The Detective’s Apprentice: Edgar Allan Poe at West Point

It was not that long ago that Liberty Nation took West Point to task for its efforts to emphasize a curriculum unrelated to the defense of national security. Now the academy is getting some notoriety for the fact that poet Edgar Allan Poe's enigmatic and dark countenance inhabited its classrooms as a cadet in the early 19th century. The nexus between the US Military Academy at West Point and Poe is the subplot of an engaging mystery told in Netflix' new movie, The Pale Blue Eye.

Before embarking on his writing career in earnest, Poe was a cadet at the US Army’s Service Academy. Claiming to be 21, he enlisted in the Army in 1827 as an artilleryman at the age of 18, and he secured an appointment from then-President Andrew Jackson, entering West Point in March 1830. Unfortunately, his life as a cadet was short-lived. Whether for not being able to appreciate the discipline of cadet life, or his "poor handling of his duties" as his biography explained, or his ineptitude at mathematics, as Poe claimed, he was kicked out the following January. He was officially taken off the rolls in March 1831. The short story writer died 18 years later.

Would Poe Have Become a General?

"What if Edgar Allan Poe had remained at West Point in 1831? Would the 'Master of Macabre' – acclaimed author of short stories and gothic horror fiction – be remembered today as a great military leader, perhaps a top officer in the Civil War?" the Stars and Stripes asked in an article "Edgar Allan Poe had a promising military career. Then he blew it up." We don't know, but we are told on Netflix how Poe performed as a fictitious detective's apprentice. In the movie, Poe is an intriguing character in a case about a murder at West Point on the Hudson River in New York state. In much the same way as the English moor is a powerful character in Thomas Hardy's 1878 novel Return of the Native, the snowy, bleak grayness of winter in which the plot unfolds is ever present, persistent, and chills to the bone.

Based on the 2006 novel by Louis Bayard, the story begins when a young cadet is found dead, hanging from a tree branch with his feet touching the ground. At first, the death is deemed a suicide, but the placement of the decedent’s feet puts that supposition to rest. So, to solve what the academy believes to be a murder, Superintendent Sylvanus Thayer reaches out for help. As the IMDB plot summary puts it: "World-weary detective is hired to investigate the murder of a West Point cadet. Stymied by the cadets' code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case – a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe."

Poe and History Meet at West Point

The detective, Augustus Landor, is played by Christian Bale, and the part of Poe is acted ably by Harry Melling. When another cadet is found hanged, there appears to be a connection and a frenetic urgency is unleashed to solve the crimes. The head of the academy presses Landor to find the culprit quickly. Thayer was a real Army officer and the first superintendent of West Point, considered the "Father of the Military Academy," and was in the position from 1817 to 1833.

A storyline worthy of Poe develops, with all the twists and turns of a captivating mystery: murder, suicide, the occult, vengeance, unrequited love, redemption, and Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully of X-Files fame). Poe, who appears sickly and frail, as he was in real life, is an unlikely sleuth's helper but proves appearances are deceiving. The interaction between Poe's inquisitive insights and detective Landor's resignation to the inevitable eventually leads to an unexpected case-cracking. The inescapable undercurrent is the presence of the traditions and military mystique of West Point.

So, get some popcorn and a beverage, settle into your favorite chair, and watch The Pale Blue Eye. It's a good movie, "only this and nothing more."

The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliation.