Q: What is a Goat?  What is the origin of the term?

 

A: The Goat is the cadet who graduates last in the class at the United States Military Academy at West Point. There is no known record of the origin of the term “the Goat.” The earliest written reference is in the booklet for the Hundredth Night entertainment of February 20, 1886, a celebration traditionally held one hundred days before graduation. One of the jokes reads, “What feature of the instructor of the Immortals in Spanish resembles his section? His beard; it is a goatee, and so is his section.”

 

Q: Who were The Immortals?

 

A: The term “The Immortals” originated in the early 19^th century and referred to any cadets in the lowest academic section. Brigadier General John C. Tidball, USMA 1848, who was Commandant of Cadets in 1864, noted that the Immortal section “contains those who are hanging on at the ragged edge of deficiency.” The derivation of the term is obscure; it may rest with Herodotus, who wrote of a 10,000 man bodyguard of the ancient Persian kings called The Immortals because their numbers never diminished. Likewise, the number in the last section was constant; when those at the bottom failed, those who remained at the tail end of the class became the new last section. The term fell out of use sometime around the turn of the 20th Century.

 

Q: What was the inspiration for the book?

 

A: The book grew out of a discussion at Little Round Top during a staff ride to Gettysburg. Patrick O'Rourke, first in the Class of June, 1861, died defending that ground. Someone noted that George Custer was last in that class, and was also present on the field. Another observed that George Pickett was a Goat too, as was his cousin Henry Heth. I decided to find out how many Goats were present at Gettysburg. There were in fact six, three on each side (the others being Laurence Simmons Baker, Charles Nelson Warner, and John McCleary). My first thought was to write an article, "Six Goats at Gettysburg." But while researching the original question I came across many other interesting stories of Goats, Immortals, washouts and others who figured in West Point's early history. There was much more than could fit in an article. At that point the project took on a life of its own.

 

Q: How did the author decide which Goats to profile?

 

A: I tried to tell what I thought were the most interesting Goat tales. I have not profiled every Goat -- for example one went deaf, was not commissioned and died soon after graduation. There were others I would have liked to have written more about but there was not enough information on them. I was fortunate to find some mostly unpublished materials on some of the lesser known Goats. Others, like Custer and Pickett, have been widely written about and naturally formed anchors of the story.

 

Q: What are the sources of the stories?

 

A: I tried to stick to primary sources where possible; archival sources, letters, diaries, memoirs and the like. This was not possible in every case but first person accounts are predominant in the book, as befits what is an exercise in interwoven biography. I did most of my archival research at the USMA Special Collections, though received books and documents from scores of other places.

 

Q: Why did you stop with Little Big Horn? What about those who came after?

 

A: It was a matter of the length of the book. I had originally envisioned going up through the Spanish American War and Philippine Insurrection. My publisher wanted to continue the story to the present day. But we both realized as the book grew that it would be long enough by Little Big Horn -- and at 500 pages, it was.

 

Q: Are any of the stories fabricated, i.e., are parts of the book "historical fiction"?

 

A: No, that would be cheating!

 

Q: Does each West Point class still identify the "last in their class"?  How do they recognize him or her?

 

A: In 1978 West Point discontinued  the General Order of Merit, and the Academy announced “The Last of the Last Man (or The Demise of the ‘Goat’).” The official rationale for the change was “the Military Academy’s intensification of the pursuit of excellence in academics ... to stress competition against a high standard of learning rather than to have the students compete against one another for class standing.” Today’s West Point graduates are listed in the register in alphabetical order, except for the honor graduates. But the Goats have turned out to be tougher than expected. Unpublished class rankings exist, and there is still a “Last Man” in every class. Despite the best efforts to stamp out the custom, every cadet at the commencement ceremonies knows who the Goat is, and when his or her name is read in the alphabetical list, the crowd bursts into sustained cheers.

 

Q: Does the book have a "moral" or teaching point?

 

A: Some virtues are not acquired in classrooms.

 

Q: Is the author planning a sequel?

A: Absolutely. I have many Goat stories to tell, and would like to learn more of them. If you are a Goat, know a Goat or have a story that would fit in Volume 2, please let me know.