View source for Kosciuszko's Monument (West Point)

{{Short description|Statue at the United States Military Academy}}
{{Infobox Military Memorial
|name= Kościuszko's Monument
|body= [[United States of America|United States]]
|image= [[Image:Kosciuszko's Monument (West Point).JPG|300px]]
|caption= Kosciuszko's Monument at [[United States Military Academy|West Point]]
|commemorates= General Tadeusz Kosciuszko's contribution to the defense of West Point during the American Revolutionary War
|use_dates=
|coordinates= <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
|nearest_town= [[Highland Falls, New York|Highland Falls]], [[New York (state)|NY]]
|designer=John Latrobe
|inscription=Appointed Engineer-in-Charge of West Point's Fortifications by General George Washington
|established= <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|unveiled= July 4, 1828
|total=
|unknowns=
|commemorated=
|by_country=
|by_war=
|source= }}
'''Kościuszko's Monument''' is a pedestal and statue of [[Poland|Polish]] General [[Tadeusz Kościuszko]] at the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]], [[New York (state)|New York]]. Kościuszko designed the defenses of the West Point garrison from 1778–1780 during the height of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], when [[George Washington]] considered West Point to be the most important military post in America.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ambrose|first=Stephen|authorlink=Stephen Ambrose|title =Duty, Honor, Country. A History of West Point |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|location=Baltimore|year =1966|page=10|ISBN=0-8018-6293-0}}</ref> The pedestal and shaft of the monument was first proposed in 1825 by John Latrobe, and dedicated in 1828.<ref name="friends">{{cite web|title=Annual National Tadeusz Kosciuszko Observance|publisher=American Association of the Friends of Kosciuszko at West Point, Inc|url=http://www.kosciuszkoatwestpoint.org/whats_new.html|accessdate=2009-02-15}}</ref> The statue, designed by D. Borja, was later added in 1913.<ref name="friends"/>
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 [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] many times.<ref name=Storozynski>Storozynski, A., 2009, The Peasant Prince, New York: St. Martin's Press, {{ISBN|9780312388027}}</ref>{{rp|88}} After Jefferson established the academy, General [[William Davie]] requested Kosciuszko write the manual, ''Manoeuvres of Horse Artillery'', which became a textbook at the academy.<ref name=Storozynski/>{{rp|257}}
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]] placed there in 1828. The capsule was opened in August 2023<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/08/28/west-point-time-capsule-kosciuszko-mystery/70697206007/ |title=Opening of West Point time capsule reveals what cynics said it would: Nothing|first=Frank|last=Witsil|work=Detroit Free Press|date=August 28, 2023|access-date=August 28, 2023}}</ref> 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 [[Draped Bust dollar|Liberty dollar]] coin from 1800, measuring 1.564 inches in diameter
*a [[Capped Bust|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 [[Flowing Hair|5-cent coin]] from 1795, measuring .643 inches in diameter
*a [[Coronet large cent|1-cent coin]] from 1827, measuring 1.114 inches in diameter
*an [[Erie Canal]] commemorative medal from 1826, measuring 1.763 inches in diameter<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/news/article/artifacts-west-point-time-capsule-18338842.php/ |title=After further study, West Point archeologists find items in time capsule|first=Frank|last=Witsil|work=Detroit Free Press|date=August 28, 2023|access-date=August 28, 2023}}</ref>
==Gallery==
<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 {{circa}} 1900, before the statue was emplaced
Image:Kosciuszko%27s_Monument_at_West_Point_seen_from_the_Hudson_River.JPG|Monument seen from Hudson River
</gallery>
{{Commonscat|Kosciuszko Monument, West Point}}
==References==
{{reflist|}}
{{USMA}}
[[Category:Monuments and memorials at West Point]]
[[Category:1828 sculptures]]
[[Category:1913 sculptures]]
[[Category:Bronze sculptures in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Statues in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Statues of Tadeusz Kościuszko|West Point]]
[[Category:1828 establishments in New York (state)]]
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