Despite the poverty that prevailed at West Point, Washington ordered a celebration to be held in honor of the birth of the Dauphin of France, Louis Joseph, the son of Louis XVI., born October, 1781. A magnificent fête was arranged in which all of the troops stationed in the Highlands participated. Upon the Plain at West Point, Major Villefranche erected a curious edifice, an improvised temple with a grand colonnade of 118 pillars made of the trunks of trees. The entire building was festooned with American and French flags, with designs and emblems, muskets and bayonets fancifully arranged. Washington, with a party of five hundred distinguished guests, assembled in the colonnade for a banquet. A series of thirteen toasts were drunk, each one accompanied by a salute of thirteen cannon. During the evening there was a grand display of fireworks for the troops and a ball for the officers and their guests. This dance, led by General Washington, was the first real West Point hop. The various details left over from the Revolution were now disposed of by General Knox and his successor, Lieut.-Col. Rochefontaine. The genesis of the Military Academy was foreshadowed by the presence of the Invalid Corps which by act of Congress, 1777, was, among other things, “to serve as a military school for young gentlemen previous to their being appointed to marching regiments.” The dark days of the Revolution were over and the troops could now rest from their strenuous labors. There were important matters, however, to occupy the leaders, not the least of which was the establishment of an institution for training officers for the Army. No lesson of the war was so well learned as the need for such educated leaders, and immediately the Revolution was over, Washington, Hamilton, and Knox began urging Congress to establish a National Military Academy. Although Washington never lived to see his recommendations carried out, he would have rejoiced, I am sure, to know that Congress three years after his death founded the United States Military Academy, at his favorite Post, West Point. CHAPTER II THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS When at last the colonies found themselves free, and realized that they were in no immediate danger from any foe, the thoughts of the people, so long occupied with war, eagerly turned toward the establishment of their new government. It was only natural that the Army, weary of the long struggle for independence, should gladly welcome their release from service, and resume once again the peaceful pursuits of civil life. For seven long years their days had been filled with arduous marches through heat and through snow, with tedious vigils on outposts, or with bloody encounters with the British, and the great mass of the people joyfully hailed the piping times of peace, and without ado they turned their battle-axes into billhooks, and their helmets into beehives.