United States Military Academy

Alternate meanings: West Point (disambiguation).

The Chapel at West Point

The United States Military Academy, also known simply as West Point and USMA, is a U.S. military academy and former Army fort. It is located in West Point, New York, on the west bank of the Hudson River about 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City, and occupies 16,000 acres (65 km²) adjacent to the village of Highland Falls, New York in Orange County. The post itself was first occupied in 1778, and it is thus the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States.

West Point's motto is Duty, Honor, Country.

Contents

1 Overview

2 History

2.1 Notable graduates
2.2 List of Superintendents

3 For the tourist

4 External links

Overview

Academy graduates are awarded a Bachelor of Science degree and commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army. They must serve a minimum of five years on active duty followed by three years in the reserves. Unlike virtually all other bachelor-degree granting institutions in the U.S. (but like the other military academies), the Academy does not refer to its students as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors; they are instead officially called "fourth class," "third class," "second class," and "first class." Colloquially, freshmen are "plebes"; sophomores, "yearlings" or "yuks"; juniors, "cows"; seniors, "firsties."

The Military Academy's sports teams were historically called The Black Knights of the Hudson, but the nickname has been officially shortened to Black Knights. U.S. sports media use Army as a synonym for the Academy; this usage is officially endorsed. The Army mascot is the Mule. After several years as a member of Conference USA, its NCAA Division I-A football program reverted to its former independent status after the 2004 season. It competes with the other academies for the Commander in Chief's Trophy. The 2004 football season marked Army's third consecutive loss in the Army-Navy Game. It is a member of the Division I Patriot League in most other sports; its men's hockey program competes in Atlantic Hockey.

History

The site was selected for the construction of a fort by George Washington, and the fortifications were designed in 1778 by Thaddeus Kosciuszko. General Washington considered West Point one of the most important positions on the continent. The high ground above a narrow "s" curve in the Hudson River enabled the Continental Army to control the vital river traffic. He felt that the British Army could have split the colonies in two if they gained control of this land.

George Washington quickly realized the need for a national military academy, however his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson argued that there was no provision in the Constitution which allowed for the creation of a military academy. However, when Jefferson became president, he signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy on March 16, 1802 and the school opened on July 4 of the same year.

The Superintendent from 1817-1833 was Col. Sylvanus Thayer. He is known as the "father of the Military Academy." He upgraded academic standards, instilled military discipline and emphasized honorable conduct. Inspired by the French École Polytechnique, Thayer made civil engineering the foundation of the curriculum. For the first half century, USMA graduates were largely responsible for the construction of the bulk of the nation's initial railway lines, bridges, harbors and roads.

The development of other technical schools in the US during the post-Civil War period allowed West Point to broaden its curriculum beyond a strict civil engineering focus.

After World War I, Superintendent Douglas MacArthur sought to further diversify the academic curriculum. In recognition of the physical demands of modern warfare, MacArthur pushed for major changes in the physical fitness and athletic programs. "Every cadet an athlete" became an important goal. At the same time, the cadet management of the Honor System, long an unofficial tradition, was formalized with the creation of the Cadet Honor Committee.

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation increasing the strength of the Corps of Cadets from 2,529 to 4,417 (more recently reduced to 4,000).

Women were first admitted in 1976.

No classes graduated in 1810 or 1816 and there were two graduating classes in 1861, 1917, 1918, 1922 and 1943.

West Point began collegiate tradition of the class ring, beginning with the class of 1835, and continuing ever since. The lone exception is the class of 1837, which had class cuff links.

In recent decades, the Academy's curricular structure has been markedly changed to permit cadets to major in any one of more than a dozen fields, including a wide range of subjects from the sciences to the humanities.

Notable graduates

Note: Some notable graduates also later served as Superintendent of the Academy (see list below)

(Chronologically)

Dennis Hart Mahan, Class of 1824
Gen. Jefferson Davis, Class of 1828 (President of the Confederate States of America)
Gen. Robert E. Lee, Class of 1829
Maj. Gen. Francis Henney Smith, Class of 1835 (1st Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute)
Gen. George Meade, Class of 1835
Lt. Gen. Jubal Early, Class of 1837
Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard Class of 1838
Gen. E. R. S. Canby, Class of 1839
Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, Class of 1840
Col. Abner Doubleday, Class of 1842
Gen. James Longstreet, Class of 1842
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Class of 1843
Gen. Stonewall Jackson, Class of 1846
Gen. George Pickett, graduated last in the class of 1846.
Gen. Jeb Stuart, Class of 1854
General of the Armies John J. Pershing, Class of 1886
George Washington Goethals, Class of 1880
General of the Air Force Henry "Hap" Arnold, Class of 1907
Gen. George Patton, Class of 1909
General of the Army Omar Bradley, Class of 1915
General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, Class of 1915 (34th President of the United States)
Gen. Hubert Harmon, Class of 1915 (1st Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy)
Gen. Robert Neyland, Class of 1916, coach of national champion Tennessee Volunteers
Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, Class of 1917
Col. Mickey Marcus, Class of 1924
Lt. Gen. James M. Gavin, Class of 1929
Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Class of 1936
Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Class of 1946 (Former dictator and President of Nicaragua)
Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, Class of 1950 (former President of the Philippines)
Col. Buzz Aldrin, Class of 1951 (astronaut)
Lt. Col. Edward H. White, Class of 1952 (astronaut)
Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., Class of 1956
Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, Class of 1965
Gen. Wesley Clark, Class of 1966
Capt. Mike Krzyzewski, Class of 1969 (basketball coach)
Capt. Louis E. Caldera, Class of 1978 (Secretary of the Army)
José Figueres, President of Costa Rica, Class of 1979
Kelly Perdew Winner and finalist of Donald Trump's The Apprentice in winter of 2004.

The writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe dropped out of West Point before graduating. He would have been in the class of 1834.

James McNeill Whistler, artist, dropped out of the class of 1855.

List of Superintendents

1st Superintendent: 1801-1812: Col. Jonathan Williams (1751-1815) – In June 1803, Lieutenant Colonel Williams vacated (he did not resign) the post of Superintendent. He returned in Superintendency in April 1805.
1803-1805: Maj. William Amherst Barron (1769-1825) - Major Barron resigned his commission on 14 June 1807, just before he was brought to trial by a court martial for "for …neglect of the Military Academy…”
1805-1812: Col. Jonathan Williams (1751-1815)
1812-1814: Col. Joseph Gardner Swift (1783-1865), Class of 1802
1814-1817: Capt. Alden Partridge (1785-1854), Class of 1806
1817-1833: Col. Sylvanus Thayer (1785–1872), Class of 1808
1833-1838: Maj. Rene DeRussy (1796-1864), Class of 1812
1838-1845; Richard Delafield (1798-1873), Class of 1818
1845-1852: Henry Brewerton (1801-1879), Class of 1819
1852-1855: Gen. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), Class of 1829
1855-1856: John Gross Barnard (1815-1882), Class of 1833
1856-1861: Richard Delafield (1798-1873), Class of 1818
January 23-28, 1861; Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard (1818-1893), Class of 1838
January 28-March 1, 1861: Richard Delafield (1798-1873), Class of 1818
1861-1864, Alexander Hamilton Bowman (1803-1865), Class of 1825
July to September 1864, Zealous Bates Tower (1819-1900), Class of 1841
1864-1866, George Washington Cullum (1809-1892), Class of 1833
1866-1871, Thomas Gamble Pitcher (1824-1895), Class of 1845
1871-1876, Thomas Howard Ruger (1833-1907), Class of 1854
1876-1881: Maj. Gen. John McAllister Schofield (1831-1906), Class of 1853 – Awarded the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in 1861. Later commanding general of the Army.
1881-1882: Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard (1830-1909), Class of 1854
1882-1887: Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt (1834-1910), Class of 1860
1887-1889: Col. John Grubb Parke (1827-1900), Class of 1849
1889-1893: Col. John Moulder Wilson (1837-1919) - Awarded the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Malvern Hill, VA in 1862
1893-1898: Col. Oswald Hurbert Ernst (1842-1926), Class of 1864
1898-1906: Albert Leopold Mills (http://www.homeofheroes.com/photos/1_spanish/mills_a.jpg) (1854-1916), Class of 1879 - Awarded the Medal of Honor as a 1st Lt. at San Juan Hill in Cuba. Appointed Superintendent to West Point by President McKinley, which carried an automatic promotion from 1st Lt. to Col.
1906-1910: Hugh Lenox Scott (1853-1934), Class of 1876
1911-1912: Thomas Henry Barry (1855-1919), Class of 1877
1913-1917: Clarence Page Townsley, 18??-1926, Class of 1881
1917-1919: Samuel Escue Tillman (1847-1942), Class of 1869
1919-1922: Brig. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Class of 1903 - Awarded the Medal of Honor in 1942 for his leadership to Philippine resistance to the Japanese invasion.
1922-1925: Brig. Gen. Fred Winchester Sladen (1863-1945), Class of 1890
1926-1928: Merch Bradt (M.B.) Stewart (1875-1934), Class of 1896
1928: Edwin Baruch Winans (1869-1947), Class of 1891
1929-1932: William Ruthven Smith (1868-1941), Class of 1892
1932-1938: William Durward Connor (1874-1960), Class of 1897
1938-1940: Jay Leland Benedict (1882-1953), Class Of 1904
1940-1942: Robert L Eichelberger (1886-1961), Class of 1909
1942-1945: Francis Bowditch Wilby (1883-1965), Class of 1905
1945-1949: Gen. Maxwell Davenport Taylor, Class of 1922
1949-1951: Bryant Edward Moore (1894-1951), Class of Aug 1917
1951-1954: Maj. General Frederick Augustus Irving (1894-1995), Class of 1917
1954-1956: Blackshear Morrison Bryan (1900-1977), Class of 1922
1956-1960: Gen. Garrison Holt Davidson (1904-1992), Class of 1927
1960-1963: Gen. William Westmoreland (1914- ), Class of 1936
1963-1966: James Benjamin Lampert (1914-1978), Class of 1936
1966-1969: Gen. Donald Vivian Bennett (1915- ), Class of 1940
1969-1970: Maj. Gen. Samuel William Koster (1919- ), Class of 1942
1970-1974: William Allen Knowlton (1920- ), Class of Jan. 1943
1974-1977: Sidney Bryan Berry (1926- ), Class of 1948
1977-1981: Lt. Gen. Andrew Jackson Goodpaster (1915-2005), Class of 1939
1981-1986: Gen. Willard Warren Scott, Jr. (1926- ), Class of 1948
1986-1991: Lt. Gen. Dave Richard Palmer (1934- ), Class of 1956
1991-1996: Lt. Gen. Howard Dwayne Graves (1939-2003), Class of 1961
1996-2001: Lt. Gen. Daniel W. Christman (1943- ), Class of 1965
2001: Lt. Gen. William J. Lennox, Jr. (1950?- ), Class of 1971 (incumbent)

For the tourist

Limited tours are given on the campus. The academy provides a bus, driver and guide for small groups that are made up as needed from individual arrivals. West Point is often the first place for automobile tourists to stop and view on the New York City to Albany scenic Hudson River route.