“The Best School in the World”: West Point, The Pre—Civil War Years, 1833–1866 by James L. Morrison, Jr, and: Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition 1840–1880 ed. by James C. Bradford

Abstract

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 953 been studied from so many perspectives, the insights that emerge from reviewing the literature about it provide a valuable guide to the analysis of scientific and technical institutions in general. And the very richness of this literature serves to emphasize the extent to which the study of technical schools and technical education has been compar­ atively neglected elsewhere (for example in the United States). Eda Kranakis Dr. Kranakis is a member of the Department of Science Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam. “The Best School in the World”: West Point, The Pre—Civil War Years, 1833— 1866. By James L. Morrison, Jr. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1986. Pp. xii + 255; illustrations, notes, appendixes, bibliog­ raphy, index. $27.50. Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition 1840-1880. Edited by James C. Bradford. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1986. Pp. xvi + 356; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $24.95. These two volumes provide essential information on developments in the profession of arms in the United States. “The Best School in the World” covers the era in which developments at West Point became critical to the success of the United States on the battlefield. Captains of the Old Steam Navy deals with the professional and personal lives of selected officers whose careers included pre—Civil War and, for most of them, Civil War service. Both deal, at least in part, with the evolution of arms technology and the influence of that technology on military education and careers in the middle years of the 19th century. James L. Morrison’s work provides an in-depth analysis of the per­ sonalities involved in providing an education for army officers through the Civil War. The book’s carefully constructed chronological format is supplemented by 100 pages of appendixes that provide in tabular form a considerable proportion of the statistical data available for the period in the USMA Archives. In addition to analysis of social, eco­ nomic, and political matters, Morrison places West Point in the context of its times with respect to education in science and technology. He also points out that not only did graduates engage in critical civil engineering projects, both as officers and as civilians, but there were also areas in which West Point mathematics, science, and engineering professors produced textbooks that were used extensively both at West Point and at other U.S. colleges, indicating that the academy’s im­ portance to developments in science and engineering is more exten­ sive than might be thought. Probably because of considerations of 954 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE length, he does not deal with graduates and professors whose careers led them to teach at other institutions, but they too made critical contributions to engineering and science. Morrison does deal in pass­ ing, however, with experiments carried out at the academy with for­ tifications and the ability of improved weaponry to destroy them. Other experiments cited involved pontoon bridges, breech-loading rifles, and cavalry saddles. James Bradford’s biographical collection has several chapters that specifically investigate 19th-century changes in science and technology. The essays on Dahlgren, Maury, and Isherwood explain the relation­ ships of these individuals to advances, respectively, in naval artillery, hydrography, and the design ofsteam machinery for naval propulsion. The remaining ten essays deal with these and other areas of advancing technology where they influenced the officers who formed the back­ bone of a professional navy, a navy that established its own academy during the period covered. Some of the details involved in the creation of the Naval Academy are provided, as are details on the personal con­ flicts between the men covered by the essays. Not all of these conflicts related to developments in maritime technology, but the stresses cre­ ated by change are made fully evident. Bradford also points out where publications by the protagonists made critical contributions to naval sci­ ence and compiles them in a thorough bibliography. The titles of both books are somewhat misleading since the years covered extend beyond those indicated. This is in part a consequence of including some treatment of the early lives of many of the indi­ viduals, coverage that...