Blake's marriage failed, he sold the cold storage business, picked up stakes, and went to England. Arriving there in the winter, he found quickly that he hated the dreary weather. After a stay of less than a week, he shipped out for Southern Africa, intending to prospect for gold in the Rand region. He and some associated prospected for about a year, but ended up with little gold. Indeed, at the end of the year they were all besieged in the town of Bulawayo until rescued by troops from the south - an embarrassment for this Irishman. A few years later, Blake joined a group of Irish miners to form a the "Irish Brigade", of which he was appointed colonel when the organizer declined and poionted to his friend Blake's military experience. The Irish Brigade fought for the Boers against the invading British, trying to maintain the independence of Transvaal and the Irish Free State. He led his men on many hair raising adventures, was seriously wounded, and ultimately achieved the rank of Commandant in the Boer army, roughly equivalent to Brigadier General. After the war, Blake returned to America, where he died at a relatively young age.
Teaser for next time: This graduate began his career with the 3rd Cavalry at Fort Apache, but his troop was soon transfered to the northern plains, where he served under Indian-fighter George Crook. Studying with local lawyers and Army physicians, he became both a lawyer and a doctor within a two year period, while still serving in the cavalry. A few years later, he led a two year expedition that accomplished what was then the longest Arctic sledge trip ever made - 3,100 miles. Then, after serving as aide to a general and marrying a colonel's niece, he embarked (still a lieutenant) in command of another expedition, this one from Alaska to the headwaters of the Yukon River, then by raft down the entire length of the Yukon in Canada. That expedition produced the first definitive map of that region of Canada. After a short stint fighting Geronimo in the Southwestern U.S., he resigned to continue exploration, including Mount St. Elias in Alaska, Yellowstone Park, and an expedition into Mexico. The last trip was partly sponsored by Buffalo Bill Cody, with whom he had business dealings. His final expedition was back to the headwaters of the Yukon, partway down the river, then across country to the White River Valley and the Copper River, exploring 700 square miles of Alaska for the first time. In addition to his geographical contributions, he also wrote on environmental physiology, describing the effects of cold and stress and how severe cold weather injury can be avoided, and on such diverse subjects as the physics of the Igloo and Eskimo ethnology.
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