West Point's Historic Time Capsule Reveal Rings Hollow

By M.C. Millman

This morning, West Point Academy opened the 194-year-old time capsule discovered three months ago during recent renovations at the Thaddeus Kosciuszko monument's base at West Point Academy, as reported by Rockland Daily here.

West Point researchers could find no reference to any box, time capsule, or any object put into the base of the monument.

Academy officials determined that cadets placed the twelve by twelve by thirteen-inch box in the base of the Kosciuszko monument 26 years after the Academy's founding. Despite attempts at x-raying the contents, no one had any idea of what might be inside the time capsule which aroused the curiosity of the many in attendance in person for the unveiling and the 4,400 who took in the event by live video feed. 

And the big reveal? To the great disappointment of so many, the box was nearly empty (explaining why the X-ray revealed nothing) other than for a few shards of what appeared to be dried mud or clay, which were carefully removed for further examination and study. 

"It didn't quite meet expectations," said the West Point Historian who was in charge of carefully removing the box's contents. "But we can't imagine they went to the trouble of leaving this here with nothing inside."

The next step will be to carefully screen the silt to see if any remnants can be found of whatever was left inside. The silt was possibly residue from moisture, given that the bottom of the box presented with a leaky seam. 

"It might have been something small and organic," the historian concluded, his tone reflecting the disappointment of all in attendance.