Legacy of PMC

In 1865, Colonel George Patten became the Professor of Mathematics at PMA. A West Point graduate, he was a South Carolinian who fought in the Civil War on the Union side before arriving at PMA. He remained at the school until his retirement in 1881. Under his leadership the Scientific Course, which included the civil engineering program, was organized and was considered to be one of the best in the country. In 1867 Thomas R. Larkin, R. Kelso Carter and Robert McStead were awarded a Bachelor of Civil Engineering at Commencement.

After becoming president of PMA in 1888, Charles Hyatt began to increase the average age of all cadets and respond to the growing number of alumni who felt “the value of their degrees was diminished by the name “Academy.’

The Board of Trustees petition the Pennsylvania Legislature and in 1892 the school was granted “all the powers of a Military University” and authorized it to confer scholastic honors and degrees.

For several years, Theodore Hyatt had suffered from stones in his urinary tract. On December 28, 1887, Professor William Forbes of Jefferson Hospital, performed the delicate surgery of removing these stones. At first the surgery appeared to be successful, however, two days later, Hyatt’s heart failed. Surrounded by family, he passed quietly on December 31. Hyatt’s casket rested upon a catafalque in the main corridor of Old Main, with members of the Class of 1888 posted as a guard of honor. Described as a “grand, good and noble,” man, more than two thousand persons paid their respects to his memory as his casket, followed by the PMA Cadet Corps, was taken by a hearse through the streets of Chester to the Chester Rural Cemetery.

For 35 years Hyatt’s commanding presence and dynamic leadership had provided direction for the school. At the time of his death, PMA was “one of the best-known and best-established military academies in the country.” At a meeting in Philadelphia, the Board of Trustees unanimously elected Charles E. Hyatt to succeed his father as President of Pennsylvania Military Academy in February, 1888.

Charles E. Hyatt had been a graduate of the Class of 1872. After graduation he was appointed to teach mathematics, elocution and tactics at PMA. In 1873, he became Adjutant and in 1876 he was appointed treasurer and Professor of Rhetoric. By 1881, Charles Hyatt was the Vice-President. Upon becoming President, he was given the rank of Colonel of Infantry by the Governor of Pennsylvania. In 1923, Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot was authorized by the legislature to make Hyatt a Brigadier General.

Hyatt had every intention of continuing the traditions of his father. He also believed that military training was considered the best form of education. However, he held onto his belief that it was more important to make a man than to educate a mind. To accomplish this objective, Hyatt preferred close personal contact with the Cadets. Almost immediately he began a series of small but significant changes at PMA. The daily schedule of the Cadet was modified. Reveille was moved from 6:00 to 6:30 a.m., and the morning study period (6:30 to 7:30 a.m.) was abolished. Cadets on the Merit List were also permitted to wear stars on the collars of their uniforms to signify their academic accomplishments.

Although the younger Hyatt may have been warmer and kinder, he was a firm disciplinarian. Previously, although prohibited, the rule against drinking alcohol was rarely enforced. New regulations prohibiting alcohol clearly stated that “The penalty for the violation of this rule (forbidding the use of alcohol) is expulsion.” In addition, Cadets were discouraged from using tobacco because it was considered to be “injurious” to their health. This ban lasted until 1929.

At the same time as Hyatt was making changes to Cadet regulations, he began to increase the average age of all students. This was done in part to make the school more like a college. It also aa response to the alumni concern that the name “Academy” diminished the value of their degrees. By 1892, the Pennsylvania Legislature granted the school “all the powers of a Military University.” The Board of Trustees then petitioned the courts to change the name to Pennsylvania Military College.

Hyatt’s interest in mounted drill resulted in the purchase of cavalry horses and in cavalry drill being added as an optional course to the program in 1889. Lt Beverly W. Dunn, U.S. Light Artillery, was on the military staff at the time and was chosen to be one of the instructors. In 1897, the John C. Bergfels medal and competition were introduced. This coveted prize was the awarded to that Cadet most proficient in horsemanship and cavalry drill. This challenging and exhausting competition, lasting two days, was open to the public and often attracted thousands of spectators.

Since 1869, the War Department had sent Army staff and equipment to PMA. There was, however, no method of evaluating their effectiveness. That changed in 1889. A team of inspectors, led by Lt. William P. Duvall, Fifth Artillery, from the War Department’s Inspector General’s office came to PMC. The school did well. When Brigadier General Joseph C. Breckenridge, the Inspector General of the Army, conducted the inspection in 1896, he reported “The military instruction of this school is of a superior type … The corps was a specially interesting and intelligent body of young gentlemen….” The results of future inspections were similar and in 1903 PMC was named one of the ten distinguished military institutions in the country.

The nineteenth century came to a close with the Spanish-American War. PMC Alumni responded to this conflict as expected and their military record strengthened the school’s reputation. As the new century opened, Hyatt still had much to do, but PMC was considered to be “nearly on a par with West Point.”

The Hyatt Select School for Boy’s prospered and increased in popularity from 1855 to 1858. Then, Hyatt decided to include military drill and uniforms as a required part of the curriculum. Legend would have it that Hyatt wandered into the school gymnasium one day to discover his pupils drilling with broomsticks, and at that time he struck upon the idea of introducing military training. Confident of his new endeavor, Hyatt sought legislative sanction for his military school in 1859. These efforts met with success when the legislature of Delaware convened in January of that year. The adoption of such incorporation, however, appeared to be little more than a name change to Delaware Military Academy.

Almost immediately Hyatt applied to the state for arms and received 80 sword bayonets, 80 cartridge boxes, 14 light artillery sabres, 40 rifles, and two pieces of field artillery. In April, Governor Burton appointed and commissioned Theodore Hyatt as an additional aide-de-camp on his staff with the rank of colonel. In addition, changes to the uniform were also made. Hyatt adopted the cadet gray of West Point rather than the blue of the Hyatt School.

Unfortunately Hyatt had the misfortune of developing DMA at the apex of tension in Delaware preceding the Civil War. An ardent Unionist, Hyatt became embroiled in a controversy with local secessionists regarding the military equipment Delaware had supplied to DMA. Commencement exercises in June, 1862, concluded the short but eventful life of the Delaware Military Academy. Hyatt had decided that it was prudent to seek a more favorable political climate for DMA in West Chester, PA.

The life span of Delaware Military Academy and its predecessors in Delaware covered a total of 41 years. This small academy in Wilmington took a giant stride forward when its young visionary educator was enraptured by his student’s avid interest in exercising with brooms.

Dr. B. Franklin Cooling, III was an Assistant Professor of History at PMC Colleges when he wrote Delaware Military Academy 1859-1862. Currently he is the Chairman of the Grand Strategy Department Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. He has graciously granted his permission for the re-publication of his work. To read Dr. Cooling’s complete and detailed history of DMA click here.

In 1821, John Bullock started the Bullock School, a boarding school for boys, in Wilmington, Delaware. He was described as a good teacher, administrator and positive influence on his boys. The school quickly became recognized for its academic instruction and character building. Samuel Alsop, an expert mathematician and friend of Bullock, moved from Philadelphia and became a teacher at the Bullock School. By 1846, Bullock’s health was failing and Alsop had taken over the responsibilities of running the school. After Bullock’s death the following year, Alsop continued to operate the school. He was not interested, however, in expanding it and sold the school and its equipment to Theodore Hyatt in 1853.

Theodore Hyatt made a commanding appearance. He was tall and physically striking. Born in Westchester County, New York, his formative years were spent on a farm. As a youth, he attended the local district school. With the help of the local Presbyterian minister, Hyatt was tutored and entered Union College as a sophomore in 1846. In 1847 he transferred to Princeton University where he graduated in 1849. After graduation, Hyatt accepted an invitation to teach at the parochial school of the local Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Bullock School was renamed Hyatt’s Select School for Boys. The academic instruction consisted of English, Science and the Classics. Each Thursday, students spent the day studying composition, declamation (rhetorical exercise), reading, and spelling. In addition each student was expected to spend three hours in recitation. Despite the growing reputation of the school, Hyatt sought methods to impart gentlemanly conduct on his students.

According to legend, in the fall of 1858 Theodore Hyatt observed some of his students practicing military drills with broomsticks in the recreation room of the school. Infantry Drills then became part of the school because they provided physical exercise and impart habits of “order, neatness, system, punctuality, and gentlemanly carriage” in every Cadet. Uniformity was important and Cadets were required to wear uniforms. These consisted of

… a frock coat of dark blue cloth, single breasted, with velvet collar to turn down,with one row of ten gilt buttons, of the School pattern, to button up to the throat. The pantaloons will be of dark blue cloth, with a black cord one-eighth of an inch thick set in the outer seam. Caps of black cloth in the school pattern were to be worn.

This was the birth of the military program at PMC. Alumni continue to celebrate the legend of the broomsticks (called “The Broom Drill”) by parading with brooms during Homecoming.

 

Note: While the “legend” may be true, according the Circular (school catalogue) for 1858, which was printed during the summer, both Infantry Drill and uniforms were to be introduced at the opening of School on September 6, 1858. If the cadets drilled with broomsticks in the fall, it was because the Governor of Delaware had not yet given the school the military arms for drill.