U.S. Military Academy

About

The United States Military Academy at West Point was established by legislation signed by President Thomas Jefferson on March 16, 1802 — the oldest of the five U.S. service academies. Sited on the west bank of the Hudson River in New York, the post has been occupied by the Army continuously since 1778, making it the longest continuously occupied military post in the United States. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington regarded West Point as the most important strategic position in America, and Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko was tasked with designing its fortifications. Since becoming an academy, it has produced presidents including Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and military leaders including Douglas MacArthur and George S. Patton. Women were first admitted in 1975, and the first female cadets graduated in 1980. Today the academy educates roughly 4,400 cadets.