Our little brown house, a poem of West Point : written for the New Year's festival at the cadets' Sabbath-school of the Methodist Episcopal Church, January 1, 1879

This affectionate commemorative poem centers on a small chapel tucked beneath the hill at West Point. Plain, weather-beaten, and repeatedly remodeled, the “little brown house” becomes a living witness to changing generations, from its early construction out of a former gun-house to its later repairs, additions, and improvements. With warm humor and close attention to its doors, roof, stove, and walls, the poem turns an unassuming building into a cherished landmark.

Around the chapel gathers a broader history of cadets, soldiers, families, and village worshippers. The speaker remembers those who once met there and follows their imagined paths across the country—from frontier camps and river crossings to distant coasts—while recalling others who married, died, or rest beneath Hudson Valley skies. Religious feeling, military memory, and affection for community intertwine in a nostalgic verse portrait of West Point and the enduring place of faith within it.