I have often stood in the Area of Barracks and looked through the north sally-port to enjoy the fine vista that it framed. A section of the Plain fills half the picture, a beautiful foreground, either when resignedly spread out to the heat of the Highland summer, or shivering under its fleecy blanket of snow, over which the winter winds angrily blow. In the upper half against the far-away background of the Highland hills is the slender flagstaff, sometimes swathed in the folds of our national emblem, sometimes resisting with all its strength the fluttering of its precious charge which seems to implore its release to join the flight of the breeze.
As we leave the north sally-port and turn toward the angle between the two sets of barracks, high on the hill the monumental Cadet Chapel, West Point’s spiritual fortress, looms above with extraordinary effectiveness. It has a fine site on a commanding spur just above the old Cadet Barracks on the west, from which point it dominates the Post. It lies in the shadow of old Fort Putnam of Revolutionary fame, and, built of stone quarried from its own hill, it seems a part of its naturally beautiful surroundings.
The Chapel
This edifice is in reality a large church with a seating capacity of fourteen hundred persons. In plan it is a crucifix, surmounted by a large central tower whose parapet is 130 feet above the pavement of the interior and 420 feet above the level of the river. The tower contains two stories: the bell-ringer’s story and the belfry above. There are as yet no chimes, but on national holidays, Christmas morning, and Easter, the band mounts to the bell-ringer’s story, and the airs appropriate for the day float out through the louver windows in a weird and mysterious manner, as if some invisible symphony was playing in the clouds.
Just above the stately clerestory windows, and around the cornice of the building, is a row of carved figures, little bosses, representing the quest of the Holy Grail. Over the door of the main entrance is a great two-handed sword, Excalibur.
One should pause for a moment on the terrace in front of the main entrance to enjoy the magnificent panorama. In the distance, flows the Hudson winding among the Highland hills, and skirting the great Plain along whose edge stand the Bachelor Building, Cullum Hall, and the Officers’ Mess. Directly below, in the shelter of the chapel hill, are grouped all of the main buildings pertaining to the cadets, the most conspicuous of which are the barracks. Viewed from this height the arrangement of the buildings resembles a regular nest, le nid des cadets.
A winding road back of the barracks leads to the Chapel. The interior of the Chapel is 200 feet long, and across the transepts, 72 feet wide. The nave contains fourteen large Gothic windows, now filled with temporary glass but which will later be replaced with memorial windows.
The jewel of the interior is the great chancel window, with its noble inscription:
Erected to the glory of the God of Battles and in faithful memory of the departed graduates of the United States Military Academy, West Point, by the living alumni.