General Ulysses S. Grant recently visited West Point, browsing through the academy's roster and reflecting on the extraordinary men who shaped America's greatest conflict. The front page features a fascinating correspondence from West Point detailing Grant's visit and the academy's role in the Civil War, revealing how graduates commanded on both sides of the conflict. The piece notes that 30% of Southern cadets stayed loyal to the Union, and that West Point has cost the government $7.5 million over 62 years while graduating military leaders who designed America's coastal fortifications. Also featured are official reports from Generals Meade and Sheridan on the final campaign that captured Richmond and forced Lee's surrender. Sheridan's report reveals why he relieved General Warren of command during the Battle of Five Forks, citing Warren's slow movements and lack of inspiration to his troops. The page concludes with a spirited piece advocating for women to ride horses astride rather than sidesaddle, with a female doctor describing her liberating experience riding in men's clothing as 'twenty-five per cent better' than traditional riding.

This June 1865 edition captures America grappling with the aftermath of its defining conflict. The nation is simultaneously celebrating victory and examining how its institutions—particularly West Point—produced leaders on both sides of the fratricidal war. The detailed military reports show a country methodically documenting its path to reunion, while the women's riding article hints at the social changes brewing beneath the surface. With the war barely two months over, Americans are wrestling with questions of loyalty, leadership, and national identity that will shape Reconstruction and beyond. The focus on West Point reflects a broader national conversation about whether American institutions can be trusted after producing both the Union's saviors and the Confederacy's military masterminds.

• West Point had only 12 horses available for all cadets until 1839, when it finally received its first battery of light artillery
• The academy graduated only 89 cadets total before the War of 1812, and in 1813 produced just one single graduate
• All West Point instructors are Americans except for the sword master, who remains mysteriously foreign
• A female doctor rode 2.5 miles to the village of 'G—' in men's clothing and made the trip in an hour and three-quarters, often leaving her male companion 'in the rear'
• The West Point grounds comprise over 2,000 acres that were settled 50 years before the American Revolution

• Grant browsed academy records containing names like Jerome Bonaparte—Napoleon's nephew who graduated from West Point despite his famous uncle's exile
• The correspondence notes that 'handsome Joe' Hooker served as a West Point adjutant—he'd later earn the nickname 'Fighting Joe' and have his surname possibly become slang for prostitutes who followed his camps
• Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard both served as West Point superintendents, meaning the academy was literally run by future Confederate generals right up until the war began
• The article claims West Point officers never violated neutrality laws while 'all filibusters came from civil life'—this was written just as American adventurers were launching private invasions across Latin America
• Rhode Island produced 25 West Point graduates compared to Florida's mere 6, showing how the North dominated military education even before the war