Northwestern Military and Naval Academy
Northwestern Military Academy was founded in 1888 in Highland Park, Illinois by Harlan Page Davidson. Davidson had previously attended Norwich University, the nation's oldest private military college, and had served as an instructor in a number of military schools in the East and in the Midwest. He was convinced of the benefits of combining a strong liberal education with military structure. Davidson was a man of high energy and resolve.
The Academy opened on September 19, 1888 in a restored hotel and former girls' school, which Davidson had modernized with steam heat and modern baths. Thirty-six cadets were enrolled in the high school program in the first year; twelve were enrolled in a junior program for younger students. Tragedy struck on November 1, 1888, when a fire, whipped by a strong wind, destroyed the building in a few short hours. The people of Highland Park opened their doors and their hearts to the cadets, taking them in until a new building could be constructed.
Classes resumed on the day after the fire in a hired hall. Construction of new buildings began in the spring of 1889. By 1891 the school included a drill hall, a gymnasium, the main building (West Hall) and a mess hall. Enrollment averaged 50 cadets per year in the school's first ten years. In addition to academic classes, cadets participated in athletics, gymnastics, drill instruction and bayonet practice.
Davidson's son, Royal Page Davidson came to Northwestern in 1889. He was appointed as commandant in 1891. The younger Davidson was inventive and was particularly interested in military innovations. He was also an avid cyclist.
RP Davidson became convinced that the bicycle could have useful applications in the military.In the fall of 1894 he developed a bicycle corps of 17 older cadets. Who trained throughout the school year and in 1895 went on a trial run to Springfield Illinois. This successful expedition convinced Davidson that bicycles would be useful for quick strikes against the enemy and for reconnaissance. With this in mind an expedition was planned that would prove this to the nation.
The corps trained for two years, and, in June of 1897 set off on the 850 trip from Chicago to Washington DC, bearing a message from General Broooke at Fort Sheriden to the Secretary of War, R.A. Alger. They arrived in DC 15 days later, delivered the message and met with President McKinley. The bicycle corps continued until 1907. RP Davidson continued to look for military innovations. A Hospital Corps was formed.
In the spring of 1899 newspapers were carrying stories of Davidson's automobile gun-carriage, a light-weight three-wheeled vehicle mounted with a Colt automatic gun. One Northwestern cadet wrote: "With this gun you could sneak upon an enemy and fire 480 shots and get away before they would know what happened." The original design was revised and remodeled over the next few years to a steam-powered four-wheeled vehicle.
In 1909 the Academy began to purchase Cadillacs, which were altered using Davidson's designs for military vehicles; the result was the automobile corps. By 1909 Northwestern Military academy boasted a signal corps, a summer "naval school", and numerous clubs including a fencing club, a camera club, and a glee and mandolin club. HP Davidson led the Academy until 1911 when, at the age of 73, he resigned as Superintendent. Royal Page Davidson became the school's second Superintendent. He would remain in that position for 30 years. In 1911 naval training was added to the Academy's program and the name changed to Northwestern Military & Naval Academy. A Gattling Gun Detachment was formed in then same year.
Davidson's automobile corps grew to include the world's first balloon destroyer, first armored car, and first radio signaling car. Over the next few years Davidson's automobiles were displayed and put on parade from Washington DC to Dallas. On June 9th, 1915, RP Davidson and 30 cadets of the automobile corps departed Highland Park in eight military vehicles for the World Exposition in San Francisco. After a long, muddy and adventure-filled journey the corps reached San Francisco on July 14th to great acclaim, and drove in the Liberty Bell parade on July 16th.
Before HP Davidson stepped down from his position as Superintendent, he initiated plans to move the academy from the "urban life" of Highland Park to the shores of Lake Geneva Wisconsin. Land was purchased and cleared and a building was designed. Classes were held in canvas tents on the lakeshore in the early fall and late spring. Excavations for the administration building were begun in the spring of 1914. On May 1st, 1915, a fire broke out at Highland Park, in the midst of preparing for the trip to San Francisco. The automobiles were preserved, but the building was destroyed.
Within a few days the corps made its final move to Lake Geneva. Work on the new building began immediately. Cadets remained under canvas through graduation day, and moved back into canvas structures when they returned in September. They moved into the unfinished rooms of Davidson Hall when they returned from Christmas break in January of 1916.
When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, the Academy organized retraining camps for alumni. A ten acre area was developed into a system of trenches, dugouts and machine gun placements, and used to train cadets for trench warfare. The trench system was part of military training until the 1930's. New cadet uniforms were modeled after British officers' uniforms and those of the U. S. Expeditionary Forces. Following the war, the Academy added tanks, machine guns, cannons and a howitzer to its arsenal. An engineering corps, a tank corps, and a carrier pigeon squad were formed. Because of a young British orphan, named Robert Robertson, the bagpipe was introduced. By the time Robertson graduated from NMNA in 1922, the Bagpipe Corps was becoming a tradition.
The Academy struggled financially in the early 1920's, but Davidson's innovations pumped new ideas into the school. Summer Camp was added. Ice boats became popular. Tennis courts, a golf course, and horse stables were built. Then the Depression hit. Tuition was reduced to attract more students. The horses were sold. In 1935 enrollment dropped to 83 cadets. Throughout this time the school maintained a strong academic program and high standards of cadet behavior.
In October of 1940, when Royal Davidson celebrated his 70th birthday, some Northwestern alumni were serving with the Allies. In the spring of 1941 it was decided that, when RP Davidson retired, the school would be turned over to the Episcopal Church. In 1942, following an accident and resulting ill-health, Davidson stepped down from his position. Albion Lewis was appointed as Superintendent but remained in that position for only a few years. Lewis was succeeded by Fr. James Howard Jacobsen in 1944. The Academy had always been adaptable, and continued to be so during the post-war era. Enrollment averaged 148 cadets in that era. Finances were tight, yet a small chapel was built, faculty apartments were renovated and an infirmary was opened. A new gymnasium was built in 1959. Much of this was accomplished through the generosity of committed alumni.
The anti-war sentiment of the Vietnam era affected Northwestern as it did all military schools and the Academy faced dwindling enrollment. Fr. Jacobsen's optimism coupled with the backing of loyal alumni allowed the school to renovate and expand facilities that would nurture young minds and bodies. Between 1963 and 1969 enrollment fell by 25%. The Board went from one financial crisis to another, but was determined to persevere. Day students were admitted in the fall of 1970, including a few girls. Enrollment continued to drop until the fall of 1972, when it hit a low of 93 students and then started to rise. Fr. Jacobsen who left the academy in 1973, was succeeded by Daniel A. Snow.
Snow was faced with low enrollment and dwindling finances. His energy and determination were committed to increasing enrollment and he was successful. Enrollment increased to 127 by September of 1974, and reached 170 in 1983. Snow led the Academy until 1994, when his position was assumed by board chairman, John Harrington. Alumni support had declined, and enrollment was at 85 cadets. In the spring of 1994 a NMNA board member suggested that the school approach St. John's Military Academy of Delafield Wisconsin regarding the possibility of a merger.
This history content was adapted by Peg Koller from:
- Boys and Men : A Hundred Year History of Northwestern Military and Naval Academy, 1888-1988 by Michael J.G.Gray-Fow. [Lake Geneva, Wis.] :
Northwestern Military and Naval Academy,
[1988]
- St. John's Northwestern Military Academy : A History of Excellence. [Delafield, Wis.]:
St. John's Northwestern Military Academy, [2000].