U.S. Military Academy West Point (est. 1778): West Point, NY - Oldest Military Base / Post in America

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York is the oldest military base in America. It is self-described as the oldest continuously occupied regular army post in the United States. The U.S. Army recognizes it as both the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States, and America's oldest U.S. Army Garrison. The American Battlefield Trust Organization defines West Point as the oldest continuously operated Army post in the United States.

Known as the United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point, Army or Army West Point, The Academy or simply The Point, it is a four-year coeducational federal service academy. It is a prestigious military academy that trains future officers of the United States Army. The base is approximately 16,000 acres in size. The student body numbers approximately 4,300. In addition to the Corps of Cadets, West Point is home to approximately 1,200 active duty soldiers and 2,300 family members.

West Point Tours And Tickets

The federal government purchased West Point for $11,085 in 1790 and the U.S. Military Academy was established there in 1802 to educate and train officers in the U.S. Army. However it played a previous major role in the Nation's history during the American Revolution. American soldiers first occupied West Point as a base on January 27, 1778 . Both the Americans and British realized the strategic importance of the commanding plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River. 

General George Washington considered West Point to be the most important strategic position in America. Washington personally selected Thaddeus Kosciuszko, one of the heroes of Saratoga, to design the fortifications for West Point in 1778. This is when the Americans constructed the largest and most important obstruction to British ships potentially traveling the Hudson, the Great Chain, or the Hudson River Chain, from West Point to Constitution Island. 

Washington transferred his headquarters to West Point in 1779. Continental soldiers built forts, batteries and redoubts and extended a 150-ton iron chain across the Hudson to control river traffic. Fortress West Point was never captured by the British, despite Benedict Arnold's treason.

Several soldiers and legislators, including Washington, Knox, Hamilton and John Adams, desiring to eliminate America's wartime reliance on foreign engineers and artillerists, urged the creation of an institution devoted to the arts and sciences of warfare. President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy in 1802. He took this action after ensuring that those attending the Academy would be representative of a democratic society.

Throughout its history, West Point has played a significant role in the education and training of some of America's most prominent military leaders. Graduates of the academy have gone on to serve in every major conflict in which the U.S. has been involved, including both World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Over the years, West Point has also become a symbol of American patriotism and excellence. Its graduates are often seen as some of the best-trained and most dedicated military leaders in the world. You can visit this oldest military post in America by taking private tours. The Visitor Control Center is open Monday-Sunday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.