The United States Military Academy at West Point sits on a ledge overlooking one of the Hudson River's deepest and narrowest points. During the Revolutionary War, before the USMA's founding 1802, it was the place where Washington’s army choked off British naval advances using a 65-ton iron chain strung between the riverbanks.
In the centuries that followed, some of the most important figures in American history have spent formative years in the academy or garrison at West Point.
Grant, Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur were graduates — as were a number of the top Confederate leaders during the Civil War, including Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and Jefferson Davis. The school's alumni include the generals who helped win World War II, the first American to walk in space, and three Heisman Trophy winners. Even its list of dropouts includes its share of major figures, like Edgar Allan Poe and the artist James Whistler.
West Point isn't just a historical site. It's a college campus first and foremost, and one that is unlike any in the world.
Main Street in Highland Falls, New York. That granite tower is the entrance to West Point — where a tiny village in the hills above the Hudson River abruptly gives way to one of the most legendary places in America.
The barracks, mess hall, and parade grounds form the heart of the West Point campus.
West Point is a college campus, even if all the students are in uniform.
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