West Point

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(astronomy) That point on the celestial sphere that is due west of observer; at this point the celestial equator crosses the horizon.

US Military Academy. Built on a beautiful escarpment overlooking the Hudson river, the academy was founded in 1802 by Jefferson partly to fill a void in technical education, but also with the idea that a standing army would be more acceptable if military engineers could perform public works. This put a unique stamp on the US army. Despite its apartness from a society that regards its concepts of honour and service as, at best, quaint, it never developed a praetorian mentality and has produced a number of successful politicians. This may be partly because political patronage long governed admission to West Point, but it is also because Congressmen have traditionally valued the army for ‘pork barrel’ projects in their districts, giving officers a sound grounding in the essence of democracy.

The character of the academy was set in stone by Superintendent Thayer between 1817 and 1833, modelled on the French École Polytechnique. He introduced a curriculum in which each student was assessed every day by his instructors, and a system of cumulative ‘demerits’ to enforce strict standards of deportment. French was the only foreign language taught, and there was a taste for formalism, for the Napoleon described by Jomini rather than by Clausewitz. This was reinforced but modified in unique ways by Mahan, professor of engineering 1832-71, and much American civil war generalship reveals his influence, from the odd emphasis on holding key points rather than seeking to destroy the enemy army, to posing for photographs with one hand tucked into the tunic. Two hundred and ninety-one Union and 151 Confederate generals were West Point graduates, but Mahan's favourites were Halleck and McClellan, who appeared to believe that the war could be won by manoeuvre alone.

Once West Pointers achieved sufficient seniority, they commanded in all of America's wars save one. Miles, a hero of the American civil and Plains Indian wars, was army commander during the Spanish-American war and like many another outsider, he believed that military academies produce self-serving cliques. While certainly correct, his appreciation missed the deeper significance of the self-selection that draws a certain personality to a military career, one which is deeply unsuited to the unorthodox warfare at which he excelled. Engineering remained West Point's forte and its supreme expression was the on-time, under-budget construction of the Panama Canal by Goethals. Despite Superintendent MacArthur's 1919 effort to inject more life into the curriculum, leadership per se was not a specific subject before Eisenhower requested it in 1946, which suggests he may have noted a deficiency in this area.

Along with the military in general, West Point fell into popular disrepute during the Vietnam war, which had its Mahanite moments and also heavily underlined Miles's long-forgotten strictures. Along with a declining emphasis on abusive male bonding rituals, inevitable after the admission of women in 1976, West Point has shared in the general rediscovery of doctrine by the US army since Vietnam, and it is pleasing to fancy that Clausewitz, at long last, has been allowed to elbow aside the ghosts of Jomini, Thayer, and Mahan.

— Hugh Bicheno

A U.S. military reservation on the Hudson River in Orange county, New York, United States. West Point Academy, also known as the U.S. Military Academy, has been on the site since 1802.

West Point, in southeast New York State, is the site of the U.S. Military Academy (founded 1802). It is also the site of remains of two military posts, Forts Clinton and Putnam, built by the Continental army during the Revolution.

The swift collapse of the Hudson River defenses in October 1777, when in a fortnight Gen. Henry Clinton brought under British control the entire area from Manhattan Island north to Kingston, impressed on the Continentals the need for a proper defense. Moved to action by the urgent pleas of Gen. George Washington, the provincial congress of New York initiated a new survey of the Highlands of the Hudson, with the result that West Point was chosen as the site of the citadel for a strong system of defenses. The location was ideal. A plateau of about forty acres, lying more than 100 feet above the river level, formed a peninsula that dominated the water of a double right-angled bend of the river, as well as the river approaches, north and south, within cannon range. Moreover, the crests of two ridges west of the plateau could be fortified to meet a land attack.

Washington, who referred to West Point as the "key to America," made his headquarters there for the four months following 28 July 1779. He was impelled to take charge by the urgencies of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben who, writing of British plans of campaign, declared: "Whatever means they employ, I am positive their operations are directed exclusively to getting charge of this post and of the river as far as Albany. … On their success depends the fate of America." The seizure of West Point was always present in the British plans of campaign after 1777. Except for the British capture of Stony Point (May and July 1779) and Benedict Arnold's failed effort to turn the fort over to the British Army (1780), it was never threatened.

A corps of invalids (veterans) created by act of Congress, 20 June 1777, was transferred four years later to West Point, with the intention of using them as a cadre for the instruction of candidates for commissions. The germ of the idea that ultimately produced the U.S. Military Academy existed in that plan. In June 1784 Congress declared that "Standing armies in time of peace are … dangerous to the liberties of a free people," and accordingly reduced the army to eighty men, of which fifty-five were detailed to guard stores at West Point.

When domestic violence and foreign embroilments later forced Congress to increase the army, West Point became the garrison station of a corps of artillerists and engineers. Finally in 1802 Congress took the step that legally established the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. It is the oldest U.S. military post over which the country's flag has continuously flown.

Bibliography

Ambrose, Stephen E. Duty, Honor, Country: A History of West Point. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1966.

Atkinson, Rick. The Long Gray Line. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989.

Palmer, Dave Richard. The River and the Rock: The History of Fortress West Point, 1775–1783. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1991.

A village in New York.

• Location of the United States Military Academy, which is often referred to as West Point.
• Benedict Arnold was given command of the fort at West Point during the Revolutionary War. Arnold arranged to betray the fort, which controlled the Hudson River, in exchange for a British commission and a sum of money.

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For other uses, see West Point (disambiguation).

West Point, New York
—  CDP  —
West Point, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 41°22′15″N 74°2′34″W / 41.37083°N 74.04278°W / 41.37083; -74.04278Coordinates: 41°22′15″N 74°2′34″W / 41.37083°N 74.04278°W / 41.37083; -74.04278
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Orange
Area
- Total	25.1 sq mi (64.9 km2)
- Land	24.3 sq mi (63.0 km2)
- Water	0.7 sq mi (1.9 km2)
Population (2000)
- Total	7,138
- Density	293.4/sq mi (113.3/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	10996-10997
Area code(s)	845
FIPS code	36-80747[1]

West Point painting

West Point is a federal military reservation (and a census-designated place) located North of the Village of Highland Falls in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. The United States Military Academy is located at West Point and has often been called "The Point."

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 References 5 External links

History

West Point was a fortified site during the Revolutionary War. 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 Kościuszko. It was manned by a small garrison of Continental soldiers through the entirety of the war. A great iron chain was laid across the Hudson at this point in order to impede British Navy vessels, but it was never tested by the British. The site consisted of multiple redoubts, including Fort Putnam, which is still preserved in a Revolutionary-period design.

In perhaps the most infamous act of treason in American history, General Benedict Arnold attempted to turn the site over to the British Army in 1780 for a bribe consisting of a commission as a Brigadier General in the British Army and a cash reward of £20,000 (about $1.3M in 2009 dollars). However, Arnold's plot failed when British Major John André was captured as a spy by the Americans. Arnold received a decreased cash reward of 6,000 pounds (roughly $350,000).

The United States Military Academy was established at West Point in 1802.

In 1937, the West Point Bullion Depository was constructed; in 1988 it became the West Point Mint, as a branch of the United States Mint.

Geography

West Point is located at 41°22′15″N 74°02′34″W / 41.370933°N 74.042851°W / 41.370933; -74.042851.^[2] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 25.1 square miles (64.9 km²); 24.3 square miles (63.0 km²) land and 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²) water. West Point and the contiguous village of Highland Falls, New York, are on the west bank of the Hudson River.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 7,138 people, 996 households, and 939 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 293.4 per square mile (113.3/km²). There were 1,044 housing units at an average density of 42.9/sq mi (16.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.31% White, 9.09% African American, 0.50% Native American, 3.35% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 1.64% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.56% of the population.

There were 996 households out of which 75.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 87.8% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.7% were non-families. 5.4% of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.53 and the average family size was 3.66.

The age distribution is 21.9% under the age of 18, 51.2% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 3.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 207.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 259.7 males. All of these statistics are typical for military bases.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $56,516, and the median income for a family was $56,364. About 2.0% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• United States Military Academy at West Point

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