West Point Museum

West Point Museum
Highland Falls, NY

The previous post was about the U.S. Military Academy at West Point campus. As mentioned in that article, after the attacks of September 11, 2001 on-campus security was heightened considerably. Visitors are not permitted to walk around the campus, so photo opportunities are severely limited. Fortunately, inside the museum you’re allowed to photograph whatever you want to. I say “fortunately” because the quantity and variety of artifacts on display there is quite extensive, and plenty of information is given to help you understand what is unique and interesting about the items on display.

The custom of storing and cataloging unused weapons at West Point predates the founding of the United States Military Academy; the Museum’s collections started with materials captured after the British defeat at Saratoga in 1777. When the Academy opened in 1802, many Revolutionary War trophies were used for cadet instruction. By the 1820s a teaching collection of artifacts existed at the Military Academy and in 1854 the museum was opened to the public.

The West Point Museum is actually a department of the United States Military Academy, supporting academic, military and cultural instruction. Its collections have grown to include nearly all aspects of military history, encompassing the history of the United States Military Academy, the evolution of warfare, and the development of the U.S. Armed Forces. Only a portion of the collection is on display; the remaining artifacts are available for academic instruction, special exhibition and research.

Conveniently situated directly adjacent to the visitor center, the West Point Museum is the oldest military museum in the country, and is considered to contain the largest diversified public collection of militaria in the Western Hemisphere. Following is a sample of some of the interesting things that I found there.

This musket was owned by the City of New York through August 1775, when Provisional Congress appropriated the City’s muskets to arm the 1st New York Regiment. The muskets were branded with the unit’s designation to facilitate their return after the war and prevent individuals from claiming them as private property. They went and did so anyway. In the decade following the end of the revolution the city made several unsuccessful attempts to obtain reimbursement for the muskets. I guess the men argued that after all they had been through it was the least that could be done for them.

This pair of silver mounted officer’s pistols were acquired by George Washington during the Revolutionary War, most likely as a gift. They were manufactured in London, as was the musket shown above. Holster pistols were usually made in pairs by private gunsmiths and and carried by officers. The practice of carrying pistols during the Revolution was limited to officers, mounted troops and to Naval enlisted personnel who used them to repel boarding parties. Many 18th century civilians also carried pocket pistols for protection while traveling.

This is a Mexican Army Cuirassier’s Armor, circa 1847. Mounted cavalry soldiers called cuirassiers were successors of the medieval armored knights; the term came into use in the 16th and 17th centuries as forms of armor evolved. The early cuirassiers wore armor extending down to the knees, but with the introduction of muskets the usefulness of full armor was greatly lessened. The Mexican Army might have used such armor to make cavalrymen more willing to plunge into the thick of fighting, as the breastplates usually did provide protection against the swords of other cavalry troops.

This is a uniform used by a U.S. Light Dragoon Private in 1808-1810. Dragoons were originally infantrymen deployed by horse, but use of the term was later widened to include light cavalry. This unit was created was created as the probability of war with Britain was on the rise. Horses were never procured, and the regiment served on foot as light infantry. Based upon the uniform worn by British light cavalry, the enlisted dragoon uniform was one of the most elaborate ever worn by American soldiers. The leather headgear with initials “US LD” (for U.S. Light Dragoons) was similar to styles worn by light infantry and cavalry during the American Revolution.

Included in the sword exhibit is this Persian bronze sword, circa 900 B.C.E.

Taking a few giant steps forward into the modern era, we see a “Davy Crockett” U.S. M388 Supercaliber Atomic Projectile. In the early days of the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union worked on the tactical use of atomic weapons made possible by the miniaturization of nuclear components. The exhibit states that “by the late 1960s, the limitations of the Davy Crockett were recognized, and it was withdrawn from the military arsenal”.