BATTLE MONUMENT, a few steps west of the Washington Monument, is at the
northern limit of the Plain, known as Trophy Point. The granite monument,
designed by Stanford White and executed by Frederick MacMonnies, was erected to
the memory of the 2,230 officers and privates of the regular Army killed in
action in the Civil War. Standing on a circular pedestal, a Roman Doric
column, five feet in diameter and 46 feet high, supports a winged statue of Fame.
The five-step circular stairway around the base is broken by eight pedestals,
each of which supports a sphere flanked by two cannons. . - New York: A Guide
to the Empire State, West Point section, pg 368.
The description of the location has changed since the Guide was published,
Battle Monument has not moved, Washington Monument has been moved. The
towering monument, them most prominent at the Academy was dedicated in 1897.
The monument was paid for by a 6% deduction from a months pay from all all
officers and men in the Regular Army for many years.