The cemetery is a beautiful, peaceful spot set aside for the repose of West Point’s dead. In the northeast angle is the cadet monument erected in 1818, to Cadet Vincent M. Lowe of New York, by his fellow-cadets. On New Year’s day, 1817, Cadet Lowe was killed by the premature discharge of a cannon while he was firing a salute. The pedestal is covered with the names of other cadets who died later on. Among the illustrious dead buried in the cemetery are Major Sylvanus Thayer, General Winfield Scott, Robert Anderson, and George A. Custer. Along the main roads both north and south of the Plain are modest dwellings furnished for the officers on duty at West Point. The south end terminates in a broad plain used for the Cavalry and Field Artillery drill of the cadets. In order that thorough instruction in both of these arms may be imparted to the cadets, detachments of Cavalry and Field Artillery are stationed at the Academy. Their barracks and stables form part of the new buildings, and are fine examples of what intelligence and taste can do for comfort and convenience. Along the west side of the drill field are the stables and, directly above, gracefully placed on the hillside, are the barracks provided with the best and most modern equipment. The presence of these two detachments of enlisted men, as well as that of the detachment of Engineers, is absolutely essential to the efficient instruction of the cadets. An understanding of the uses of the buildings and some description of the prominent landmarks is necessary to a correct appreciation of the cadet’s life and activities. The survey that I have given in this chapter will show that West Point is indeed fortunate in many ways. Few places have been so endowed by Nature with such wonderful beauty and picturesqueness, and, in addition, a generous Congress has adorned the place with magnificent buildings equipped with the finest that money can buy for the training of the future United States officers. CHAPTER IV THE POWERS THAT BE In a spacious room in the southeast corner of the massive Post Headquarters building dwells officially the man who orders all of the comings and goings of the residents of West Point: cadets, officers, and enlisted men and their families. He is detailed by the President to the immediate government and military command of the Academy and Post of West Point for a period of four years, and given the official title of Superintendent of the Military Academy, which carries with it the rank, pay, and allowances of a colonel.