A Standard Work for every Public and Private Library.

HISTORY OF WEST POINT,

AND ITS

Military Importance During the American Revolution,

AND THE

ORIGIN AND PROGRESS

OF THE

UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY.

BY CAPTAIN EDWARD C. BOYNTON, A.M.,

ADJUTANT OF THE MILITARY ACADEMY.

ONE VOLUME OCTAVO, 408 PAGES.

Printed on Tinted Paper, beautifully Ill.u.s.trated with Maps and Fine Engravings, chiefly from Photographs taken on the spot by the Author; bound in blue cloth, bevelled boards, $6.00.

D. VAN NOSTRAND, Publisher,

192 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.

Copies sent free by mail on receipt of Price.

Part First

Relates to the early acquisition of West Point by the United States, and the military importance of the Post during the period of the American Revolution; embracing the rise and progress of the fortifications, and the purchase and arrangement of the Great Chain, designed to obstruct the navigation of the Hudson River, drawn from authentic doc.u.ments, and ill.u.s.trated by Maps and Engravings never before published.

The perfidious designs of Benedict Arnold, and his connection with Major John Andre, Adjutant-General of the British Army in America, are succinctly described, together with the "Proceedings of the Board of General Officers," in the case of Major Andre, in a _fac-simile_ form as published at the time by the authority of the Continental Congress.

The grand _feu de joie_ at West Point on the occasion of the birth of the Dauphin of France, in 1782, with all the changes in the Garrison prior to the beginning of the present century, and many of the Orders of Washington from this spot, are now for the first time given to the public.

Part Second

Describes the origin of the Military Academy, and its progress down to the present date; the recognition of the necessity for such an inst.i.tution at the very commencement of the Revolution, and the acc.u.mulated opinions in its favor upon the restoration of peace, as p.r.o.nounced by the leading minds in the country, are given.

The Const.i.tutionality of the inst.i.tution, its alleged aristocratic tendencies, and the services of its graduates in and without the military profession, are treated at length.

The progress of the inst.i.tution under each successive Superintendent, the erection and removal of the Early Public Buildings, ill.u.s.trated by accurate Engravings and Descriptions, together with those of modern date, will be found to const.i.tute an interesting feature in the work.

To those who seek admission into the Military Academy, or who desire to know the manner of selecting Cadets and making appointments, the course of life, the employment of time, and the duties of instruction afterward, full and complete information has been carefully prepared and imparted to the reader.

To the visitor or tourist, the work points out and describes (with the aid of a Map) all the objects of interest connected with the old Forts, and the Public Buildings, as they exist, and the method of obtaining access to all such is given.

The Appendix

Contains the roll of the Academic Staff, from the commencement of the inst.i.tution; the five most distinguished Cadets in each cla.s.s from 1817 to the present date, as published by the War Department; a numerical list of all the Cadets who have been _admitted_ into the Military Academy, and the States and Territories whence appointed; a similar list of all the _graduates_ of the inst.i.tution, together with a synopsis of all the laws of the United States relative to the Military Academy, and a sketch of military education and the military schools in Europe.

These are a few only of the subjects of interest to be found in the work. No efforts has been spared to encompa.s.s and exhaust the whole subject, with the view to render the work _an authority_.

List of Maps and Ill.u.s.trations.

1. VIEW OF WEST POINT ON THE HUDSON RIVER. 1780.

(_Fac-simile._) A perspective view, by Major L'Enfant, Engineer, of the west side of the Highlands, above and below the Point, twelve miles in extent, with the camps of the army and the fortifications plainly indicated.

2. MAP OF WEST POINT AND ITS FORTIFICATIONS. 1780.

(_Fac-simile._) This map of Maj. Villefranche, Engineer, is said to have been used at the interview between Arnold and Andre.

3. MAP OF FORT CONSt.i.tUTION, ON CONSt.i.tUTION ISLAND. 1776.

4. MAP OF FORT ARNOLD. 1780. (_Fac-simile._)

5. ARRANGEMENT OF THE GREAT BOOM AND CHAIN ACROSS THE HUDSON AT WEST POINT. 1780.

6. MARTELAER'S ROCK (Const.i.tution Island).

7. MAP OF THE WEST SIDE OF THE HUDSON RIVER. 1780.

(_Fac-simile._) From Haverstraw to West Point, ill.u.s.trating the capture of Forts Montgomery and Clinton.

8. RELIC OF THE GREAT CHAIN OF THE REVOLUTION.

9. MAP OF THE SCENE OF ARNOLD'S TREASON.

10. CHAPTER VIGNETTE.

11. GRAND ARBOR AND COLONNADE AT WEST POINT IN 1782.

(_Fac-simile._) _Colored._

12. ROBINSON'S HOUSE IN THE HIGHLANDS.

13. RUINS OF FORT CONSt.i.tUTION. _From the West Point Hotel._

14. RUINS OF FORT PUTNAM (_interior view_).

15. MAP OF THE COMMISSION IN 1812, RELATIVE TO THE UNITED STATES LANDS AT WEST POINT.

16. SURVEY OF THE UNITED STATES LANDS AT WEST POINT. 1839.

17. MAP OF WEST POINT IN 1863, _with all the details_.