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America has a rather limited history of boarding schools, but for some reason quite a number of the military schools that did exist were military schools. I'm not sure why this was, but by the mid-19th Century several such schools were in operation. There are some tragic stories of the boys even being deployed in Civil War battles. Most of the American military were boarding schools. There were, however, also some day schools. Unlike many of the European military schools, American boys were generally sent to military schools for the beneficial impact of discipline and not in preparation for a career in the military. Often it was unruly boys who might be sent to a military school. Many parents decided on military schools as a way of instilling discipline in their children. Most military schools are secondary schools, but there are some elementary military schools as well. Almost all military schools are private fee paying schools. Military schools continue to florish in America. One urban school district (Chicago) has even established a public (state) boarding school.
The chronology of the main military accademies training officers for the American military is well known. The Continental Congress only months after declaring independence established a committee of five members to plan for a national military school (1776). John Adams and John Knox were strong advocated. Nothing came of the Committee's work. It was several years after indepence that the national military accademy was established at West Point (1802).
The naval academy was established at Anapolis several years later.
We know less about private military academies that were founded in the early 19th centuries that were more centered on general education than toi train military officers. We know several were founded, because some existed at the time of the Civil War. We have some limited on these schools at the time of the Civil War (1861-65). Military schools florished in America after the Civil War. Attitudes toward these schools is changing. This is in part because the children themselves are more commonly consulted than was the case in the past. There are far fewer cases today of sending a boy off to a military boarding school than was previously the case. Thus the specter of being sent to these schools has generally declined in the eyes of many boys. Many military schools in the United States declined in the aftermath of the Vietnam War (1965-75). The military became very unpopular in America in the 1960s and 70s. Military schools throuhgout the United states had difficulty maintaining enrollments. This gradually changed. Parents became increasingly concerned over discipline and military schools in the 1980s began to benefit from this changing public attitude. Military schools like to tell parents that they are not educating children for war, but rather educating for life.
Many American schools were founded in the 19th centuries. Here we are not referring to the military academies. Rather these were schools for school age boys. Most were for secondary age-boys, but there were schools for younger boys as well. Many well-to-do American parents who had no intention of dorecting their boys into military careers, seem to have thought that military schools offered badly needed discipline. This is interesting, because there was no similar trend in Europe. Private schools in Europe were not generally organized along military lines. Britain had a few charity schools that were. And Austria and Germany had cadet schools that began the training of military officers. American military schools were not primarily set up to train military officers. In fact, while America had more military schools than all of Europe combined, it only a very small military. Europe in the early 20th century was involved in a massive arms race inwhich the United States did not participate. (One of the reasons that many Europeans immigrated to America was the conscription system in the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. As a result, when World War I began, the United States had virtuall no army.
I'm not sure what America's first military school was or when it was founded. It is clear, however, that many American American military schools were founded in the 19th century with a variety of origins. We have little information on these schools, but have begun to collect some information. Some examples explaining the development of these schools include:
Brooks Military Academy: The Brooks Military Academy was a boys' college preparatory school located in Cleveland Ohio. It was a relatively short lived school, operating 1874-91. The school had different names, including Brooks School, Brooks Academy, and Brooks Academy & Military Institute. The school was founded by wealthy Clevelanders in honor of Reverend Frederick Brooks, the respected rector of St. Paul'S Eposicopal Church. Reverend Brooks had wanted to open a prep school for boys. The school accepted boys and youths from 7-20 years of age. The first headmaster was John S. White, a Harvard graduate. We note a cadet at the school, Frank Stearns in the late 1880s.
Howe: Howe Military School was founded in 1884. The school was made possible by a bequest of John Badlam Howe, the most prominent citizen of Howe (Lima). On his death in 1883, Mr. Howe left the sum of $10,000 to be used for the founding of a school to train young men for the Episcopal priesthood. The Howe Grammar School opened its doors in September, 1884, with two students, both from Fort Wayne. In 1895 Howe became a military school, although it did not adopt the name Howe Military School until 1940. In 1889, upon the request of Mrs. Howe, all property and money held by the diocese were transferred to the Howe Board of Trustees, appointed by Mrs. Howe. Thus Howe was no longer an Episcopal School; it was a church related school. The military program was instituted in 1895 and, since 1920, Howe has had a High School ROTC Unit sponsored by the Department of the Army. The school has been designated an "Honor Unit with Distinction" by the Department of the Army, which gives us "special" nomination privileges for the country's Military Academies.
Missouri Military Academy: Missouri Military Academy, one of America's leading boys, boarding schools, has served students from all the United States and many other nations since 1889. MMA is progressive and dynamic, rich in its traditions and strong in its values.
(La) Salle Institute: We note that the La Salle Institute was active in the early 20th century. We know nothing about the school except that it was located in Troy, New York.
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Most military schools are secondary schools, but there are a few some elementary military schools as well. Generally, American mothers were not was willingbto send their children to boarding school as British mothers. Tis was especially true of elementary-school age children. The image of strict discipline also caused mothers tomreject such schools for the younger childrenAlmost all military schools are private fee paying schools.
There were various kinds of military schools, at least schools where the boys wore military uniforms. The standard military school was a private school. Commonly the schools were private facilities and the children came from affluent familirs. Most of the American military schools were boarding schools. Commonly they were set in bucolic rural settings away from the larger cities. There were, however, also some day schools. One urban school district (Chicago) has even established a public (state) boarding school. most were styled on the U.S. army, but there was at least one naval school located in Hammond Indiana. We also notice other types of schools where the students war military uniforms. These children were not from affluent families and he schools were Federal or state institutions. This was the case at Federal Indian Schools. We also notice the Soldiers' Orphan Schools the state of Pennsylvania set up after the Civil War. A good example is the Chester Springs Soldiers' Orphan School. These schools accepted girls as well as boys. Only the boys wore military uniform. I'm not sure that they would be called military schools.
Unlike many of the European military schools, American boys were generally sent to military schools for the beneficial impact of discipline and not in preparation for a career in the military. Often it was unruly boys who might be sent to a military school. Many parents decided on military schools as a way of instilling discipline in their children. Many American boys assumed going to boarding school mean that there parents just didn't want them around.
Most of the U.S. military schools were organized on army lines. Thus the uniforms were styled like U.S. army uniforms. Styles have generally changed over time as U.S. Army uniformsd have changed. The uniforms mostly entailed long pantgs uniforms, but some late 19th or early 20th century uniforms included kneepants. A naval military school had white short pants, I believe as a seasonal uniform.
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