Item No. 2340912

An undated CDV image, likely from the late 1860s, of the corps of cadets of Leicester Academy in Massachusetts. A faint pencil inscription on the reverse reads, “Leicester Cadets / Leicester.” More than thirty cadets, uniformed in distinct jackets with shoulder strap decorations, are arrayed in line of battle with rifles and bayonets. One man at the center bears the national colors. Four officers armed with swords stand in front. The company is standing in a parade ground or green space presumably near the academy in Leicester. Another contemporary image from the Becker College archives (shown here, but not included with the CDV) shows an identically uniformed group of cadets posing in Worcester. The carte measures about 4” x 2 1/2”.

Leicester Academy was a private, state-chartered school in Leicester, Massachusetts, founded in 1784 shortly after the American Revolution. Chartered by the Massachusetts legislature and bearing the signatures of John Hancock and Samuel Adams, the academy was among the earliest institutions of higher learning in the state. It offered a classical education in subjects including English, Latin, Greek, and mathematics, and was notably coeducational at an early date. The school attracted students from across New England and produced a number of prominent alumni, including inventor Eli Whitney. Declining enrollment in the later 19th century led to its eventual transition into a public high school, and the academy formally ceased to exist as a private institution in 1921.