United States Military Academy

ABOUT

The United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York is the preeminent institution in America for producing commissioned officers for the United States Army. Its mission is to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate will become an exemplary leader of character and integrity.

The West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) is West Point’s alumni association and official fundraising arm. It raises private funding to sustain and build the Academy’s Margin of Excellence programs and initiatives, thereby, keeping West Point, its faculty, and its cadets on the cutting edge of educational and technological excellence, attracting highly qualified cadet candidates, and helping to maintain West Point’s preeminence in leadership development.

Situated in the heart of the Hudson Valley and a Revolutionary War fortress itself, USMA is in a unique position to leverage its resources, expertise, and historical vantage point to advance the public’s historical understanding of the region. To this end, West Point’s Digital History Center recently launched “Hudson Valley in the American Revolution,” a multi-year, collaborative project between West Point cadets and faculty that will represent the Revolutionary Era of the Hudson Valley through a series of digital, interactive story maps.

The Center is housed within the Department of History and encourages, coordinates, and supports the efforts of faculty and cadets in the creation of digital history products, and works to sustain and continuously improve the digital textbook and other resources used by cadets and faculty. The Center also serves the wider historical community by making available digital resources that support the learning and teaching of history, including digital maps.

HISTORY

The United States Military Academy at West Point was founded in 1802 by President Thomas Jefferson and is the oldest of the nation’s five service academies. Since its inception, West Point has produced the nation’s military leadership for its wars, as well as many prominent statesmen and business leaders.

West Pointers were especially noteworthy in the Civil War in which there were 445 Generals who were graduates; 294 who fought for the Union and 151 who led Confederate troops. Significantly, West Point graduates commanded one or both sides in every one of the 60 major battles in that war.

In World Wars I and II, West Point graduates were conspicuous throughout the Army, with such notable commanders as General of the Armies John “Blackjack” Pershing (Class of 1886), General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (Class of 1903), General of the Army Omar Bradley (Class of 1915), and General of the Army (and later President of the United States) Dwight Eisenhower (Class of 1915).

GRANT PROJECT

The Americana Corner Preserving America grant awarded to the United States Military Academy’s Digital History Center funded an interactive digital map related to the Battle of New York in 1776. This project is part of the Center’s multi-year initiative, entitled, “Hudson Valley in the American Revolution.”

For this project, West Point cadets and faculty compile and consolidate historical maps, modern aerial and ground imagery, and employ unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to improve some existing products, create new ones, and leverage them in support of education and outreach.

The project explores Hudson Valley battlefields, historical sites, roads, and fortifications related to the Revolutionary War to provide a platform representing each as part of a whole, interconnected, and even dependent network. In this manner, the disciplines of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and history comes together to provide students, educators, and researchers a consolidated venue where they can better understand and visualize the struggle to control the Hudson Valley during the Revolution.

Americana Corner is proud to support the United States Military Academy and its Digital History Center with its mission to preserve the Great American Story and to help our fellow citizens grow their love of country.