This past week was Spring Break. The upper three classes got to leave on Friday after their last class, but the Plebes have 2 days to show their family around campus and have a formal banquet. My parents came with my older sister who just got back from her mission. It was fun to show them around and spend time together in the middle of the semester.
For Spring Break, I decided to be a nerd and go on a trip to South Carolina with the History Department. We visited Civil War and Reconstruction Era locations in Charleston and Beaufort. We were hosted there by a retired 3-star general and his West Point classmate from 1980 who was a Colonel in the Special Forces. We ate a lot of great food and saw cool locations such as Fort Wagner(the location of the final battle in the movie Glory), Fort Sumter(the fort in Charleston Harbor that initiated the Civil War), and the Beaufort National Cemetery where the members of the 54th Massachusetts (again, Glory) are buried. It was interesting to see how people have attempted to shape the perception of the Civil War and Slavery, particularly signs and historical markers that were built by the Sons/Daughters of Confederate Veterans organizations. It was also great to see how many people with connections to USMA came out of the woodwork to spend time with us. I had a great time on this trip and I hope to go on more while I’m at West Point.
There were four different history trips happening during Spring Break. All four were funded by a private family’s endowment to West Point, aimed at giving cadets a meaningful connection to history. I couldn’t be more grateful to that family.
