But Congress did not appropriate any money for the Academy until March 3, 1803, and then in the Army Bill it gave only $2,000.00 for both the Academy and for War Department books and apparatus. The Army Bill of 1804 contained $1,000.00 for the Academy, and that of 1805 gave it $500.00. Then Congress ignored this institution until the war with England, when in the Army Bill of 1812 it gave the Academy $25,000.00 and authorized the erection of a library and other buildings, and the reorganization of the academic staff. An Act of Congress in 1808 authorized 40 cadets from the artillery, 16 from the dragoons, 20 from the riflemen, and 100 from the infantry, but as no provision was made for them at West Point only a few of these were appointed. In 1810 the Military Academy was deprived of nearly all means of instruction and both officers and cadets experienced difficulty in getting their pay. During most of the year 1811, although war was then imminent, academic instruction was practically abandoned and in March, 1812, it was abandoned when the last instructor was ordered to duty elsewhere. Up to this time 88 cadets had graduated and they had been admitted to the academy without mental or physical examinations, at all ages, from twelve to thirty-four and at any time of the year. By an Act of Congress approved April 29, 1812, the Military Academy was reorganized, and the provisions of this Act furnished the general principles upon which the Academy has since been conducted and controlled; a more adequate corps of professors was authorized, a maximum of 250 cadets was fixed, and age and mental requisites for admission of candidates were prescribed, and in 1817 under the able superintendency of Major Sylvanus Thayer, a graduate of the West Point class of 1808, the present era in the Academy’s history began, because he made it a school for the practical and theoretical training of cadets for the military service. Since then the requisites for admission have been increased from time to time by Congress and with its permission by the Secretary of War. In 1834 an appropriation (of $139,881.45) for the Military Academy was for the first time made in a separate bill, called the Military Academy bill. In 1838 many records and other property were destroyed by fire. Prior to 1843 a prescribed residence was not a legal qualification for appointment but the selection of one cadet from each congressional district became a custom, and in this year Congress prescribed that the corps of cadets should consist of one cadet (recommended by the member) from each congressional district, one (recommended by the delegate) from each Territory, one from the District of Columbia and ten from the United States at large, to be appointed by the President; the number of cadets varying as the number of congressmen and delegates increased or diminished. The Academic Board now comprises the following, to-wit: Superintendent. Commandant of Cadets—Instructor of Tactics.