Cannon and Castle
Founded1929
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
TypeHonor Society
EmphasisMilitary
ScopeLocal
NicknameC&C
HeadquartersNew Haven, Connecticut
United States

Cannon and Castle is a military honor society founded at Yale University in 1929.[1] Elected members include cadets and midshipmen from all three Reserve Officer Training Corps branches, active-duty servicemembers, veterans and faculty of the Yale community.

History

Cannon and Castle members, class of 1936
Cannon and Castle members, from the Yale Banner, 1951

On May 24, 1928, a group of students attending Yale College and the Sheffield Scientific School formed the Cannon and Castle military fraternity.[2] The founders were all enrolled in the Department of Military Science and were members of field artillery and engineering units of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).[2] The 22 founding members and four honorary members included:[2]

  • Francis Gordon Brown, Yale College
  • Ralph William Carson, Sheffield Scientific School
  • Clarence Phelps Dodge Jr., Yale College
  • William Eno De Buys, Sheffield Scientific School
  • Scott Jonathan Dow Jr., Sheffield Scientific School
  • Charles Wetherbee Earnshaw, Sheffield Scientific School
  • Martin Fentor, Yale College
  • Robert Monroe Ferguson, Yale College
  • Samuel Lawrence Gwin Jr., Yale College
  • James Williamson Henning, Yale College
  • Lt. Charles George Holle, honorary member
  • John Alexander Hope, Yale College
  • Gilman Derring Kirk, Sheffield Scientific School
  • George Bragg Massey Jr., Sheffield Scientific School
  • Clarence Whittlesey Mendell, dean of Yale College, honorary member
  • Major Vernon Edward Pritchard, honorary member
  • Henry Brown Reinhardt Jr., Sheffield Scientific School
  • Hardie Scott, Yale College
  • Dana Wentworth Smith, Sheffield Scientific School
  • James Donald Strong, Sheffield Scientific School
  • Charles Hyde Warren, Dean of Sheffield Scientific School, honorary member
  • Hubert Cushing Watson, Sheffield Scientific School
  • Hamilton Washburn Wright Jr., Yale College

Its founders created Cannon and Castle to foster closer ties between Yale's two ROTC programs and to provide a forum for military-related discussions on campus.[3] Membership was limited to those in ROTC field artillery and engineering units.[2] By 1936, Cannon and Castle was referred to as an "honorary military society".[4]

Each year, Cannon and Castle elected six members from the junior class.[5][4] These members were selected for their "character, knowledge as reflected by general academic achievements and achievements in military science, and leadership qualities as demonstrated by performance as a cadet in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, and by contributing to the Yale Cadet Battalion."[6] The six men would in turn, nominate twelve additional men for membership.[5] Members were identified with a braid that could be worn on their uniform.[7]

The society met every two weeks at various campus locations.[8] It hosted lectures by military and foreign policy leaders, screened films, and held social events such as the annual Army-Navy Dance.[9][10][11][12][13] It also offered the Col. Dean Hudnet Award for marksmanship in a competition that was open to any Military Science student at Yale.[14] The award was named for a deceased professor of military science and tactics who was a member of the 1936 Olympic pistol team.[14][15]

Cannon and Castle discontinued operations during World War II but reactivated in 1947 at its units' summer quarters in at Camp Campbell in Kentucky and Stewart Field in New York before returning to campus.[11] However, Cannon and Castle ceased operations in 1967 during the Vietnam War and the eventual expulsion of ROTC from Yale in 1969. The Yale Archives houses Cannon and Castle's records and documents.[16]

Current activities

Cannon and Castle holds an induction ceremony and dinner for its elected members. Throughout the academic year, the society hosts special film screenings, debates, and guest lectures open to the public. Meetings are generally held in the Yale Naval ROTC unit wardroom on 55 Whitney Avenue.

Membership

To be eligible for membership in Cannon and Castle, an individual must be an undergraduate enrolled in Yale College with military affiliation, whether active-duty, reserves, or ROTC (which returned to Yale in 2012[17]). Elected ROTC cadets and midshipmen are generally in the top 25% of their class merit standing and possess a GPA greater than 3.90 in their military science courses. Other members come from the Eli Whitney Scholar community.

In exceptional circumstances, the society confers honorary membership to staff, faculty, graduate students, or fellows who have contributed significantly to the Yale military/veterans community. The commanding officers of Yale ROTC are ex-officio members of the society and sit on its Board of Regents, alongside society alumni members.

David Boren

Notable alumni

Cannon and Castle's members have participated in many of the major wars of the past century, including World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Global War on Terrorism. Notable alumni include:

Notable honorary members

See also

References

  1. ↑ Havemayer, Loomis (January 1961). "Yale's Extracurricular and Social Organizations 1780-1960". Eli Scholar's Page. Yale University. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Military Fraternity Formed at Yale; Students of College and Sheffield Scientific School Eligible to Cannon and Castle" (PDF). The New York Times. 1929-05-25. p. 25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  3. ↑ "Cannon and Castle Society Discusses Vital Problems". Yale Daily News. 25 February 1930. p. 1. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  4. 1 2 "Six Yale Juniors Picked For Cannon and Castle". The New York Times. 1934-05-06. pp. Section 2, page 3. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  5. 1 2 "Cannon and Castle Elects Six Juniors". Yale Daily News Historical Archive. 6 May 1942. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  6. ↑ "William Schmidt Honored at Yale". Greeley Daily Tribune. 1963-03-05. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  7. ↑ "Albert C. Simmonds, 1959, president of Cannon and Castle, Yale's military honor society, pins the braid of the society on Cadet Battalion Commander Peter H. Elebash, 1959". Yale Daily News. 7 April 1959. p. 3. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  8. ↑ "Cannon and Castle Society Discusses Vital Problems". Yale Daily News. 25 February 1930. p. 3. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  9. ↑ "ROTC Honor Society To Present War Film". Yale Daily News. 19 April 1948. p. 3. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  10. ↑ "Cannon And Castle Will Hold Party Honor Society Fetes Three Officers Today". Yale Daily News. 1 June 1948. p. 1. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  11. 1 2 "Cannon And Castle Holds Beer Bust". Yale Daily News. 19 November 1947. p. 3. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  12. ↑ "Linen, Time Publisher, To Talk in Strathcona On US Foreign Policy". Yale Daily News. 15 April 1960. p. 2. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  13. ↑ "Army-Navy Dance Set For Feb. 21". Yale Daily News. 3 February 1942. p. 1. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  14. 1 2 "MS Award Firing Will Begin Today: Cannon Castle to Offer Colonel Hudnet Award". Yale Daily News. 13 April 1949. p. 6. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
  15. ↑ "Col. Dean Hudnutt Dies in New Haven". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1943-11-03. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-02-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Cannon and Castle Military Honor Society Records". Archives at Yale Series Accession 1917-1972. Yale University Manuscripts and Archives. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  17. ↑ "Welcome | Reserve Officers Training Corps and Military Educational Assistance". rotc.yale.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  18. ↑ "MICHAEL FLINN Obituary (1941 - 2015) - Greenwich, CT - New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  19. ↑ "Yale College Class of 1962: Obituaries: Michael D. Flinn". yale62.org. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  20. ↑ "Mary L. Robinson Engaged to Wed Connecticut Man". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1961-10-08. p. 30. Retrieved 2023-02-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ Patterson, Michael Robert (2023-01-28). "James Donald Strong - Colonel, United States Army". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  22. ↑ Patterson, Michael Robert (2023-01-28). "Charles George Holle Major General, United States Army". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  23. ↑ "Charles Holle - Recipient -". valor.militarytimes.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  24. ↑ "Charles G. Holle, 90, Dies". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  25. ↑ Cole, T., & Ross, D. (1973). Tribute to Clarence Whittlesey Mendell. In Studies in Latin Language and Literature (Yale Classical Studies, pp. Vii-X). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511933745.001
  26. ↑ Gordon, Laura. "MENDELL, Clarence Whittlesey". dbcs.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  27. ↑ "Dr. Clarence Mendell, 87 Dies; Latin Scholar Was Dean at Yale". The New York Times. 1970-12-16. p. 50. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
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