THE GOATS OF WEST POINT: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
by Jason Zasky
In every graduating class someone has to finish last. At the West Point Military Academy that person has long been known as "the Goat." In our own version of "Where Are They Now?" Failure interviewed James S. Robbins, author of "Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point" (Encounter Books) about the implications of being ranked dead last at West Point. The irony? Some of the Academy's least distinguished cadets developed into the most famous and remarkable figures in American military history.
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Another notable expellee was Edgar Allan Poe. A little known fact about Poe was that he was a sergeant major of artillery before he went to West Point. He was recommended there by one of his officers who said that he was of sound temper and entirely free of drink, which as we know, is not true. He only spent about half-a-year at West Point. The thing about Poe was that he was such a genius that he got great grades without studying. The lore at West Point is that Poe was a bad student but that's not true. He was a good student in the sense that he could take a test and score high, but he was also very interested in smuggling drink into the barracks and having other adventures. After about six months he stopped reporting to class and assembly and they expelled him."