Reveal of 200-year-old West Point time capsule is a dud
A centuries-old time capsule was opened Monday at West Point Academy to reveal nothing but silt.
The opening of the capsule — which was about a one foot cube — was livestreamed on West Point’s YouTube channel Monday morning in a ceremony in Thayer Hall. The box was found in the base of a monument built to Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Revolutionary War hero, during renovations in May.
"It's not really what's important what's in there," Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves, the academy's dean, said before the capsule was opened. "Make no mistake, I hope it's cool. I hope it's awesome. I can't wait to see what's in there. But at the end of the day, what this is really about is an opportunity.”
The Academy put together a panel with experts and historians to discuss what they could discover ahead of the opening. The box was made out of lead and the historians handled it wearing gloves.
When they opened the box using a chisel and shears, the experts were met with a capsule filled with silt, which they said they would sift through later. There were also some markings they discovered, which they also said they will investigate later.
Cadets in the 1820s honored Kosciuszko with a column built as a monument to him, the Associated Press reported. Before the opening of the capsule, experts speculated that the box could have contained monument blueprints, class lists or everyday military items.
At the time, Kosciuszko designed fortifications that were built along the Hudson River before West Point was established in that location in 1802.