West Point History Department Counselors

10/29/2015

Last night the we welcomed the 98 new Class of 2018 history majors to the Department.

06/05/2015

Latest updates from the USMA Civil Rights Staff Ride.

https://usmacivilrights.wordpress.com

Visit the post for more.

05/30/2015

The Vietnam staff ride gets under way!

05/28/2015

Some Great local press for the USMA Civil Rights Staff Ride from Leesburg, FL.

LEESBURG — Cadets and officers from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York took a trip to the Leesburg African American Museum on Wednesday, but it was far from a tour.

05/06/2015

The last edition of Trivia Night went off in rousing fashion as over 70 cadets showed up to compete for prizes and determine who possesses the most "trivial" knowledge. "The Four Horsemen of the Quizpocalypse" claimed the top prize in a tightly contested match of three games of trivia. They won $100 in DCA gift certificates as the top team. They had also previously claimed the title of most creative team name earning a pitcher of their beer of choice. Raffle prizes were also given away throughout the night thanks to the support of the West Point Association of Graduates. Thanks to everyone who came out and to those who have supported this event all semester. We'll see you all next year for some more trivia!

05/05/2015

The Department of History said farewell last night to its graduating cadets last night in an event held in the Haig Room of the Jefferson Library. The entertaining evening featured farewells to each of the cadets from each division, as well as snacks and drinks overlooking the breathtaking vista provided by the 6th Floor veranda.

05/05/2015

Don't forget that tonight is the last Trivia Night of the year. Come celebrate "Cinco de Mayo" with us and enjoy some exciting games of trivia and prizes. Games start at 1930.

04/28/2015

Folks, the final History Department event of the year is upon us! The department will host the final Trivia Night of the year on 5 May at the Firstie Club at 1930. It just so happens to also be Cinco de Mayo so come out and celebrate with some camaraderie and fun trivia and compete to win exciting prizes. We hope to see you there!

04/22/2015

The History Department hosted another great evening of trivia at the Firstie Club last night. Over 70 cadets filled the club to play three rounds of trivia ranging from military history to movie trivia to the history of science. The top team, the "Trophy Pointless," went home with $100 in DCA gift certificates. The team "Drinking Team with a Trivia Problem" won the prize for most creative team name. Another lucky cadet won the raffle for $40 in gift certificates at the West Point Association of Graduates Gift Shop.

Our final trivia night will occur on 5 May. We hope to see you all there!

04/15/2015

Is the semester wearing you down? Do you find your attention drifting over to your YikYak feed or is your desire to start another binge session on Netflix becoming overwhelming? Well, the Department of History has the perfect cure for your Spring Semester exhaustion---Trivia! Come and recharge your intellectual batteries at our next Trivia Night at the Firstie Club on 21 April starting at 1930.

As usual, the event will feature fun and interesting trivia, intense competition, and prizes. No RSVPs are necessary. Just show up with all the supposedly useless and trivial knowledge you possess and a burning desire to have some fun and we’ll do the rest.

Hope to see you all there!

04/15/2015

The Department of History was honored to have the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History from the University of South Carolina, Dr. Walter Edgar, visit us and give a Dean's Hour talk on partisan war in South Carolina during the American Revolution. Dr. Edgar's talk was informative and entertaining. He provided keen insight into the problems with British COIN strategy and their difficulties of operating in this complex environment of sectarian conflict. His years of study on this topic, which resulted in the 2001 book, Partisans and Redcoats, provided cadets a remarkable level of in-depth analysis of a fascinating topic.

Later in the evening, he hosted our final Night at the Movies of the year. It was a grand send-off of this popular program. Over 50 cadets came out to watch the controversial film The Patriot and learn about many of the behind-the-scenes decisions the filmmakers made about the subject of the South Carolina partisan, Francis Marion. Many cadets were surprised to learn that while the movie was criticized as having too much gratuitous violence, almost all of the incidents depicted in the film had historical precedent.

Deputy Department Head COL Gail Yosh*tani presented Dr. Edgar with the print edition of the West Point History of the Civil War for visiting with us all day and entertaining us with a myriad of stories of South Carolina partisan war, his time in academia, and his over 25 years serving as an officer in the Army.

The department is thrilled with the outreach achieved by the Night at the Movies program and the many insightful and interesting discussions that our films generated. If you have ideas for next year's slate of films, please post them here or send us an email ([email protected]).

04/09/2015

Last night we were thrilled to have our largest crowd ever show up to Night at the Movies to screen the 2012 Best Picture Winner, Lincoln. LTC Siry, CPT Milikowsky of the Law Department, and CDT Zachary Thompson sat on a panel examining the film's depiction of Lincoln and his efforts to pass the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery. CPT Milikowsky's legal expertise was beneficial in helping the cadets to understand the intricacies of Constitutional law. The film was well received by the audience and as always the discussion it generated was educational to all.