Inside West Point: I visited the elite military academy that blends Revolutionary War history with modern Army training—take a look

A strategic Revolutionary War site

West Point played a key role in keeping British forces at bay during the Revolutionary War. Its position above the Hudson River mattered because the river offered a fast, reliable route for transporting troops, weapons, food and other supplies.

George Washington recognized the importance of controlling the river and established his headquarters at West Point. He called it “the most important Post in America,” according to the account of his words.

Touring the academy grounds

Visitors begin at the Frederic V. Malek West Point Visitors Center. The West Point Story tour costs $22 and lasts one hour and 15 minutes. Before the tour, the West Point Experience exhibit introduces cadet life. It includes a model of a barracks room and information about the academy’s history, values, 47-month course of study and graduation requirements. Graduates must serve five years on active duty in the Army, followed by three years in the reserves.

Security rules and campus sights

Because West Point is an active military post, tour visitors must show government-issued photo identification for a background check. The guide asked visitors to keep phones and cameras out of sight until they had passed the security checkpoint.

Photography of cadets is permitted, but images of security gates and military police are not allowed. The tour also passes brick homes where instructors live; West Point has 500 instructors, three-quarters of them members of the garrison and the rest civilians. Other landmarks include Michie Stadium, where the football and lacrosse teams play, and military monuments such as “The American Soldier,” a sculpture by Felix de Weldon donated by the classes of 1935 and 1936 to honor enlisted combat soldiers.

A chapel built from local granite

The first stop outside the bus was the Cadet Chapel, a non-denominational Protestant worship space built in 1910. Architect Bertram Goodhue designed the Gothic Revival building.