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Book Reviews These are some reviews from a recent issue of
The Civil War News:
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Last in their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point
James S. Robbins
Illustrated, notes, index, 503 pp., 2006. Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 400, New York, NY 10003, $29.95 plus shipping.
George Custer, George Pickett, Henry Heth, Laurence Simmons Baker and William Logan Crittenden all have one thing in common; they were the Goats of their class at West Point. Goat? Yes, Goat, or the guy who graduated last in his class. You can add to that list John Taylor Pratt who had the unique distinction of being the first goat, graduating last in the class of 1818. Then you have the likes of Joseph Wheeler, Benjamin “Benny” Hodgson and Cadmus Wilcox, all of whom were members of the Immortals — the bottom portion of their class. Of course there was Fitz Lee, an Immortal who looked at things differently by saying that he graduated fifth in his class, “if you counted from the bottom.” Last but not least there are Edgar Allen Poe and James McNeill Whistler, neither of whom managed to graduate from the military academy. Poe, who at one point served as an enlisted man, left because he really didn’t care and Whistler because he couldn’t manage the curriculum. Whistler’s downfall was a chemistry examination where he was asked to discuss silicon. He began his answer, “Silicon is a gas...,” and thus ending his military career. He later mused, “If silicon had been a gas, I would have been a Major General.” Last in their Class follows the careers of many of the military notables of the 19th century, that is those graduated near or at the bottom of their class. The smart cadets, McClellan, Lee, Meade, those who graduated further up in their class, are not important, at least for this story. It is interesting to note how many of the Goats, Immortals and non-graduates became successful or famous. Pickett’s and Custer’s stories are well known, as are those of Poe and Whistler, but here the author covers others such as Fitz Lee who became a general not only during the Civil War but again during the Spanish-American War. There is also Albert Gallatin Edwards, the Goat of 1832, who later founded the investment firm of A.G. Edwards & Sons. Robbins also relates tales of the academy, faculty and traditions. There is Benny Havens, the proprietor of the tavern where many a cadet spent an evening. Havens was even immortalized in song with the cadets singing, “Benny Havens, OH!,” a tune that eventually had dozens of verses. Dennis Hart Mahan was the long-lasting professor who met his maker by jumping off a ship in the Hudson River on his way to New York to see a doctor. And, of course, there is Flirtation Walk where many a kiss was stolen or surrendered, the demerits and the story of Custer’s monument. The officers’ participation in various wars focuses mainly on the Seminole, Mexican, Civil and Indian Wars, with various skirmishes and uprisings sprinkled in. Stories of Longstreet and Pickett storming Chapultepec, Pickett leading his brave Virginians toward the Union line on Cemetery Ridge and, of course, George Custer and the 7th Cavalry attacking the Indian village at the Little Bighorn are skillfully told. The volume winds down after Custer’s death. The Goat tradition itself pretty much died out toward the end of the 20th century and today diplomas are handed out in alphabetical order attempting to cover up who is last in the class. However, like any secret, it is not very well kept and each year when the name is called during graduation, the Goat of the class is cheered. And really, if you think about it, being the Goat wasn’t easy. You had to know exactly what your rank was, what you had to pass and how hard you had to study for your next exam to make sure you scored just enough to stay at the bottom and not so low that you were dismissed. It would probably have been easier simply to stay out of Benny Havens and study. Last in their Class is well-written and fast-paced. The research is thorough though there are a few misspellings that are spelling mistakes and not typos. Factual mistakes are few. I would recommend the volume for a good read and don’t be surprised if you learn quite a bit too.
Blake A. Magner
Blake A. Magner is the Book Review Editor of Civil War News. He makes his liv¬ing as an editor, writer, car¬tographer and photographer of Civil War history. He is author of At Peace With Honor: The Civil War Burials of Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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