They Died with Their Boots On Page #2

You ask me, he'll make the worst record

of any cadet...

...since Ulysses S. Grant.

At full charge, a 12-pound shell will

burst into approximately 50 fragments.

- Mr. Custer!

- Yes, sir.

You know how many fragments

will a 12-pound shell burst?

Certainly not less than two, sir.

Harold McCord.

Ronald McKenzie.

Francis Dupont.

- Congratulations, Mr. Dupont.

- Thank you, sir.

Edward Sharp.

- Good luck.

- Thank you, sir.

I never thought I'd envy that toad,

graduating ahead of me.

- I'd like to be in his boots today.

- Why?

Why?

Because if Lincoln gets elected there's

gonna be a war. Sharp will be in it.

Bunkum. It's all talk, Custer.

There'll be no war.

No? Well, you wait and see, Rosser.

I tell you, if Lincoln gets elected,

the South will fight.

Battalion...

...ten-hut!

You are to hear an order by a civilian

member of the national government.

Senator Smith.

Gentlemen, because of a present crisis

in the affairs of the nation...

...which menaces armed rebellion...

...and destruction of the union

established by our fathers...

...it has been decreed by Congress

that every officer and cadet...

...shall subscribe his name

to the following oath:

"I swear to maintain and defend

the sovereignty of the United States...

...as paramount to all allegiance or fealty

I may owe to any state or territory...

...so help me God."

Any officer or cadet who finds himself

unable to comply with its requirements...

...will fall out to the right

of the battalion.

Gentlemen of the South, fall out!

I see I was not misinformed as to the

preponderance of traitors at West Point.

It's high time that Congress acted

to clean out this nest of secessionists.

We don't concern ourselves

with the making of wars here, senator.

Only the fighting of them.

The academy leaves each man

to his own sense of honor.

Gentlemen of the South, fall in!

United States Military Academy...

...close to the left!

Gentlemen, I'm sorry our comradeship

must end in unhappy circumstances.

We have lived as soldiers...

...and politics have had no place

among us.

Let us part then as we have lived:

In the determination to do our duty,

wherever it may lie.

- Have we your permission to move off?

- Move off, Captain Fitzhugh Lee.

Shoulder...

...arms!

Bandmaster, sound "Dixie"!

Company, left...

...face!

Battalion...

...march!

Eyes left!

Present arms!

Forward!

Frankly, I dislike the idea

of graduating junior classmen.

Emergency or no emergency, a half-baked

officer is worse than none at all.

But I couldn't make

the War Department see.

- At least the selection is left to us.

- Take them alphabetically. Who's first?

- Cadet Percival Anderson.

- Anderson.

Doesn't seem to have made

much impression.

Anderson's not the conspicuous type, sir.

His record speaks for him. No demerits.

That might mean he's devoted himself

to keeping out of trouble.

Anderson will be the better off

for another year.

As a senior, he'd accept responsibility,

make decisions.

- I know, sir, but...

- Next!

George Armstrong Custer.

Well, there's nothing inconspicuous

about him, is there?

No, sir, nothing.

Nothing at all.

He has no regard for discipline,

organization, nor tactics.

And as for his record...

...George Armstrong Custer has the

lowest marks and the highest demerits...

...of any cadet who ever attended this

academy, including Ulysses S. Grant.

I wonder what happened to Grant.

Well, what about Custer?

He's the best rider

and the best swordsman we have.

He seems endowed

with a singular aggressiveness.

- A singular aggressiveness.

- The type that wins brawls, not battles.

- I tell you, sir, if you...

- What is your opinion of his quality?

A squadron would follow him to hell.

You're forgetting yourself, sergeant.

As I was saying, sir, Custer's the type

that wins brawls, not battles.

At this very moment, he's doing a

punishment tour for his latest escapade.

Carry that rifle properly

and quicken the pace.

- Why? Nobody's looking.

- Quiet! You're not allowed to talk...

...on punishment tour!

Move on!

I hope you won't think me bold

addressing a stranger...

...but I'm Elizabeth Bacon of Monroe,

and I think I'm lost.

Oh, but I'm speaking to you.

I'm trying to find Sheridan's house.

My father has business

at the commandant's office.

He thought he'd be a while,

so he told me to find the house myself.

Well, you see how I've found it.

It sounds silly getting lost,

but it's a big place...

...and I've never been here,

and I've forgotten all my directions.

I took that path over there

by the garden...

...and when I got in the middle,

I turned to admire the view...

Really, sir. I've been just as carefully

brought up as you have...

...and I think if I can speak

to a stranger...

...the least you can do is to reply,

particularly when that stranger's a lady.

I've told you who I am

and where I come from...

...and what my father's business is here,

and that, in an emergency...

...should be introduction enough.

And the least you can do is stand still

when I'm speaking to you. That's better.

I've never been so outrageously treated

in my life!

I thought West Point

was a place for gentlemen!

I thought our Army was

the flower of our country!

I shall tell my father about this.

I shall tell Colonel Sheridan!

Oh, you needn't start back now.

It's too late.

You can rehearse

all the apologies you like...

...but I shan't stay here to listen.

Good day.

Mr. Custer.

You're wanted at the commandant's

office. Get there at the double.

- Right. Hang on to this.

- That isn't the right direction!

Oh, yes, it is!

Miss Bacon!

Miss Bacon.

Please, you don't understand.

I couldn't speak to you.

It's against regulations.

Do you understand?

Halt!

If you're looking for Colonel Sheridan's

house, this is the right way.

I'm very sorry if I seemed rude...

...but while you're walking guard duty,

you're not allowed to talk.

- Well, then why didn't you say so?

- Well, I couldn't speak.

- Oh, you mean you couldn't speak!

- No! I mean, yes! I couldn't.

Well, thank you very much, sir.

And now that I've reached

my destination...

Oh, Miss Bacon?

Please don't go inside yet.

There's something I want to say to you.

See, I'm from Monroe too.

I haven't time to talk.

I'm due at the office.

If I keep Sheridan waiting...

Tell Uncle Phil you were with me.

- Uncle Phil?

- Colonel Sheridan.

Oh, is he your uncle?

Not exactly, but he and my father

are old friends.

- When I was little, I'd sit on his knee.

- Oh, I see.

I'm certainly glad

you never sat on my knee.

- Sir?

- I don't mean it that way, Miss Bacon.

If you'd been little enough

to sit on my knee...

...you'd be too old for me now...

I mean I'd be too old now.

Look, Miss Bacon,

I really must go now...

...but do you think if I were

to come past your house around 9:00...

...you might be just sitting around

on the veranda?

Life is full of surprises.

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