Flirtation Walk is a historic rocky foot trail at the United States Military Academy. The trail follows the shoreline of the Hudson River along the western bank. The southern trailhead starts at the edge of the Lincoln Hall parking lot and winds north along the river around Gee's Point and the West Point Light. The trail turns west-northwest, passing Battery Cove, where the Great Chain was anchored during the Revolutionary War. The trail ends near the helipad of West Point's North Dock. There also is an access trail that descends steeply to the river level from Trophy Point. The trail varies in consistency from level and even to steep and rocky. By academy tradition, only cadets and their guests may use the trail. Visitors escorted by cadets should wear sturdy shoes. The 1934 film Flirtation Walk was named after the trail. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Cadets refer to it as "Flirtie Walk", or just "Flirtie". The cadet knowledge manual, known as Bugle Notes, refers to Flirtation Walk as a "scenic walk where only cadets and their escorts may go." [1] The trail was first used during the Revolutionary War to access the Great Chain that deterred British ships navigating the turn in the river. As it originally had a military application, this path was off limits to cadets until the 1840s. After the military garrison's purpose at West Point became obsolete, the trail was opened and encouraged to be used by cadets. As the academy grew in size in the mid-19th century, more visitors began to frequent the cadets. Given the limited transportation opportunities of the day and the lack of places for the young men of the academy to take their lady guests, the walk became a popular place to go. The administration of the academy allowed cadets the rare opportunity to have some privacy with their guests. [2] This policy is still traditionally held and signs are posted to keep visitors to the academy away from the trail. The signs read "Visitors must be accompanied by a cadet".
Because of the sentimental place in the hearts of cadets, and perhaps because of the relative amount of space available compared to the rest of the academy's grounds, Flirtation walk is home to several memorials to former cadets. Most are dedicated to cadets who died during their time at the academy. The largest and most prominent monument along the trail is Sheridan Memorial near Gee's Point that is dedicated to Richard B. Sheridan Jr, who died on the gridiron of the Yale Bowl in Oct 1931. [3]
Because the Mexican War was the first war where West Point graduates played a commanding role, several of its major battles are commemorated on Flirtie Walk. There is a large engraving that states "MEXICO 13,14 SEP 1847" along Howard Road leading down to North Dock. There is also a large engraving commemorating the Battle of Saratoga on the cliffside at Kosciuszko's Garden about a quarter mile south of Flirtie Walk.
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high ground overlooking the Hudson River with a scenic view, 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. It is the oldest of the five American service academies and educates cadets for commissioning into the United States Army.
Flirtation Walk is a 1934 American romantic musical film written by Delmer Daves and Lou Edelman, and directed by Frank Borzage. It focuses on a soldier who falls in love with a general's daughter during the general's brief stop in Hawaii but is bereft when she leaves with her father for the Philippines before their relationship can blossom. They are re-united several years later when the soldier is about to graduate from West Point and the general becomes the Academy's Commandant.
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast Guard officers in one of nine major fields of study.
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Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill in Westchester County, through Putnam County, to Beacon in Dutchess County, in the eastern section of the Hudson Highlands.
The Monon Trail is a rail trail located entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon Railroad was a popular railroad line connecting the cities of Chicago and Indianapolis, with stops at major settlements along its route. After the decline of railroad travel and the sale of the company in 1987, the portion of the line between Indianapolis and Delphi, Indiana, was abandoned.
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Trophy Point is a scenic overlook of the Hudson River Valley located at West Point, New York. It has been the subject of numerous works of art since the early 19th century. Trophy Point is the location of Battle Monument, one of the largest columns of granite in the world. Designed by architect Stanford White and dedicated in 1897, Trophy Point was formerly the site of West Point graduation ceremonies before the class sizes became larger in the mid-twentieth century.
Richard Woodward Colcock was the second Superintendent of the South Carolina Military Academy from 1844 through 1852.
The United States Military Academy and grounds were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 due to the Revolutionary War history and the age and historic significance of the academy itself. The majority of the buildings in the central cadet area are historic.
The history of the United States Military Academy can be traced to fortifications constructed on the West Point of the Hudson River during the American Revolutionary War in 1778. Following the war, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy (USMA) on the site in 1802. In 1817 the academy was transformed by the appointment of Sylvanus Thayer who drastically reformed the curriculum.
Constitution Island is in the northeastern United States, located in New York on the east side of the Hudson River, north of New York City. It is directly opposite the U.S. Military Academy Reservation at West Point and is connected to the east shore by Constitution Marsh.
The Plain is the parade field at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. The flat terrain of the Plain is in contrast to the varied and hilly terrain of the remainder of the campus. The Plain rises approximately 150 feet (45 m) above the Hudson River and has been the site of the longest continually occupied U.S. Army garrison in America since 1778. In its early years, the entire academy was located on the Plain and it was used for varying activities ranging from drill and mounted cavalry maneuvers to an encampment site for summer training to a sports venue. Currently, the Plain refers to just the parade field where cadets perform ceremonial parades.
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC) is a non-profit organization that is based on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southwestern Los Angeles County, California.
The Battle of Tulifinny was an American Civil War engagement fought December 6–9, 1864 in South Carolina during General Sherman's March to the Sea, also known as the Savannah Campaign. Outnumbered 5-1 a Confederate force successfully defended a critical section of the Charleston-Savannah railroad.
The Civil War Trust's Civil War Discovery Trail is a heritage tourism program that links more than 600 U.S. Civil War sites in more than 30 states. The program is one of the White House Millennium Council's sixteen flagship National Millennium Trails. Sites on the trail include battlefields, museums, historic sites, forts and cemeteries.