BMI Cadet Corps for young reenactor’s
First, a little history; The original Texas Military Institute was organized in Bastrop by R.P.T. Allen and was operating as the Bastrop Military Institute by 1858.
Before the Civil War the institution saw increased attendance and functioned in both preparatory and collegiate capacities. Studies included mathematics, geography, the natural sciences, Latin, and Greek, as well as surveying and civil engineering. By 1861 Bastrop Military Institute consisted of a faculty of four professors and three assistants. Students paid $230 for a term of forty weeks.
During the Civil War attendance reduced drastically. The original campus contained only the barracks and the recitation halls and was insufficient to handle the school's planned expansion into the main institution of general and applied science in Texas. The school officially reopened in September 1867.
During the winter of 1869–70 leaders of the institute decided to move the school to Austin. That city had recently raised a building fund of $10,000 in gold. A thirty-two-acre campus was purchased in March 1870, and on June 10, 1870, the new Texas Military Institute, Austin, opened. By 1872 the institute had a cadet barrack large enough to accommodate 400 students.
The institute modeled its disciplinary operations after the United States Military Academy at West Point, but it included instruction in literary subjects as well as the sciences. All cadets were required to live in the barracks. In 1873 there were 150 students at the school. The college, nonsectarian but religious in nature, operated successfully until 1879, when the president and faculty were en-mass employed by Texas A&M effectively closing the institute.
Bibliography: Bastrop Historical Society, In the Shadow of the Lost Pines: A History of Bastrop County and Its People (Bastrop, Texas: Bastrop Advertiser, 1955). Bill Moore, Bastrop County, 1691–1900 (Wichita Falls: Nortex Press, 1977). Texas Military Institute, Annual Catalogue (1857–1858). Texas Military Institute, Annual Register (1873–1874). Texas Military Institute, Annual Register of Officers and Cadets (1872–1873).
The BMI, Texas Corps of Cadets is being formed with the goal of training, educating, and preparing Cadets (boys aged 12-15) for reenacting the War Between the States period of 1861-1865. As fathers join units, bringing their families and young sons, the Corps is absolutely necessary in the development of future reenactors.
In the area of southern culture Cadets will learn proper etiquette of the period, and basically how to be a gentleman. Religion was an important part of the Southern Soldier's make up. Cadets will be required to attend Sunday Church Services at reenactments. These services are non-denominational.
In this environment, Cadets will also achieve skills in camping, cooking, interpersonal relationships, teamwork, and yes even such skills as sewing. The things a young man needs to know to fend for himself and others. Other skills that may be learned along the way are leather and woodcraft.
Cadets will be given instruction in areas of military protocol, discipline and military drill. Hardee and Cooke's manuals of Infantry and Cavalry drill will be taught. They will also be taught battlefield tactics of Dismounted Cavalry and Skirmishers. This is so the Cadets will become familiar with the drill and battlefield tactics used during the period. They may be assigned as grooms to mounted cavalrymen to learn the proper care, grooming, feeding and tacking of a horse.
The intent is to instill an esprit-de-corps in the Cadets. This will take discipline, teamwork, and support from the family to gain the cohesiveness that it takes to make up the Corps and give the Corps its lifeline.
Parents are welcomed, and encouraged to be involved. It is our desire to give the Cadet a full experience of the period and a soldier's life. Parents of Cadets who do not participate on the battlefield can be appointed Assistant Professors, to work directly with the Corps Staff to set-up event agendas for the Cadets. The first order of new Cadets is to learn the Motto, Code of Conduct and the Cadet Law. Over their careers as Cadets, they will constantly strive to uphold these core concepts
CADET UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS · White period shirt & spare · Black cravat · 7 button gray shell jacket w/ Texas buttons · Braces · White duck pants · Black brogans · Wool boot socks, 2 pair · White gloves · Gray bummer cap and “BMI” brass letters (We’ll “stiffen” the bummer and show you how to apply the letters) · White belt with Texas buckle and shoulder strap w/ frog (Purchase the buckle and we will make the rest) CADET EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS · Shelter half (can be purchased or made) · Knapsack · Bedroll (sleeping bag) and sheet · Wool blanket · Poncho · Eating Utensils (knife, fork, spoon, plate, cup) · Canteen · Personal toiletries · Camp stool No musket required Note: As Cadets outgrow their uniforms and brogans, they can be sold to newer/younger Cadets coming in
BMI RULES / MISSION / CURRICULUM The Bastrop Military Institute believes that the measure of a college (an organized body of persons engaged in a common pursuit or having common interests or duties) lies in the quality and performance of its graduates and their contributions to society. MISSION PROFESSORS All instructors will be addressed as “Professor” regardless of rank. Professors will be brought in as required to teach specific lessons. The will be one Head Professor responsible for the entire Corps at all times. The Corps will be divided into as many squadrons or companies as is required. A squad or company will be comprised of two settees (two sets of four cadets each). CURRICULUM The curriculum is divided into four major areas: Academics, Military Arts, Physical and Moral & Ethical. Each course will be designed to get more in-depth as the cadets pass through classifications from year-to-year. Academics US Geography In Geography, cadets will learn about U.S. Geography in 1860. Cadets will be studying both physical and human geography. Using maps and activities, cadets will create a geography notebook and develop a broader geography vocabulary. Students will need a binder; lined and un-lined paper, pencils, and colored pencils. Public Speaking There are three primary components in the design of this course: 1) Development of an understanding of the communication process, 2) Development of interpersonal communication skills, and 3) Development of public speaking skills. The skills/application focus of this course is devoted to public speaking. Inherent in the basic philosophy of the course is that public speaking involves skills which can be learned. For this reason, the course has a logic to it. Each assignment builds upon a previous one. With cadet involvement, we can develop an atmosphere in which he can identify his strengths as a speaker and refine them, and identify his weaknesses and overcome them. Map and Compass Cadets learn how to navigate using a map and compass. Cadets gain the same skills taught to soldiers so that they can plan operations and navigate any terrain. First, cadets learn to care for and use Ordnance Survey maps, plot grid references, calculate distances between points, and to recognize various conventional signs. Cadets learn to use and plot grid and magnetic bearings in degrees and to understand contour lines and more advanced conventional signs. With this knowledge, cadets can draw up route cards to undertake navigation exercises. Surveying, Military Combat Engineering and Applied Mathematics Introduction to the profession of land surveying. Course will familiarize the cadet with the history of surveying, knowledge of the terminology as well as the equipment used in the profession. Cadets will gain an elementary knowledge of the duties and responsibilities of a professional land surveyor. Military Military Drill from Hardee’s and Cook’s Manuals (Infantry and Cavalry) With a time-honored tradition of military parade; cadets are taught drill. Cadets will learn the positions of attention, saluting and turns at the halt, recruits progress into marching. Many drill movements can be executed while standing still and while marching, and also under arms. Each year, drill is used for Memorial Day, Fourth of July and parades, and at reenactment camps large parades take place, with a color guard, in which cadets with rifles march with and guard the standard-bearers. Closely linked with a cadet's drill is his turnout - each cadet has a uniform purchased by his family and with other accoutrement he may have made. He will learn how to care for it and appear smart at all times. The aim of drill is to produce a cadet who is alert and obedient and to provide the basis of teamwork. The purpose of drill is to move an individual or body of cadets from A to B in a smart, uniform and military-like manner. Drill has evolved over a long period of time and is now accepted as the foundation of military discipline. It has particular value for cadets; teaching them proper posture, to develop their lungs and muscles and improve their confidence. The expression "Drill Voice" is the tone volume and pitch of voice used by an individual taking command during drill. Cadets must make sure they are loud enough for the whole squad to be able to hear the word of command, clear enough so that the squad can understand, and aggressive enough that the words of command are heard as a command - not a request. Field Artillery and Ordinance Professors who are certified trainers for the US Field Artillery Association will teach these courses. Cadets will be training and certified in all positions of the gun and in artillery ordinance. Safety is the primary issue in every aspect of this course. Equine Sciences Health & Care, Tack, Training, Horsemanship First Aid This course meets the emergency medical training needs of individual soldiers. Because medical personnel will not always be readily available, the non-medical cadet will have to rely upon his own skills and knowledge of life-sustaining methods. This course will also address first aid measures for other life-threatening situations. It outlines both self-treatment (self-aid) and aid to others (buddy aid). First aid is the emergency care given to the sick, injured, or wounded before being treated by medical personnel. The Army Dictionary defines first aid as "urgent and immediate lifesaving and other measures which can be performed for casualties by non-medical personnel when medical personnel are not immediately available NRA Basic Rifle Course Teaches the basic knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary for the safe use of a rifle in target shooting. Physical Cadets will be periodically evaluated during non-event weekends, for aerobic fitness, flexibility and strength through team and individual activities. Moral & Ethical Leadership Needs to be developed 1860’s Etiquette This course is meant to be a quick reference guide for cadet re-enactors regarding proper etiquette, dress and deportment. All items presented suggestions offered to the cadet that have been gathered from several different sources. "America in the nineteenth century was growing at an incredible rate. Industrialization in the North brought forth factories, department stores, mills, and large banking institutions, providing city jobs for rural people. Young men were being hired from the farms of the country to make their fortune in the city." "New jobs and opportunities created an addition to the social classes, known as "middle-class." This term was coined in the 1830's to describe people with mobile incomes, working hard to increase their quality of life. This came from a term of the colonial era, "middling class". It originally referred to someone who was an "upstart" trying to move into a higher class bracket than they were born into." Notes on American Culture 1800-1860 - by Karen Rae Mchaffey The Cadet and the Community Community projects enrich local knowledge and encourage good citizenship, a cadet can contribute to his community by charity collection, public parades, assisting local services and helping at reenactments and public events. This involvement within the local and reenactment community is important for improving confidence and social skills.Remember, these young men are the future of our hobby, do not take their participation lightly, but give it your full measure. A manual is being developed to help guide these young men.
Therefore, it is the mission of the Bastrop Military Institute to produce educated, honorable young men, prepared to take the next step in Reenacting and for the varied work of student and civil life, imbued with a love of learning, confident in the functions and attitudes of leadership, possessing a high sense of public service, advocates of the American system, and ready to enter as citizen-soldiers to defend their country in time of national peril.
This course includes classroom and range time learning to shoot rifles. Students learn the NRA rules for safe gun handling; rifle parts and operation; ammunition; shooting fundamentals; range rules; shooting from the bench rest, prone, sitting, kneeling and off-hand positions; cleaning, and continued opportunities for skill development. Students will receive the Basics of Rifle Shooting handbook, NRA Gun Safety Rules brochure, Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification booklet, take a Basics of Rifle Shooting Student Examination, and will receive a course completion certificate.
CADET CLASSIFICATION AND RANK STRUCTURE
Classification
First Year (age 12) Fourth Class
Second Year (age 13) Third Class
Third Year (age 14) Second Class
Fourth Year (age 15) First Class
Rank
Cadet rank will be authorized and approved through a promotion board consisting of the Colonel (acting Commandant), the professsors, and regimental staff of the 11th Texas Cavalry.
MOTTO / CODE OF CONDUCT / LAW
The Cadet Motto: DUTY – HONOR – COUNTRY
Cadet Code of Conduct
A Cadet will…
· at all times behave in a manner that will bring respect to the Corps
· not lie, cheat or steal
· obey the orders of their appointed Professors and Leaders
· carry out their duties in a timely and appropriate manner
· be respectful to all Professors, Soldiers, NCOs and Officers, including those of the opposing army
· be courteous and respectful to all ladies, addressing them appropriately and always remain a gentleman
· not partake of any alcoholic beverage, or any illegal substance
· obey all Regulations, Event, Company, and Corps orders as prescribed by appropriate Professors and Officers
· not abuse any animals or other Cadets placed in their charge.
The Cadet Law
A Cadet is OBEDIENT.
Obedience is the first duty of the Cadet Corps. A Cadet is silent while his Officers, NCOs and Elders are speaking, and gives them his full attention. He makes it a point to learn and understand the rules, civil, corps, home and school. He does not break them. Obedience means self-control, which is the heart and soul of the Cadet Law.
A Cadet has HONOR.
At whatever task he is working, a Cadet strives to win honor and a name for honesty. A Cadet does not break promises, for his word of honor is sacred. He does not wantonly destroy property. He works faithfully, wastes nothing, and makes the best use of his opportunities. A Cadet plays fair, for fair play is truth, and foul play - treachery.
A Cadet is LOYAL.
He is always prepared to come to the defense of Faith, Country, Corps, Family, and those not able to defend themselves.
A Cadet has COURAGE.
Bravery is the noblest of all his attainments. A Cadet can face danger even if he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at, or threaten him.
A Cadet is KIND.
A Cadet will do at least one act of selfless service each day. He does nothing to hurt or offend anyone. A Cadet seeks the joy of being alive. For every gladness that you receive or give is a treasure that can never be destroyed, and doubles each time it is shared with others.
A Cadet is CLEAN.
Both himself and the place where he resides, home or encamped, for there is no perfect beauty without cleanliness of body, soul and estate. Cleanliness helps first himself, then those around him. Those who keep this Law are truly in their Country’s and Corps’ loving service.
A Cadet is REVERENT.
He is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties, and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion.
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As parents and professors, fellow reenactors, please remember, these young men are the future of our hobby and our country, do not take their participation lightly. Give to them your full measure of support and encouragement.