West Point trip planner

West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. West Point was established in 1775 by George Washington who considered it the most important strategic position in America. Until January 1778, West Point was not occupied by the military. On January 27, 1778, Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons and his brigade crossed the ice on the Hudson River and climbed to the plain on West Point and from that day to the present, West Point has been occupied by the United States Army. It comprises approximately 16000acre including the campus of the United States Military Academy at West Point, which is also frequently called "West Point". It is a Census Designated Place (CDP) located in the Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, located on the western bank of the Hudson River. The population was 6,763 at the 2010 census. It is part of the New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY–NJ–PA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT–PA Combined Statistical Area.HistoryWest Point, was a fortified site during the Revolutionary War. Originally picked because of the abnormal S-curve in the Hudson at this point, it was founded by military engineer, Polish Colonel 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 comprised multiple redoubts, including Fort Putnam, which is still preserved in a Revolutionary-period design.