A lead box believed to have been placed in the base of a West Point monument by cadets almost two centuries ago yielded no bombshells when unsealed during a livestreamed event, just silt.
Paul Hudson, left, West Point archeologist, and Michael Diaz, West Point Museum curator, take part in the opening of a lead box believed to have been placed in the base of a monument by cadets almost two centuries ago, at the U.S. Military Academy, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in West Point, N.Y. The box contained silt.
The box, which is about a cubic foot, was discovered in May during the restoration of a monument honoring Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko. That led to speculation there might be items inside honoring Kosciuszko or from cadet life in the late 1820s, when the monument was erected. Would there be any musket balls, messages from students, or clues to historical mysteries?
Though they can't say for sure, Academy officials think the box was left by cadets in 1828 or 1829, when the original monument was completed. A committee of five cadets that included 1829 graduate Robert E. Lee, the future Confederate general, was involved with the dedication of the monument.
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