Find out the vital role that the Hudson Valley played in U.S. military history with a Road Trip: Close to Home to the West Point Museum. 

Our country’s oldest federal museum is rooted along the Hudson River in Highland Falls. Once inside the West Point Museum, you’ll discover generations of military stories from the American Revolution to this day. 

"It's the only one that's been in operation since the American Revolution all the way up to today. If you want to understand American military history and Army history, I think this is a great place to study it, and it's right here in our backyard!" says Michael Diaz, curator of history and uniforms at the museum.

The United States Military Academy at West Point opened as a military school in the early 1800s to teach engineering, and Sylvanus Thayer turned it into one of the best schools in the country. "This gallery traces the history of West Point, from its origins at the beginning of the American Revolution. The earliest defenses that were here right as the war starts, and it goes up to the Academy as it exists today still generating leaders for the U.S. Army," says Diaz.

The walls of this museum are adorned with artwork and artifacts, some that date as far back as the Revolutionary War, while other are as recent as the war on terror with military equipment and uniforms used in Iraq and in Afghanistan.

Learn how centuries of events, to the latest conflicts, continue to shape our world today - including the evolution of weaponry. "We have our technical-focused exhibits on just weaponry downstairs, so walls and walls of guns," says Diaz. This exhibit gives a unique view of how armed defense has progressed, from ancient swords of 900 BC to modern firearms used in the military today. 

The West Point Museum is free to visit! For more information, click here.