The West Point Egg Nog Riot of 1826,In West Point’s early years the academy could hardly be ca

The West Point Egg Nog Riot of 1826,In West Point’s early years the academy could hardly be called a prestigious college.  It was practically a remote army outpost which doubled as an educational institution for only ten cadets.  There was no real curriculum, few rules, and it was run with an “anything goes” attitude.  This all changed after the War of 1812, when it was realized that the United States needed more highly trained and educated officers.  in the 1820’s Congress massively expanded the academy, and placed it under the command of Col. Sylvanus Thayer.  Now known as “The Father of West Point”, Thayer would instill professionalism and military discipline among the cadets.  Among the many rules he set on the cadets was a prohibition on alcohol, thus making West Point a dry campus.Today many colleges and universities have similar rules, and the cadets of West Point disobeyed those rules just like students do today.  On Christmas Eve of 1826 the cadets decided that they wanted a bit of whiskey in their eggnog to celebrate the holidays.  They turned to Cadet Jefferson Davis, future President of the Confederate States.  Davis had contacts with the local saloons. He didn’t smuggle in a little bit of whiskey, he smuggled in four gallons of whiskey.  Within a few hours, the North Barracks were awash in drunken parties and revelry.  The two officers on duty, Captain Ethan Allen Hitchcock and Lt. William A. Thornton tried to break up the wild parties, in the course of which they were threatened with swords, bayonets, and knives.  Thornton was hit over the head with a wooden club while a drunken cadet pulled a pistol on Hitchcock and shot at him.  Soon the situation broke down into a pitched riot a drunken cadets smashed glass windows, threw bedding and other materials out of the windows, broke furniture, ripped the banisters off steps, and generally all around trashed the place.  There was a call to summon West Points garrison of regular Army troops to quell the riots, but in the end it was decided that it would be best to let the cadets sober up.In the aftermath of the riots, 19 cadets were expelled from West Point.  Many others were severely punished, among them Jefferson Davis and future Confederate General Robert E. Lee. -- source link

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