Opening of the United States Military Academy

Date: July 4, 1802 • Location: West Point, United States

The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York, that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. The academy was founded in 1802, and it is the oldest of the five American service academies. The Army has occupied the site since establishing a fort there in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, as it sits on strategic high ground overlooking the Hudson River 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City.