At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, both the colonists and the British had recognized the importance of gaining possession of the Hudson River valley, and West Point became the strategic key to its defense. General George Washington (Washington, George) established his headquarters there in 1779. In 1780 Major General Benedict Arnold (Arnold, Benedict), who was then in command at West Point, attempted to betray it to the British; but his treason was discovered and he fled to the enemy.

The founding of an American military school had been proposed by General Henry Knox in 1776, and Washington and Alexander Hamilton had repeatedly urged adoption of the plan, but it was not until March 16, 1802, that Congress passed the act establishing the United States Military Academy at West Point. The academy opened on July 4, 1802. Before 1812 it was conducted as an apprentice school for military engineers and, in effect, as the first U.S. school of engineering. During its early years, however, the institution suffered from lack of proper organization and discipline.

An act of Congress of April 29, 1812, reorganized the academy and increased the authorized strength of the corps of cadets to 250, expanded the staff of the academy, and established a four-year curriculum. This legislative goal was not effective until the superintendency of Colonel Sylvanus Thayer (1817–33), who became known as the “father of the military academy” because of his lasting influence upon the West Point physical plant, the library, the curriculum, and the pedagogical method. Under Thayer's leadership the academy produced military technicians whose skills were adaptable to meet the civil-engineering needs for the program of internal improvement that accompanied America's westward expansion. An act of Congress of July 13, 1866, allowed the selection of a military academy superintendent from branches of the Army other than the Corps of Engineers.

The academy is under the immediate supervision and control of the Department of the Army, exercised through the superintendent, in whom is vested the immediate military command of the academy and the military post. The goal of the educational program is to instruct and train the corps of cadets so that each graduate will have the qualities and attributes essential to continued development through a lifetime career as an officer in the Army. The four-year course of college-level education and training leads to a bachelor of science degree and a commission as second lieutenant in the Army. The curriculum is balanced between mathematics and basic and engineering sciences, the humanities and social sciences, military science, and physical education.

Cadets must be at least 17 years of age but not yet 22, as well as unmarried, at the time of their appointment. They must have a high-school education or its equivalent and must take scholastic-aptitude tests and a medical examination before admission. Enrollment is 4,417. The great majority of appointments to the academy are made by U.S. senators and representatives. Citizens of the Philippines, the various Latin-American republics, Canada, and certain other countries, if fully qualified, may also be admitted to the academy. Women were first admitted to the academy in 1976.

The academic year lasts from August to May, inclusive. The third class (sophomores) receives extensive field training at the training areas on the academy reservation. The second and first classes (juniors and seniors) obtain supplementary instruction at other Army training centres. The second class also takes part in joint amphibious maneuvers with the midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. First classmen serve as instructors for the new fourth class (freshmen), which enters the academy in July; they also assist in training the third class.

West Point has trained most of the great American military commanders since the first half of the 19th century. Among its graduates have been Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Robert E. Lee, Thomas (“Stonewall”) Jackson, Jefferson Davis, John J. Pershing, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Omar Bradley, and George Patton.