USMA officials, historians will open it on Monday
WEST POINT — The U.S. Military Academy will open and unveil the contents of a nearly 200-year-old time capsule during a ceremony on Monday, Aug. 28 at 10:30 a.m. in Robinson Auditorium at Thayer Hall.
The sealed lead time capsule measuring about one square foot was discovered in the Thaddeus Kosciuszko monument’s base during recent renovations. Academy officials determined the capsule was placed in the base of the Kosciuszko monument by cadets in 1828, 26 years after the academy’s founding.
“This time capsule is truly a unique discovery, and we are excited to open it and see what the cadets left us nearly two centuries ago,” USMA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland said. “The capsule’s contents will certainly add to the West Point story and is another example of past generations of cadets gripping hands with present and future generations.
The original base and column were designed by John H.B. Latrobe, an ex-cadet from the Class of 1822, and paid for by cadets.
The eight-and-a-half-foot bronze statue of Thaddeus Kosciuszko was mounted on the column 85 years later and donated by the Polish Clergy and Laity of the United States in 1913.
In 2021, during an inspection, the column and base had structural cracks and the statue was removed and placed in storage. The capsule was found in 2023 when the monument’s base was removed from the site.
X-rays of the container conducted by the academy’s Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering were inconclusive.
The academy plans to continue the tradition by placing a time capsule into the rebuilt base of the monument.
Who was Thaddeus Kosciuszko? From West Point: Andrzej Tadeusz Bonaventura Kościuszko (1746-1817), was a Polish general, military engineer, and revolutionary. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, as well as an uprising in his home country. He was known for his bravery, kindness, patriotism, likeability, and unwavering strength of character.
