West Point

MikeyB

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Sep 13, 2018
How did West Point compare to European military academies? Was a West Point education considered second tier, or amongst the best in the world?

Given the Europeans had more experience with large scale battles (Waterloo vs War of 1812), were their academies a much better training ground for Civil War combat?

Assuming the answer is yes, are there any examples of European educated mastermind Civil War generals?

Mike
 
No clue about that. However there were quite a few civil war officers educated in various European military schools or academies. And of course many more with some sort of military experience, both in Europe and in America. But while immigrants were instrumental by the numbers in the war and many reached high rank it wasn´t like in the revolutionary war. The ranks weren´t that high, the imported skills not unique and few overcame the glass ceiling of distrust. So probably less military genius and more solid and competent service ... or probably not in some cases.

Many Union officers from the German states had a military education of some degree, many military schools being rather young at that point and new being founded just like in the US, and the individual states not part of an empire yet. Franz Sigel was about the highest-ranking of those both before and during the war, having been Supreme Commander of the Baden revolutionaries (though just a regular Lieutenant before) and a Major General and corps commander during the civil war. His record is rather mixed though. He was educated at the Karlsruhe Military Academy, as was Max Weber. August Willich was educated in a cadet school in Potsdam and the War Academy in Berlin, Adolph von Steinwehr at the Brunswick Military Academy, Henry Bohlen had an incomplete military education as well. Down in Austria-Hungary Albin Schoepf had been at a military academy in Vienna. And several French officers graduated, and more said to have graduated, from Saint Cyr; among those Gustave Paul Cluseret.
 
Can't comment on European military academies. However, much of American military dogma before the Civil War was based on the writings of Baron Jomini, an officer and theorist who fought with Napoleon. His thinking, which included concentration of forces, identifying an enemy's weak point, the role of supply lines, were taught by West Point Professor Dennis Hart Mahan to an entire generation of West Point students, amongst are included most of the roster of Union and Confederate generals.
 
How did West Point compare to European military academies? Was a West Point education considered second tier, or amongst the best in the world?

Given the Europeans had more experience with large scale battles (Waterloo vs War of 1812), were their academies a much better training ground for Civil War combat?

Assuming the answer is yes, are there any examples of European educated mastermind Civil War generals?

Mike
Interestingly enough, the answer is a resounding NO. That's likely because there were none who offered their services to either Union or Confederacy, nor was there much interest in having them do so. Perhaps oddly enough, there was a good deal of interest very early in 1861 in the North about asking Giuseppe Garibaldi come to command the army, but that didn't last very long! There were actually quite a large number of forigeners in both armies, but none were major commanders here or there.
 
Regardless of military education, the realities of the American terrain, logistics, vast areas of operation, and new technologies meant that Union and Confederate commanders had to adapt and come up with new tactics and strategies. A good example of this would be the increasing use of entrenchments by both sides, which led to specific means and methods of fighting defensively and offensively.
 
The biggest impact of West Point was probably on socializing two groups or army officers to the concepts of chain of command and comradery. The top commanders in each army were West Pointers.
For the US, it really showed in battles like Chattanooga, in which old West Pointers created plans, and young guys tried to make those plans work.
Officers from foreign countries often made excellent artillery commanders.
 
I'd like to elaborate on my comments posted yesterday when I was running out of time. I was referring specifically to department, army, or corps commanders. There WERE several very notable commanders of divisions, brigades, and regiments that were foreign-born and educated, as well as Baden-born Franz Sigel who commanded a small "army" at various times, but none of these really contributed anything that was pivotal or lasting to the course of the war. Sigel has been discussed before, and was as detrimental or worse to Union success than a positive contribution to the war effort. Pat Cleburne was probably the best of the lot and one of the war's very best division commanders, but his sole chance to command a corps proved disappointing. However, his extensive European military education was confined to a stint as a CORPORAL in a British-Irish regiment stationed in his native land! Other successful foreign-born division commanders included the Union's Tom Sweeny, Peter Osterhaus, Adolphus von Steinwehr, and others.
 
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