West Pointers and the Civil War: The Old Army in War and Peace

The task of transforming America's ragtag militia into a professional fighting force in the first half of the nineteenth century was a difficult one. Americans had long supported a tradition of militia and distrusted professional soldiers. By the time of the Civil War, however, most of the high-command positions in both armies were filled with West Point graduates who had been trained in the European military tradition and had honed their experience in the Mexican War. This training and exp...