Abstract
In May, 1824, Second Lieutenant Alfred Beckley of the Fourth Artillery, United States Army, reported for duty at Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida, where he remained until April, 1826. He was green and untried - a twenty-two year old West Pointer who had graduated ninth in the Class of 1823- and except for his aversion to “French brandy” and “Old Sledge,” he was perhaps a typical example of the officer-gentleman that was the backbone of the peacetime army of that time. Born in Washington City in 1802, Beckley could recall as guests in his home such dignitaries as Joel Barlow, George Clinton, and Thomas Jefferson, all of them political friends of his father, John James Beckley, one of the founders of the Jeffersonian Republican [Democratic] party.
Recommended Citation
Eby, Jr., Cecil D.
(1963)
"Memoir of a West Pointer in Saint Augustine: 1824-1826,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 42:
No.
4, Article 3.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol42/iss4/3
