Alden Partridge: an early American pedestrian

(Taken from Ultramarathon World Archive 2003)

By Andy Milroy
Ultramarathon World

Although Great Britain is well known for its pedestrians of the late 18th and early 19th century, such as Captain Barclay, the exponents in the United States have received less attention.

Among these is Captain Alden Partridge (1785-1854). Just as many of the British pedestrians of the early 19th century were soldiers, who undertook their walking and running careers as much to prepare themselves for the rigors of warfare as for sport, so Partridge also saw long distance walking in a similar light.

Partridge became superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, in 1815, at age 29, but in 1817 he was forced to resign from the Army. After surveying part of the United States-Canadian border he returned to his home town of Norwich, Vermont.

Partridge was distrustful of a standing army, seeing it as a threat to democracy. However, he was also convinced that the lack of trained leadership had caused the appalling disasters of the War of 1812 against Britain.

Consequently, in 1819, he founded in Norwich, the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy to produce well-trained citizen soldiery as the best protection for the republic. To be effective such a militia needed training in basic military science and tactics.

Endurance athlete

A key part of his educational program stemmed from his own physical endurance. Partridge was renowned as a great walker, reportedly once walking 60 miles in a single day. On one occasion he walked 110 miles across the mountains from Norwich to Williamstown, Massachusetts, then ascended Mount Greylock before returning home. The entire trip of 220 miles took him just four days. These were the days before footpaths and trails were maintained.

He undertook similar feats to many of the peaks in New England, carrying along with him a barometer and a thermometer to measure the altitude of each peak

Hardly surprising, his pupils were also expected to under brisk long distance walks. In addition to extensive drill practice they had to complete regular marches of up to 50 miles a day.

Alden Partridge is now seen as one of the first American educationalists to use such outdoor experience in the educational program - long before the days of outward bound and field trips . Partridge saw such walks as providing a physical challenge and a way of building self confidence and learning to deal with discomfort and fatigue.

Prototype

His Academy was to be a prototype for similar establishments, where military studies were combined with more conventional studies. These too combined similar long distance walks as part of their character building programs.

Things have changed somewhat since then. According to one recent survey, the average American now walks 1.4 miles A WEEK � In other words barely 350 yards or1050 feet a day!

I wonder what Captain Alden Partridge would have made of that.

Footnote: Andy Milroy would welcome information on any other major endurance feats undertaken by Captain Alden Partridge. E-mail Andy Milroy