Friday, Oct 12, West Point, New York

Drove to West Point this morning under dreary skies.  The United States Military Academy at West Point (also known as USMA, West Point, Army, The Academy or simply The Point) is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in West Point, New York. It is a very prestigous academy, with 15,000 applications a year which are whittled down to 1300 admissions.The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. The entire central campus is a national landmark and home to scores of historic sites, buildings, and monuments. The majority of the campus's neogothic buildings are constructed from gray and black granite. The campus is a popular tourist destination complete with a large visitor center and the oldest museum in the United States Army.
We took a 1 hour guided bus tour of the facility.

West Point is a federal military reservation established by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802. Originally picked due to the abnormal S-curve in the Hudson at this point, it was founded by one of the best military engineers of the time, Polish General Tadeusz Kosciuszko. It was manned by a small garrison of Continental soldiers through the entirety of the Revolutionary war. A great iron chain was laid across the Hudson at this point, which is the narrowest point in the river in order to impede British Navy vessels, but it was never tested by the British. This is all that remains of the huge chain.

On the tour, we saw the barracks which house the officers-in-training, or Cadets.

The Cadet Chapel at the USMA is a place of Protestant denomination worship for many members of the United States Corps of Cadets. The chapel is a classic example of gothic revival architecture, with its cross-shaped floor plan, soaring arches, and ornate stone carvings. It hosts the largest chapel pipe organ in the world, which boasts some 23,000 individual pipes. The Cadet Chapel dominates the skyline and sets the architectural mood of the academy. Designed by architect Bertram Goodhue and completed in 1910, the neogothic Cadet Chapel replaced the Old Cadet Chapel which had been built in 1836.

Trophy Point is a scenic overlook of the Hudson River Valley. It has been the subject of numerous works of art since the early 19th century. Trophy Point is the location of Battle Monument, one of the largest columns of granite in the world. Designed by architect Stanford White and dedicated in 1897, Trophy Point was formerly the site of West Point graduation ceremonies before the class sizes became larger in the mid-twentieth century.
Trophy Point gets its name from the numerous displayed pieces of captured artillery spanning from the Revolutionary War to the Spanish-American War.

Following the tour, we looked around the Visitor Centre, which had many displays showing aspects of the Cadet's daily life.
Then it was back to the campground in sunshine.