0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America...
0:00:08 > 0:00:10..with a new travelling companion.
0:00:10 > 0:00:11BEEPING
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in 1879,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18my Appletons' General Guide will steer me to everything
0:00:18 > 0:00:20that's novel,
0:00:20 > 0:00:22beautiful,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26memorable or curious in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27- CONGREGATION:- Amen.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33As I cross the continent, I'll discover America's Gilded Age
0:00:33 > 0:00:38when powerful tycoons launched a railway boom that tied
0:00:38 > 0:00:43the nation together and carved out its future as a superpower.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Today, my guidebook takes me north from New York City through
0:01:14 > 0:01:18the Empire State, following the mighty Hudson.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23The river has played major roles in American history.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26It featured importantly in the war that won
0:01:26 > 0:01:30independence for the United States of America.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Its upriver industries brought the country prosperity and power.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42And its natural beauty inspired art that helped the new nation to
0:01:42 > 0:01:48define itself - so much so that it became known as America's River.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58This river takes its name from the Englishman Henry Hudson,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01who explored it in 1609.
0:02:01 > 0:02:08It flows from the Adirondacks, 300 miles behind me, to here, Manhattan.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13Appletons' promises me "some of the most picturesque scenery in America.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16"The Hudson has been compared to the Rhine,
0:02:16 > 0:02:21"and what it lacks in crumbling ruin and castle-crowned steep, it more
0:02:21 > 0:02:27"than makes up for by its greater variety and superior breadth."
0:02:27 > 0:02:31What an invitation to follow the course of the mighty Hudson.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42On this journey, I'm travelling through New York state.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47I began in New York City and Long Island.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Now I'll continue up the Hudson to Poughkeepsie
0:02:50 > 0:02:53and the capital of New York state, Albany.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57From there, I'll turn west to the Great Lakes,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59taking in Rochester and Buffalo,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03and finish my journey on the Canadian border at Niagara Falls.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10This leg of my journey begins at New York City's Penn Station,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12from where I'll head north, upriver,
0:03:12 > 0:03:17to Tarrytown and the inspirational setting for some of America's
0:03:17 > 0:03:21greatest literature, before continuing to Garrison,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25where I cross the river to finish my journey at West Point,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27the national military academy.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34'Along the way, I will be spooked by a famous American ghost story.'
0:03:35 > 0:03:41This sequestered glen has long been known by the name of Sleepy Hollow!
0:03:41 > 0:03:45'Here, a new take on America's greatest turncoat...'
0:03:45 > 0:03:48So you think that Benedict Arnold was actually an American
0:03:48 > 0:03:52- revolutionary hero? - He was, absolutely.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56'..before learning how the American Civil War divided the nation.'
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Not only is father against son and brother against brother,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03but it's classmate against classmate.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23I'm beginning my journey following Appletons' recommended route through
0:04:23 > 0:04:28beautiful upstate New York from the decidedly modern Penn Station.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36At the time of my guidebook, there was no railroad station here.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Travellers would have boarded the Hudson River Railroad further
0:04:39 > 0:04:40north in Harlem.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52If you ever saw a New Yorker standing here crying,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57it might be because he was mourning the loss of the old Penn Station.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01It was a vast neoclassical building that stood here.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04It was easily one of the most beautiful structures in New York.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09And in the dreaded 1960s, they tore it down, stone by stone. Why?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Because the railroad was pretty broke
0:05:11 > 0:05:15and they did a really good property deal that created this skyscraper
0:05:15 > 0:05:20and the Madison Square Gardens, from which we get the boxing matches.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27The Penn Central Railroad, which bulldozed Penn Station,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30itself collapsed not long after.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34And in 1971, train services were taken over by a new national
0:05:34 > 0:05:36carrier - Amtrak.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Every day, Amtrak's Penn Station serves over 500,000 people.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43With so many users,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47this rail company needs its own police department.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50The force's police chief is Polly Hanson.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Chief, how many officers do you have now
0:05:53 > 0:05:55and across how many states do you operate?
0:05:55 > 0:05:59So Amtrak Police are over 500 strong.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02We're responsible for over 20,000 employees,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06riding and operating trains over 20,000 miles of track,
0:06:06 > 0:06:12- serving 500 destinations in 46 states.- 46 states?
0:06:12 > 0:06:14I mean, that is a tremendous span for you, isn't it?
0:06:14 > 0:06:18What were the origins of railroad policing in the United States?
0:06:18 > 0:06:21The history of railroad police really dates back to after
0:06:21 > 0:06:23the Civil War.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26You had people like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Frank and Jesse James, who were getting on trains and robbing them.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34And so, the owners of the railroad, very powerful,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37important rich men, wanted to keep that wealth.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40So they hired people like Allan Pinkerton who,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44at the time, was a very innovative investigator
0:06:44 > 0:06:46and created his own company.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Scottish-born Allan Pinkerton founded his eponymous detective
0:06:51 > 0:06:56agency in 1850 and quickly solved a string of train crimes.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01But he met his match when hired to track down one of the most
0:07:01 > 0:07:05successful train robbing duos in history -
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Robert Leroy Parker, also known as Butch Cassidy,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13and his partner in crime, Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, the Sundance Kid.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20In 1899, in a single robbery of a Union Pacific train, the pair made
0:07:20 > 0:07:26off with 50,000 - the equivalent of nearly 1.5 million today.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Pinkerton agents followed the bandits' trail
0:07:31 > 0:07:35and they realised that, before long, they'd be ensnared.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Mr Pinkerton used really innovative investigative techniques
0:07:39 > 0:07:42and, of course, today, you take it for granted that you can use DNA and
0:07:42 > 0:07:45photographs and send off a cable,
0:07:45 > 0:07:46but they didn't have that capability then,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and they still were able to track them
0:07:48 > 0:07:51down across the United States, here to New York City,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55and then they boarded a ship and went to South America.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59In early 1901, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid set
0:07:59 > 0:08:02sail from New York City, bound for Buenos Aires.
0:08:03 > 0:08:09In 1908, the outlaws reportedly died in a hail of bullets in Bolivia
0:08:09 > 0:08:12and quickly became heroes of American popular culture.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19Since 9/11, the main focus of the railroad police is counterterrorism,
0:08:19 > 0:08:24and officers are a reassuring presence on my train to Tarrytown.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27I use the journey to see the work of Allan Pinkerton's modern-day
0:08:27 > 0:08:33equivalents - Special Agent Marc Deslandes, Sergeant Robert Smith
0:08:33 > 0:08:35and K-9 Officer Jake.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40This is one of our explosive detection dogs designed to
0:08:40 > 0:08:44seek out and locate potential explosive devices,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47either carried on board or somewhere hidden.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Their noses are very good at picking up
0:08:51 > 0:08:54and detecting explosive odour
0:08:54 > 0:08:57and they can be deployed on moving trains,
0:08:57 > 0:09:02on trains that are stationary, we put them to work in our stations,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06in and around our stations and in and around our passengers
0:09:06 > 0:09:08and the crowds of people that come through.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10The connection between animal and officer is important, is it?
0:09:10 > 0:09:14It's extremely important. We have a special bond with our dogs.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16He gets to come home with me.
0:09:16 > 0:09:17He's basically my family,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21so we work together and we also live together at home.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24I get to feed him, make sure that he's well taken care of.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27He's your animal but he is not a pet.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29How do you keep the proper distance,
0:09:29 > 0:09:30make sure that that is a working animal?
0:09:30 > 0:09:34He basically knows when he's working and he knows when he's off duty.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37And at work, we're very strict about not allowing other
0:09:37 > 0:09:40officers or passengers to pet our dogs.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42This way, they can concentrate on doing their jobs.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50On this line that hugs the Hudson, Appletons' tells me where to sit.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55"Secure a seat on the left-hand side of the cars going north."
0:09:55 > 0:09:57It soon becomes clear why.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Just before my stop, crossing the Hudson at one of its widest
0:10:20 > 0:10:22points is the Tappan Zee Bridge.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29The name comes from one of the area's American Indian tribes,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33known as the Tappan, and zee, Dutch for sea - reflecting both
0:10:33 > 0:10:38indigenous inhabitants and the first settlers of New York state.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42Both groups would inspire the first true American writer who
0:10:42 > 0:10:47named New York City "Gotham" and whose characters would later be
0:10:47 > 0:10:50brought to life by stars like Johnny Depp.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- TANNOY:- Please watch the gap between the train and the platform.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11I'm making my way to his house - once a site popular with
0:11:11 > 0:11:14tourists escaping the city - with the help of my guidebook.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Washington Irving was born into a wealthy Manhattan merchant
0:11:19 > 0:11:24family on April 3rd, 1783, at about the same time that the city's
0:11:24 > 0:11:29residents learned of the ceasefire that heralded American independence.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33And so he was named after the hero of the day - George Washington.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44At Irving's home, I'm meeting literary scholar Michael Lord.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Michael, Washington Irving built his house in a lovely spot,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55but tell me, what's his place in the American heart, would you say?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58I'd say that Washington Irving was the first writer of any
0:11:58 > 0:12:02sort in America to gain any respect, especially throughout Europe.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Europeans saw most Americans as perhaps country farmers
0:12:06 > 0:12:08without much of an education.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11And Irving, I think, changed their minds a little bit.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15He achieved that not from this beautiful veranda but from Europe.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22In 1815, Irving went to England in an attempt to save
0:12:22 > 0:12:24the family business.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27I'd say he wrote most of his important works
0:12:27 > 0:12:28while he was in Europe.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30The Sketchbook Of Geoffrey Crayon
0:12:30 > 0:12:34and this is where he introduces us to Rip Van Winkle,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36as well as Tales Of The Alhambra.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39He is travelling across the continent, picking up little
0:12:39 > 0:12:42short stories, lots of information on folktales and legends
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and applying them to a new American setting.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50So, The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow is a mixture of old German folktales
0:12:50 > 0:12:53set here and this is where, I believe, Europeans and Americans
0:12:53 > 0:12:58really begin to both take interest in the stories that he is creating.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00When he comes back to the United States, then,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02does he find that he has become famous?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05He is treated almost like royalty when he comes back to New York
0:13:05 > 0:13:10in 1832, where he is wined and dined and feted in the city.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13He is actually offered to be the Mayor of New York,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15which he politely turns down.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17He is probably, arguably anyway,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19America's largest celebrity at that time.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Hugely successful as an author,
0:13:23 > 0:13:28Washington Irving put down roots in Tarrytown, New York, in 1835,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31at the cottage he named Sunnyside.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41I understand why he built his house on the banks of the Hudson
0:13:41 > 0:13:45but why in front of the railway line?
0:13:45 > 0:13:47It doesn't make a lot of sense to have that train so close,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50but when Irving purchases the land here,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54this is 1835 and the railway is 12 years off into the future.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56He had no idea that he was going to end up with
0:13:56 > 0:13:58tracks in the front of his house.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01This is an American romantic who embraces nature
0:14:01 > 0:14:03and loves nature and all of a sudden this machine
0:14:03 > 0:14:08comes into the garden and he was quite upset about it.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10What do we know about how upset he was?
0:14:10 > 0:14:14We have several letters attesting to the fact that he was quite
0:14:14 > 0:14:16unhappy about this.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21We know that in 1847, he writes to a nephew of his, he says,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24"If the Garden of Eden were now on Earth,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26"they would not hesitate to run a railroad through it."
0:14:26 > 0:14:27Wow. He was angry.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Even a couple of years later,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31after the railroad actually had come through,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33he pens off a note in 1850.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37He says, "Excuse me for not answering sooner your kind letter.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39"It found me in a terrible state of shattered nerves,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42"having been startled out of my sleep by the infernal alarum
0:14:42 > 0:14:45"of your railroad steam trumpet."
0:14:45 > 0:14:47I must say, while I've been here I have noticed that your engineers,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51what we call train drivers, do like to use their horns a lot.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Apparently, Irving felt the same way that you did
0:14:53 > 0:14:55because even in the same letter he writes,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58"I remain sleepless until daybreak, miserable all the following day.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02"It seemed to me almost as if done on purpose."
0:15:02 > 0:15:06One of our best-known writers had a phobia of trains,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08having been involved in a very nasty railway accident.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Charles Dickens.
0:15:10 > 0:15:11He travelled a lot in the United States.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13I'm wondering, did he meet Washington Irving?
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Dickens travelled here to New York around 1842,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19met Irving while he was in New York City.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22They wined and dined and they walked around the town
0:15:22 > 0:15:25and Irving and Dickens stayed close for the rest of their lives.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27And I can rather imagine that when they dined,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30they raised their glasses and the toast was, "Down with the train."
0:15:30 > 0:15:32I imagine you are right.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Just north of Irving's home is the village
0:15:46 > 0:15:51that inspired his most quintessentially American work,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00Its combination of romance and horror made it a bestseller.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04And it is still often retold at Halloween.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07"And the peculiar character of its inhabitants,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11"who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14"this sequestered glen has long been known
0:16:14 > 0:16:17"by the name of Sleepy Hollow."
0:16:18 > 0:16:23It's the ghoulish story of an unlikely hero, Ichabod Crane,
0:16:23 > 0:16:28and his mysterious disappearance at the hands of a headless horseman.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32"The stories of Brouwer, of Bones, and a whole budget of others,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34"were called to mind
0:16:34 > 0:16:37"and when they had diligently considered them all
0:16:37 > 0:16:40"and compared them with the symptoms of the present case,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43"they shook their heads and came to the conclusion
0:16:43 > 0:16:48"that Ichabod had been carried off by the Galloping Hessian."
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Ooh. Scary stuff!
0:16:54 > 0:16:56LAUGHTER
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Today my route continues along the eastern bank of the Hudson,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14America's River, to Garrison, New York.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23In contrast to the tranquil landscape,
0:17:23 > 0:17:28Appletons' informs me that this area witnessed many stormy fights
0:17:28 > 0:17:32between guerrillas on both sides during the War of Independence.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40Because across the water is a site of such strategic importance
0:17:40 > 0:17:43that General George Washington described it
0:17:43 > 0:17:45as the Gibraltar of the continent.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47"West Point,"
0:17:47 > 0:17:51says Appletons', "is one of the most attractive places on the river
0:17:51 > 0:17:54"and the seat of the National Military Academy,
0:17:54 > 0:17:59"which occupies a broad plateau 175 feet above the river.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03"The grounds are tastefully laid out, containing fine monuments
0:18:03 > 0:18:05"and commanding pleasant views."
0:18:05 > 0:18:08For me to obtain my objective, I must cross the mighty Hudson
0:18:08 > 0:18:13and scale the heights, which, as any cadet at the academy could
0:18:13 > 0:18:15tell you, are perilous manoeuvres.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Fortunately, my guidebook suggests a delightful excursion may be
0:18:22 > 0:18:25made by taking the morning boat.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29All clear the dock.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32So I'm following 19th century travellers to cross
0:18:32 > 0:18:35the Hudson in style aboard this paddleboat.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44During America's War of Independence, Benedict Arnold,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46a man whose conduct was to prove unbecoming
0:18:46 > 0:18:48to an officer and a gentleman,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52took charge of the military fortifications here.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56The story of his plan to betray his countrymen to the British
0:18:56 > 0:18:58is inextricably bound to this river.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02And at the time of my Appletons',
0:19:02 > 0:19:04he lived on in the national consciousness
0:19:04 > 0:19:07as America's greatest turncoat.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11But crewmember Norman Stellefson has rather a different take.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18Benedict Arnold was probably one of the best generals that we had.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22The only thing was, he never got credit for anything he did
0:19:22 > 0:19:25so he could never get the promotion.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Nevertheless, the under-promoted Arnold distinguished himself
0:19:29 > 0:19:31in the fight for American independence,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35including at the critical Battle of Saratoga in 1777.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40He was shot twice in his leg and it was really bad,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43but he looked and he saw that the battle was not going very well,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45so he jumped onto a white horse,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47went out there
0:19:47 > 0:19:51and he actually changed the battle around and then they won the battle.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53So you think that Benedict Arnold was actually
0:19:53 > 0:19:55an American revolutionary hero?
0:19:55 > 0:19:57I'd say he was, absolutely.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00With such severe injuries to his leg,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Arnold's combat career was over.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Embittered, in 1780, he was made superintendent of West Point.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11He was so disgusted the way they treated him
0:20:11 > 0:20:16and everything else that he did pull a lot of stuff that was not legal.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20He had a ship of his own and they were bringing stuff in.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25They used the army wagons to bring the stuff in and everything.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30Any fabulous dancers and everything else. He really lived it up high.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31And he liked money.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35And when he met British major John Andre,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Arnold's greed got the better of him.
0:20:38 > 0:20:44He made plans to surrender West Point in exchange for £20,000.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Andre had to cross the little bridge.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49That's when he got stopped and they searched him
0:20:49 > 0:20:52and they found the plans in his boot,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55but when Benedict Arnold saw what happened to Andre, he said,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57"I've got to get out of here."
0:20:57 > 0:21:01He jumped on his horse and went down to the British ship, the Vulture,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03and got on it and got away.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07What do Americans think of Benedict Arnold today?
0:21:07 > 0:21:09A lot of people, as soon as they hear Benedict, they go,
0:21:09 > 0:21:10"Traitor, traitor."
0:21:10 > 0:21:13But they don't really realise what I just told you.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15You'd be a traitor, too,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17if no matter what you did,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20you never got credit for it.
0:21:20 > 0:21:21That's terrible.
0:21:23 > 0:21:24Pulling in on the starboard side.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33West Point has produced
0:21:33 > 0:21:37some of the greatest generals in American history.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Today, the United States Military Academy continues to train
0:21:41 > 0:21:44commissioned army officers.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46OFFICERS SHOUT RESPONSE
0:21:46 > 0:21:47I can't hear you.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49OFFICERS SHOUT RESPONSE
0:21:49 > 0:21:54Alumni and current cadets are known collectively as The Long Gray Line.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Exercise, one, two, three.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04With 4,400 cadets in residence,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06this bridge becomes pretty busy
0:22:06 > 0:22:08when classes are changing.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Amongst these faces there could be future generals,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14people who one day will be household names
0:22:14 > 0:22:19and, since West Point boasts two former occupants of the White House,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22some of them might be a future president.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28West Point played a key role in the American War of Independence.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32The Hudson passed between the northern and southern colonies.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36The revolutionaries had to cross it with munitions and men.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41The river also provided a potential invasion route for the British
0:22:41 > 0:22:42moving down from Canada.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45In the spring of 1778,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49the revolutionaries stretched one of the longest and largest chains
0:22:49 > 0:22:53ever forged across the river at West Point
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and for the remainder of the war,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58prevented British ships from sailing upriver.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03At the monument to this impenetrable piece of military engineering,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07I'm meeting historian Lieutenant Colonel Sherman Fleek.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Here we have the 13 original links of the chain.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14The 13 links represent the 13 colonies.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18- Each link weighed about 85lb. - Ooh, let me try that.- Go ahead.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20Whoa!
0:23:20 > 0:23:24- Just about.- So, 65 tonnes, 1,700 feet long.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28- And with this you kept the Royal Navy at bay?- Yes, sir, we did.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35With their giant chain in place,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39the revolutionaries foiled British ambitions to cut their forces in two.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45The Americans secured independence in 1783.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Sherman, when does it become a military academy, then?
0:23:51 > 0:23:53So, the Academy was established in 1802
0:23:53 > 0:23:57under the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, our third president.
0:23:57 > 0:23:58There had been some debate for years
0:23:58 > 0:24:01whether we should have a military academy here or not,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04which runs counter to the principles and values
0:24:04 > 0:24:06of the American Revolution
0:24:06 > 0:24:09because of the fear of standing armies.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12American attitudes to the military have changed remarkably
0:24:12 > 0:24:14since the 18th century.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Today, the armed forces are seen by many Americans
0:24:17 > 0:24:20as key to their national identity,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24but the Founding Fathers thought back to repression by the British,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27associating a standing army with tyranny
0:24:27 > 0:24:30and a potential threat to their hard-won liberty.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Who is the guiding spirit who establishes the Military Academy
0:24:37 > 0:24:38as it is today?
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Without a doubt, the father of the Academy is Sylvanus Thayer.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45He became the superintendent in 1817.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48He changed everything. He introduced officership, dedication,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50duty, responsibility.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54He introduced engineering as a strong proponent.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57This school was the very first engineering school
0:24:57 > 0:24:59in the United States.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02With that expertise, West Point graduates
0:25:02 > 0:25:05played a key role in the development of America's railroads.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09So, by the time of the Civil War,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11there was more railroads in the north
0:25:11 > 0:25:13than the rest of the world combined.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17By 1861, West Pointers had helped to lay
0:25:17 > 0:25:21approximately two-thirds of the 31,000 miles of track in America.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26At the outbreak of hostilities, with the nation divided,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29the American Civil War was set to become
0:25:29 > 0:25:32the first railway war in history.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36The American Civil War is a watershed event in our history
0:25:36 > 0:25:38without a doubt.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41It came close to almost destroying this nation.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44304 graduates, some of our best people,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46went and fought for the Confederacy.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Not only is it father against son and brother against brother,
0:25:49 > 0:25:51but it's classmate against classmate
0:25:51 > 0:25:55and now all of a sudden they are thrown into this devilish war
0:25:55 > 0:25:57where they are fighting each other.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00It was heart-rending. It would just tear you apart.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06The Civil War imposed a heavy death toll on both sides
0:26:06 > 0:26:08and was so divisive that it threatened
0:26:08 > 0:26:10the survival of West Point.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15One time during the war and twice after the war,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19West Point was accused of being a nest of traitors
0:26:19 > 0:26:24because of the 304 graduates who fought for the Confederacy.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27It was seen by the US Congress that West Point was
0:26:27 > 0:26:32a den of treachery, where these graduates that we funded
0:26:32 > 0:26:36and paid for. Robert E Lee, 31 years on active duty as a colonel,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40all of a sudden, when we needed him, he turned sides against us.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42And so they wanted to end West Point.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Congress didn't get its way
0:26:49 > 0:26:51and West Point went on to produce
0:26:51 > 0:26:55some of the finest military leaders in history.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Generals like Patton,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59MacArthur
0:26:59 > 0:27:00and Eisenhower.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13An Englishman first explored the Hudson
0:27:13 > 0:27:18and when, in the following century, a chain from bank to bank
0:27:18 > 0:27:21denied passage upstream to the Royal Navy,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25the river played an important part in changing the colonies
0:27:25 > 0:27:27into the United States.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31West Point produced a succession of military heroes,
0:27:31 > 0:27:36some of whom had the misfortune to use their war fighting skills
0:27:36 > 0:27:40against their classmates in the American Civil War.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Here at this bend in the river,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46serenaded by railroad locomotives,
0:27:46 > 0:27:48there is no better place
0:27:48 > 0:27:51to understand a potted history of America.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00'Next time,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03'I'll take a different sort of line...'
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Whoa!
0:28:09 > 0:28:13'..and enjoy beautiful mountain scenery from an American iron horse...'
0:28:13 > 0:28:15- Wow.- Take it west.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22'..before tapping into Albany's boozy past.'
0:28:23 > 0:28:27- Wow. That is strong.- Cheers.- Cheers.