Something about the grit and lethal glamour of martial life must have appealed to him, and he excelled during his initial period of army service.... Poe’s promotion to artificer after only a year or so in service was a recognition of his competence, hard work, precision craftsmanship, and keenly applied scientific intellect....
The evidence indicates he toed the line as an enlisted man. The same cannot be said of his time at the service academy. He entered West Point in 1830 and was court-martialed and discharged the next year.... Records indicate he cut classes, drill, and chapel too often to make the grade. His drinking has been mythically exaggerated....
The idea of Cadet Poe, however, is fairly well known among West Point students and faculty... “There is a tradition of cadets who either were bad boys in the ranks or who turned out to be infamous more than famous, a counter-narrative to the legacy of heroes”...
November 12, 2018
Late-breaking news.
"How Edgar Allan Poe Got Kicked Out of the U.S. Army" (The Daily Beast).
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Oddly enough I was doing a little background research yesterday on vote fraud and came across "Cooping":
Cooping was a form of electoral fraud in the United States during the 19th century by which unwilling participants were forced to vote, often several times over, for a particular candidate in an election. Generally these innocent bystanders would be grabbed off the street by so-called 'cooping gangs' or 'election gangs' working on the payroll of a political candidate, and they would be kept in a room, called the "coop", and given alcoholic beverages in order for them to comply. If they refused to cooperate, they would be beaten or even killed. Often their clothing would be changed to allow them to vote multiple times. Sometimes the victims would be forced to wear disguises such as wigs, fake beards or mustaches to prevent them from being recognized by voting officials at polling stations.
Edgar Allan Poe is thought by some to have been the victim of cooping before his mysterious death in early October 1849.
Get a "Clue"!
It was Semolina Pilchard, on the Eiffel Tower, with a penguin, singing Hare Krishna, kicking Edgar Allen Poe... out of the U.S. Army.
Semolina Pilchard
Climbing up the Eiffel tower
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe
Life at West Point in the 19th century was often compared life in a Monastery.
A complete lack of fun and total dedication.
Whistler couldn't handle it either.
Mammoths signs Wide Receiver Edgar Allen Poe - Former West Point Receiver comes to Maine to begin pro career.
(Tucson boy. Go Ed!)
The accompanying photo reminds me of Bill Murray in Stripes.
Poe would have been better off as a sailor. We had a rum ration in the old navy until the bluenoses took it away.
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