Posted on 08/27/2023 10:40:09 AM PDT by lowbridge
A long-forgotten time capsule at West Point recently discovered inside the base of a monument and believed to have been left by cadets in the late 1820s is expected to be pried open Monday.
The contents of the small lead box could possibly provide a window into the early, more Spartan days of the storied US Military Academy.
It’s not certain exactly when the box was placed in the monument’s marble base or who chose any items inside, though a committee of five cadets that may have been involved with the time capsule included 1829 graduate Robert E. Lee, the future Confederate general.
The box will be opened during a livestreamed event.
“It’s a mystery, right? A mystery of history,” said Jennifer Voigtschild, the academy’s command historian.
The container was discovered in May during restoration to a monument honoring the Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko.
A construction manager made the surprise find and carefully pulled out the hefty box, which is about a cubic foot.
“After I shut the job down and we roped off the area, then I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, what did we find?’” manager Chris Branson said.
Cadets in the 1820s honored Kosciuszko, a Polish military engineer, with a column near where current classes march and play soccer.
As an officer of the Continental Army, he designed wartime fortifications at the location along the Hudson River, before the military academy was established there in 1802.
A plaque indicates the monument was erected by the corps of cadets in 1828. Other evidence suggests it wasn’t completed until 1829.
That includes a July 1828 letter from a committee of cadets involved in the dedication, including Lee, seeking advice on lettering for the monument.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
It is going to be racist for sure.
They probably should just burn it now instead of later.
;-)
-PJ
the tranny modern day communist generals aren’t going to like what they find.
Go Army, Beat Navy.
Someone’s gonna get offended.
They had better prepare the safe spaces, padded rooms, and grief counselors in advance.
Probably some of those MREs we got in the 70s.
Will Geraldo broadcast this on TV?
They’ll burn it, but claim it was an ad for high heels and instructions on how to breast feed in a fox hole.
Unless it’s a bunch of old uniforms with lots of lace, a wig, and knee high stockings.
Go army, try to beat navy!;-)
Dont forget colored crayons.
Along with snacks, bubbles and videos of puppies and kittens.
I think the Navy started their academy in the 1820’s. I actually have a 1939 copy of their year book. The second highest combat death rate for their class in academy history.
Wow. Great trivia.
Along with blankets, hot cocoa and pillows!
I have read many stories of the pacific theater. Love history.
PING
-PJ
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