Centuries-Old Time Capsule Discovered at West Point Academy

Rockland Daily Staff

During recent renovations, a nearly two-hundred-year-old sealed lead time capsule measuring about one square foot was discovered in the Thaddeus Kosciuszko monument's base. at West Point Academy. 

Academy officials determined the capsule was placed by cadets in the base of the Kosciuszko monument 26 years after the Academy was founded. 

"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," said U.S. Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland. "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.  

West Point Academy says it will unveil the time capsule's contents next Monday, August 28, at 10:30 a.m. at the Robinson Auditorium at Thayer Hall. You can also watch the unveiling live here. 

 The Academy also plans to continue the tradition by placing a new time capsule into the rebuilt base of the monument.