founded prior to the Civil War.
In 1835, during the Army's first year of the Second Seminole War, they had only three generals: Winfield Scott, Edmund P. Gaines, and Thomas S. Jesup. The Army's remaining fourteen generals held only brevet ranks, and none of them were West Point graduates. Nearly the only way to obtain a commission up to 1835 was through the academy, which raised loud complaints and added to the deep desire of the era's Jacksonian Democracy "to get rid of the Academy, where Jacksonians were sure, an aristocratic tradition was being bred."
The Mexican–American War brought the academy to prominence as graduates proved themselves in battle for the first time. Future Civil War commanders Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, who also later became the superintendent of the academy, first distinguished themselves in battle in Mexico. In all, 452 of 523 graduates who served in the war received battlefield promotions or awards for bravery. The school experienced a rapid modernization during the 1850s, …
