Kościuszko's Monument is a pedestal and statue of Polish General

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Kościuszko designed the defenses of the West Point garrison from 1778–1780 during the height of the Revolutionary War, when

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

considered West Point to be the most important military post in America. The pedestal and shaft of the monument was first proposed in 1825 by John Latrobe, and dedicated in 1828. The statue, designed by D. Borja, was later added in 1913. Kosciuszko, having attended the Royal Knights School in Warsaw and audited classes at the Ecole Militaire, advocated the establishment of an American military school for officers, a subject on which he wrote Jefferson many times.Storozynski, A., 2009, The Peasant Prince, New York: St. Martin's Press, After Jefferson established the academy, General William Davie requested Kosciuszko write the manual, ''Manoeuvres of Horse Artillery'', which became a textbook at the academy. In May 2023, during a restoration of the monument's base, West Point Association of Graduates' Construction Manager Chris Branson found an unexpected

time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

placed there in 1828. The capsule was opened in August 2023 and West Point announced its archaeologist team had found six coins and a commemorative medal dating from 1795 to 1828 inside the time capsule. The items include: *a Liberty dollar coin from 1800, measuring 1.564 inches in diameter *a 50-cent coin from 1828, measuring 1.276 inches in diameter *a 25-cent coin from 1818, measuring 1.066 inches in diameter *a 10-cent coin from 1827, measuring .745 inches in diameter *a 5-cent coin from 1795, measuring .643 inches in diameter *a 1-cent coin from 1827, measuring 1.114 inches in diameter *an

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

commemorative medal from 1826, measuring 1.763 inches in diameter

Gallery

Image:Kosciuszko%27s_Monument_engraving_(close)_West_Point_NY.JPG, Closeup of engraving Image:Kosciuskos' Plaque (East Side).jpg, Front of monument Image:Kosciuszko's Monument USMA back side.jpg, Back of monument Image:Koscuiszko's Monument and garden before statue emplaced.jpg, The pedestal 1900, before the statue was emplaced Image:Kosciuszko%27s_Monument_at_West_Point_seen_from_the_Hudson_River.JPG, Monument seen from Hudson River

References

Monuments and memorials at West Point 1828 sculptures 1913 sculptures Bronze sculptures in New York (state) Statues in New York (state)

1828 establishments in New York (state) {{coord, 41.39462834, -73.95263851, display=title