WI: Jefferson Davis and Robert E Lee Expelled from West Point

As per this Cracked.com article in December of 1826, in response to the West Point Superintendent's ban on alcohol, the cadets staying in the North Barracks smuggled in four kegs worth of whiskey kicking off a drunken bender that would end with the trashing of the Barracks by the cadets. As punishment the superintendent expelled 19 randomly chosen cadets.

Two of the cadets involved in these college shenanigans were Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.

What would happen if they were two of the nineteen given the boot for drunk and disorderly conduct in extremis?
 
As per this Cracked.com article in December of 1826, in response to the West Point Superintendent's ban on alcohol, the cadets staying in the North Barracks smuggled in four kegs worth of whiskey kicking off a drunken bender that would end with the trashing of the Barracks by the cadets. As punishment the superintendent expelled 19 randomly chosen cadets.

Two of the cadets involved in these college shenanigans were Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.

What would happen if they were two of the nineteen given the boot for drunk and disorderly conduct in extremis?
Well I don't know about Davis but I highly doubt Lee would have gotten involved in the drinking. That said the administrators might still have expelled him. Though I doubt it.
 
Well I don't know about Davis but I highly doubt Lee would have gotten involved in the drinking. That said the administrators might still have expelled him. Though I doubt it.

I was just thinking that. Robert E Lee is the only cadet to graduate from West Point with zero demerits on his record.
 
I have a hard time seeing Lee being expelled, but on Davis see my old soc.history.what-if post "The Eggnog Riot, or Jefferson Davis, Party Animal":


***

A Christmas-related what-if inspired by my recent reading of William J.
Cooper, *Jefferson Davis, American*:


During the 1820s it was a tradition of cadets at the United States
Military Academy at West Point to have drinking parties in the barracks
before reveille on Christmas Day. Officers did not interfere with this
practice, even though theoretically drinking by cadets was forbidden
except when officially sanctioned. Occasionally such official
authorization was given, especially on the Fourth of July. However when
things got out of hand during the July 4, 1825 celebrations,
Superintendent Sylvanus Thayer banned all drinking--period. No
exceptions. The Fourth of July 1826 celebration was dry. But of course
some unknown number of cadets surreptitiously continued to imbibe. And as
Christmas 1826 drew near, some cadets, including the 18-year-old Jefferson
Davis, prepared to celebrate in the customary way, whatever Superintendent
Thayer's orders might be.

In any event, word got out that the holiday festivities would once more
involve liquor. Determined to prevent this, Superintendent Thayer and
Commandant William J. Worth placed all tactical officers on duty on
Christmas Eve. They were to patrol the cadet area.

Without a doubt, Cadet Davis was deeply involved in planning the event.
He and two others were to obtain the alcohol. They got it from Benny
Havens, who owned a tavern two miles from West Point, and was famous for
selling liquor to cadets, sometimes on credit if they were strapped for
cash. (Edgar Allen Poe, who was very unhappy at West Point and remained a
cadet there for less than a year, called Havens "the sole congenial soul
in the entire God-forsaken place.") Davis and some other cadets had
actually faced a court-martial in 1825 for visiting Havens's tavern, which
was off-limits to cadets. (It was the misfortune of Davis and his fellow
cadets that Captain Ethan Hitchock happened to be at the tavern when they
arrived there, and had them all arrested.) Davis's plea--that he did not
know that the tavern was off-limits and that in any event there was no
evidence he had actually been *drinking* there--had not persuaded the
court. It had found Davis and his colleagues guilty as charged, and
sentenced them "to be dismissed from the service of the United States" but
"in consideration of his former good conduct recommended[ed] the remission
of said sentence." Superintendent Thayer had accepted this verdict. So
Davis had survived--barely--in 1825. Then, in August 1826, Havens had
gotten Davis into trouble again, though not of a disciplinary sort. In
that month, Davis and a friend were headed toward Havens's tavern "on a
little frolic--of course without leave." Word reached the tavern that an
instructor was approaching. Davis and his comrade took a short cut to get
back to the barracks. Unfortunately, in his rush up a steep path, Davis
fell, and tumbled sixty feet down to the riverbank. Luckily for him he
grabbed a small tree which "tempered the force of his fall" but he was
still seriously enough injured to require extended hospitalization. He
was not disciplined, however, despite his having been away from his post
without permission. Yet despite these two narrow escapes--one from
dismissal, one from death--Jefferson Davis was risking his future for
Benny Havens's liquor yet again!

Anyway, the cadets succeeded in smuggling Havens's liquor into the North
Barracks. Early on Christmas morning the participants planned to mix and
drink eggnog in two designated rooms there. Revelry began after midnight.
Up to this point the tactical officers had not foiled the celebration.

But shortly after 4 AM, Captain Ethan Hitchcock--the same man who had
arrested Davis and his colleagues at the tavern the previous year--hearing
"walking" and "an increase of noise" marched toward the source and
"observed a collection of cadets at No. 5." When he entered the room he
discovered a group of carousers. As for what happened next, I will quote
Cooper (pp. 37-8):

"At this point Cadet Jefferson Davis rushed in shouting--too late--'Put
away the grog, Captain Hitchcock is coming.' Captain Hitchcock was
already there, and he immediately placed Davis under arrest and ordered
him to his room. Without responding, Davis complied.

"That prompt compliance undoubtedly saved Davis's West Point career.
After his departure, pandemonium broke loose. Drunk cadets ran amuck.
They abused officers; they reeled through the barracks shouting, some with
swords, some with muskets, some with bayonets; one fired a musket; another
threw a log at an officer. Finally reveille was sounded. Cadets poured
out of the two barracks. The Christmas eggnog riot was over."

"Thayer directed Worth to head a full Court of Inquiry. Twenty-two cadets,
including Davis, were under arrest; seventy others, one-third of the
corps, were implicated. Thayer realized that he could not charge so many
students: the institution probably could not have survived the shock.
Finally, after careful scrutiny and deliberation, the superintendent
decided that the nineteen cadets most deeply involved would go before a
court-martial; fifty-three others would receive lesser punishments. All
nineteen tried by court-martial were convicted and sentenced to be
dismissed. Seven, however, were saved by the court's recommendation of
clemency. Thus, one dozen cadets involuntarily departed.

"Jefferson Davis amazingly escaped any punishment. Testimony at the trial
established that he had been in on the affair from the beginning. Two
cadets testified that he was or appeared to be drunk. Another swore that
Davis offered him a drink. Davis's claim six decades later that he was not
drunk must rest on an interpretation of the word. Yet he never had to
answer to that charge. In his only appearance before the court-martial, he
was asked no questions about his involvement.

"The documents do not explain Davis's incredible good fortune. Clearly his
instant, unquestioning obedience of Captain Hitchcock's order was
critical. Whether or not he was intoxicated, he completely missed the
riot. Whether he passed out in his room or just had sense enough not to
venture out will never be known. Davis's absence from the scene when the
really serious offenses took place made him a prime contender for removal
from the court-martial list. After all, Thayer was searching for ways to
excuse people. Whatever the particulars, on February 8,1827, Davis was
released from arrest."

Anyway, let's say that Davis, fortified by alcohol, had *not* instantly
obeyed Hitchcock's order. Or let's say that even if he did, Thayer still
decides that Davis should be court-martialed, given (a) Davis's
involvement from the beginning in planning the affair, (b) the testimony
that Davis himself was drunk, and (c) Davis's previous Benny-Havens-
related court-martial. So Davis is court-martialed and dismissed. Can he
still have an important political career without the military career of
OTL? We have sometimes discussed the consequences of someone other than
Davis being elected president of the CSA. But not having Davis as
Secretary of War might itself have significant consequences earlier: he
was one of only two cabinet members in 1854 who urged Pierce to support
outright, explicit repeal of the Missouri Compromise. (Just the day
before, Pierce had indicated an unwillingness to take this approach.) And
going back still further, might Davis's absence have had an effect on the
Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican War? Buena Vista is of course
known as Taylor's victory, and instantly made Taylor talked about as a
presidential candidate. Yet, as Cooper remarks, Taylor "had not really
directed the battle, but presided over the battlefield and left many of
the critical decisions and deployments to his subordinates. And again on
the regimental and battlefield level, a number of American officers,
including Colonel Jefferson Davis, turned in excellent performances under
extraordinarily trying conditions" (p. 154)

Incidentally, there were a fair number of times when Davis might have been
either court-martialed or killed. For court-martials, besides the West
Point episodes mentioned, there was one in 1835 when he was acquitted of
"highly disrespectful, insubordinate, and contemptuous conduct" (Cooper,
p. 63); for deaths, besides the August 1826 fall, there was his near-death
of malaria in the summer of 1835 (his first wife also contracted the
disease then and died of it), the possibility of his dying in the Mexican
War, etc.... https://groups.google.com/d/msg/soc.history.what-if/r7o6BnyfwoY/FdhboqE0bocJ
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
Robert E. Lee did not earn a single demerit during the entirety of his time at West Point. The idea of him being expelled is ASB.
 
Robert E. Lee did not earn a single demerit during the entirety of his time at West Point. The idea of him being expelled is ASB.

Agreed, he was the number two student and like you said he had not earned a single demerit. I doubt his name was even in the hat as he clearly wasn't in on it.
 
So let's focus back on the OP then of what if Davis was expelled?

I doubt he would ever have been Secretary of War and maybe not President of the CSA. If he were still president he probably wouldn't meddle nearly as much in the Confederate Army which is a big plus for the Confederate Army.
 
Given that Davis commanded a volunteer regiment during the Mexican war rather than a regular one, and a regiment outfitted at his personal expense, being expelled from West Point doesn't slow down his rise to Colonel, oddly enough. That, in turn, probably means he still easily wins a Senate seat. However, assuming he was aware of the incident, it's possible General Taylor concludes that Davis is an untrustworthy ruffian like all the other Volunteers. Without Taylor's patronage, he is unlikely to be considered for Secretary of War.
 
Given that Davis commanded a volunteer regiment during the Mexican war rather than a regular one, and a regiment outfitted at his personal expense, being expelled from West Point doesn't slow down his rise to Colonel, oddly enough. That, in turn, probably means he still easily wins a Senate seat. However, assuming he was aware of the incident, it's possible General Taylor concludes that Davis is an untrustworthy ruffian like all the other Volunteers. Without Taylor's patronage, he is unlikely to be considered for Secretary of War.
In that case he might go mercenary and join the Cuban invasion force, which apparently Davis had originally planned to (his wife didn't approve of it). Or perhaps Walker's filibuster army later on if his political career has stalled.

In which case there is likely execution in his future.
 
However, assuming he was aware of the incident, it's possible General Taylor concludes that Davis is an untrustworthy ruffian like all the other Volunteers. Without Taylor's patronage, he is unlikely to be considered for Secretary of War.

OTL, Taylor was well-acquainted with Davis from Army service at various posts. Davis resigned from the Army when he eloped with Taylor's daughter. (Tragically, the young Mrs. Davis died of malaria only three months after the wedding; Davis himself nearly died as well.)

It's reported that after the battle of Buena Vista, Taylor said to Davis "My daughter, sir, was a better judge of men than I was."

In any case, Davis was a Democrat and Taylor was a Whig (so was Fillmore). Davis was SoW under Pierce, in the next term.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
Lewis Armistead was expelled from West Point (for breaking a plate over Jubal Early's head), but he was commissioned in the army anyway and went on to a distinguished career. So it wouldn't necessarily mean that Davis's life would be ruined. But it certainly would introduce a host of butterflies.
 
Lewis Armistead was expelled from West Point (for breaking a plate over Jubal Early's head), but he was commissioned in the army anyway
How does that happen, shouldn't that have meant not being officer material?

Why didn't getting expelled from officer school mean no military career, or having to enter as a common soldier?
 
How does that happen, shouldn't that have meant not being officer material?

Why didn't getting expelled from officer school mean no military career, or having to enter as a common soldier?
There were other routes to command in those days, such as outfitting a regiment at your own expense, or even being elected by a division of volunteers. West Point wasn't even necessarily thought of as the most prestigious track; it was often criticized as being undemocratic.
 
There were other routes to command in those days, such as outfitting a regiment at your own expense, or even being elected by a division of volunteers. West Point wasn't even necessarily thought of as the most prestigious track; it was often criticized as being undemocratic.

One could also earn a commission through one of the other military academies: VMI, for instance. (George Marshall went to VMI, not West Point. Or Norwich University, which still has a commissioned-officer program.

Or one could be commissioned from the ranks, or as a state militia officer and then into the Regulars.

At the time of the Civil War, only about half of the Army's serving officers were West Pointers.
 
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