Another ignominious chapter in Poe’s abortive military career, the Trial of Cadet Edgar Allen Poe:
Poe arrived at West Point in June 1830 and submitted himself to the rigors and regimens of the Academy. There were long days filled with study and military drills. The food was poor, the quarters crowded and spartan, and discipline rigid. Poe did well academically but was soon undone by continuing quarrels with his foster father and money problems. During his first term, he decided to leave West Point but could not resign without the consent of his foster father. When Allen did not consent, Poe set out to get himself court-martialed and dismissed. He neglected his studies and failed to report for parades, roll-calls, and guard duty. On January 28, 1831, he was court-martialed. These papers from the trial list charges against Cadet Poe: gross neglect of duty and absence from his “academical duties;” on March 6, 1831, he was dismissed from West Point by sentence of court-martial.
Edgar Allan Poe: January 18, 1809 - October 7, 1849
Pioneering author Edgar Allan Poe joined the Army at the age of 18 in an act of desperation after suffering the strain of surviving on his own for two months without money. This enlistment paper shows that Poe was in Boston when he signed up, that he used a false name, Edgar Perry, and a false age, adding four years to his real age. The paper also described him as being 5 feet 8 inches tall, with brown hair, gray eyes, and a fair complexion.
