While sailing on the Hudson, a glimpse is obtained of West Point, the great military school from which so many of America’s celebrated generals have graduated.  West Point commands one of the finest river passes in the country.  The fort and chain stretched across the river were captured by the British in 1777 (two years after it was decided that West Point should be established a military post), but were abandoned after Burgoyne’s surrender.  The Continental forces then substituted stronger works.  West Point thus has a history running right back to the Revolutionary War, and the ruins of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, which were erected in 1775, are in the immediate vicinity.

There are 176 rooms in the cadet barrack.  There is no attempt at ornamentation, and the quarters are almost rigid in their simplicity and lack of home comfort.  Not only are the embryo warriors taught the rudiments of drill and warfare, but they are also given stern lessons in camp life.  Each young man acts as his own chambermaid, and has to keep his little room absolutely neat and free from litter and dirt of any kind.

The West Point Chapel is of interest on account of the number of tablets to be found in it, immortalizing many of the Revolutionary heroes.  A winding road leads up to the cemetery, where are resting the remains of many other celebrated generals, including Winfield Scott.  The State Camp meets annually at Peekskill, another very ancient town, replete with Revolutionary War reminiscences.  It was settled in the year 1764 by a Dutch navigator, from whom it takes its name.  Another house used by General Washington for headquarters is to be found near the town, as well as St. Peter’s Church, in which the Father of his Country worshiped.

Tarrytown is another of the famous spots on the Hudson.  Near here Washington Irving lived, and on the old Sleepy Hollow road is to be found the oldest religious structure in New York State.  The church was built by the Dutch settlers in the year 1699, and close to it is the cemetery in which Washington Irving was interred.  Sunnyside, Irving’s home, is a most interesting stone structure, whose numerous gables are covered with ivy, the immense mass of which has grown from a few slips presented to Irving by Sir Walter Scott.

A sadder sight to the tourist on the Hudson, but one which is of necessity full of interest, is the Sing Sing Prison, just below Croton Point.  In this great State jail an army of convicts are kept busy manufacturing various articles of domestic use.  The prison itself takes its name from the Indian word “Ossining,” which means “stone upon stone.”  The village of Sing Sing, strange to say, contains many charming residences, and the proximity of the State’s prison does not seem to have any particular effect on the spirits and the ideas of those living in it.

Still further down the Hudson is Riverside Park, New York, the scene of General Grant’s tomb, which overlooks the lower section of the river, concerning which we have endeavored to impart some little information of an interesting character.  Of the tomb, we present a very accurate illustration.