of midshipman quarters and mess hall c. 1905 The first nautical school for officers was conceived by Commodore
Arthur Sinclair in 1819 while in command of the Norfolk Navy Yard. Due to his zeal and perseverance, the "Nautical School" was opened on board the frigate on 3 December 1821 with between 40 and 50 midshipmen attached to the ship. The curriculum was diversified with naval tactics, astronomy, geography, French, history, English grammar, and international relations. The school operated until 1828, when USS
Guerriere was ordered to duty in the Pacific. It was from that small start that the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis grew. The history of the academy can be divided into four eras: the use of original Fort Severn from 1845 to 1861, "Porter's Academy" between 1865 and 1903, "
Flagg Academy" from 1903 to 1941, and the modern era since 1941. The academy's Latin motto is , which means 'Through Knowledge, Sea Power'. It appears on a design devised by naval academy graduate (1867)
Park Benjamin, Jr. It was adopted by the Navy Department in 1898 due to the efforts of another graduate (also 1867) and collaborator, Jacob W. Miller.
Early years The institution was founded as the Naval School on 10 October 1845 by
Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft. The campus was established at
Annapolis on the grounds of the former U.S. Army post
Fort Severn. The school opened with 50 midshipman students and seven professors. The decision to establish an academy on land may have been in part a result of the Affair, an alleged mutiny involving the Secretary of War's son that resulted in his execution at sea.
Commodore Matthew Perry had a considerable interest in naval education, supporting an apprentice system to train new seamen, and helped establish the curriculum for the United States Naval Academy. He was also a vocal proponent of modernization of the navy. Originally a course of study for five years was prescribed. Only the first and last were spent at the school with the other three being passed at sea. The present name was adopted when the school was reorganized in 1850 and placed under the supervision of the chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography. Under the immediate charge of the superintendent, the course of study was extended to seven years with the first two and the last two to be spent at the school and the intervening three years at sea. The four years of study were made consecutive in 1851 and practice cruises were substituted for the three consecutive years at sea. The first class of naval academy students graduated on 10 June 1854. They were considered as
passed midshipmen until 1912, when graduates were first sworn in as officers. In 1850, Edward Seager joined the faculty as the first instructor of drawing, and he also served as the first fencing instructor. He held the position of teacher of the art of defence from 1851 to 1859. In 1860, the
Tripoli Monument was moved to the academy grounds. Later that year in August, the model of the USS
Somers experiment was resurrected when , then 60 years old, was recommissioned as a school ship for the fourth-class midshipmen after a conversion and refitting begun in 1857. She was anchored at the yard, and the plebes lived on board the ship to immediately introduce them to shipboard life and experiences.
American Civil War The
American Civil War was disruptive to the Naval Academy. Southern sympathy ran high in Maryland. Although riots broke out, Maryland did not declare secession. The United States government was planning to move the school, when the sudden outbreak of hostilities forced a quick departure. Almost immediately the three upper classes were detached and ordered to sea, and the remaining elements of the academy were transported to
Fort Adams in
Newport, Rhode Island by the in April 1861, where the academy was set up in temporary facilities and opened in May. The Annapolis campus, meanwhile, was turned into a United States Army Hospital. The
United States Navy was stressed by the situation – 24% of its officers resigned to join the
Confederate States Navy, including 95 graduates and 59 midshipmen, along with many key leaders who influenced USNA's founding. As the first superintendent of the
United States Naval Observatory, Commander
Matthew Fontaine Maury, who advocated for creating the United States Naval Academy, also resigned his commission. The first superintendent, Admiral
Franklin Buchanan, joined the Confederate States Navy as its first and primary admiral. Captain
Sidney Smith Lee, the second commandant of midshipmen, and older brother of Robert E. Lee, left Federal service in 1861 for the Confederate States Navy. Lieutenant
William Harwar Parker, CSN, class of 1848, and instructor at USNA, joined the
Virginia State Navy, and then went on to become the superintendent of the
Confederate States Naval Academy. Lieutenant Charles "Savez" Read may have been "anchor man" (graduated last) in the class of 1860, but his later service to the Confederate States Navy included defending New Orleans, service on CSS
Arkansas and CSS
Florida, and command of a series of captured Union ships that culminated in seizing the
U.S. Revenue Cutter Caleb Cushing in Portland, Maine. Lieutenant
James Iredell Waddell, CSN, a former instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy, commanded the
CSS Shenandoah. The midshipmen and faculty returned to Annapolis in the summer of 1865, just after the war ended.
Porter's Academy: Civil War to Spanish–American War Civil War hero Admiral
David Dixon Porter became superintendent in 1865. He found the infrastructure at Annapolis a shambles, the result of ill military use during the War. Porter attempted to restore the facilities. He concentrated on recruiting naval officers as opposed to civilians, a change of philosophy. He recruited teachers Stephen B. Luce, future admirals
Winfield Scott Schley,
George Dewey, and
William T. Sampson. The midshipman
battalion consisted of four
companies. These were bunked in a single wooden building containing 100 rooms, one company to a floor. They held dress parades every evening except Sunday. Students were termed "cadets", though sometimes "cadet midshipmen"; other appellations were used. Porter began organized athletics, usually intramural at the time.
Antoine Joseph Corbesier, an immigrant from Belgium, was appointed to the position of Assistant Swordmaster in 1864, and then Swordmaster at USNA in October 1865. He coached Navy fencers in intercollegiate competition from 1896, when the Naval Academy joined the Intercollegiate Fencing Association, until 1914, when he retired. By special act of Congress, he was commissioned a 1st lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 4 March 1914. He died on 26 March 1915 and is buried on Hospital Point. In 1867, indoor plumbing and water was supplied to the family quarters. In 1868, the
figurehead of
Tamanend from (later nicknamed "
Tecumseh") was erected in the yard. Class rings were first issued in 1869. Weekly dances were held. Wags called the school "Porter's Dancing Academy". President
U.S. Grant distributed diplomas to the class of 1869. And then in 1879,
Robert F. Lopez was the first Hispanic-American to graduate from the academy.
John H. Conyers of South Carolina was the first African-American admitted on 21 September 1872. After his arrival, he was subject to severe, ongoing hazing, including verbal torment, and beatings. His classmates even attempted to drown him. Three cadets were dismissed as a result, but the abuse, including
shunning, continued in more subtle forms and Conyers finally resigned in October 1873. In 1874, the curriculum was altered to study naval topics in the final two years at the academy. In 1878, the academy was awarded a gold medal for academics at the
Universal Exposition in Paris. Prior to that era, about 43 men entered annually. There were 114 joining the class of 1905, 201 with the class of 1908. The academy built a modern hospital in 1907, the fourth in sequence, on what is today called "Hospital Point". In 1910, the academy established its own dairy farm. In 1913, the Navy purchased the
Howard's Adventure estate in nearby
Gambrills, Maryland to expand their dairy operations. The farm is also home to
Bill the Goat. The Naval Academy dairy was closed in 1998.
The Aviation School On 23 August 1911, the Navy officers on flight duty at
Hammondsport, New York, and
Dayton, Ohio, were ordered to report for duty at the Engineering Experiment Station, Naval Academy, "in connection with the test of gasoline motors and other experimental work in the development of aviation, including instruction at the aviation school" being set up on Greenbury Point, Annapolis. The "aerodrome" at Greenbury Point sat on 1000 square feet of land and consisted of a building with a rubber-reinforced roof containing three hangars (one for each of the newly purchased airplanes), a workshop, an office, and several bunk rooms. All three airplanes cost a total of $14,000. Over 100 officers applied for aviation duty prior to August 1911. Swimming was among a set of other qualifications that a pilot candidate must have passed before being accepted to aviation duty. Pilot qualifications were in accordance with Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) standards. In the presence of a committee of the Aero Club of America, a pilot candidate had to fly five figure eights around two flags buoyed 1500 feet apart then land within 150 feet of an established mark. This course had to be completed twice. The test also required the prospective aviator to climb to a minimum altitude of 150 ft (officially 50 meters). It was estimated by CAPT
Washington Irving Chambers that a student could qualify as a new pilot in about a month, weather permitting. All students wore life preservers. The control wheel of the Curtiss machines featured a "shift control" where the controls could be "thrown" between the student and instructor at any time. The Wright machine was delivered to Greenbury by August 1911, but was not yet configured with water gear. Navy flight training moved to
NAS Pensacola, Florida, in January 1914. In 1912, , sunk at the
Battle of Santiago de Cuba, was raised and used as the "brig" ship for the academy. By 1912, the midshipmen were organized into a
brigade, its current structure. The prior organization was named a
regiment. In 1914, the Midshipmen Drum and Bugle corps was formed and by 1922 it went defunct. They were revived in 1926. In 1926, "
Navy Blue and Gold", composed by organist and choirmaster J. W. Crosley, was first sung in public. It became a tradition to sing this
alma mater song at the end of student and alumni gatherings such as pep rallies and football games, and on graduation day. In 1926, Navy won the national collegiate football championship title. In the fall of 1929, the
Secretary of the Navy gave his approval for graduates to compete for
Rhodes Scholarships. Six graduates were selected for that honor that same year. The
Association of American Universities accredited the Naval Academy curriculum on 30 October 1930. In 1930, the class of 1891 presented a bronze replica of the figurehead of Tamanend to replace the deteriorating wooden figurehead that had been prominently displayed on campus. in 1937, depicting the Naval Academy seal on the Weems ref 3931, issued in collaboration with
P. V. H. Weems (namesake of Weems & Plath, a maker of navigation instruments, some of which are issued to every midshipman. Having been issued shortly before World War II, the surviving ref 3931s are among the rarest watches in existence.) In 1939, the first
Yard patrol boat arrived. In 1940, the academy stopped using
Reina Mercedes as a brig for disciplining midshipmen, and restricted them to Bancroft Hall, instead. Georgia Tech President and Colonel Dr.
Blake R Van Leer would later be appointed by President
Harry S. Truman to the Visitor Board and assist with its curriculum. Dr. Van Leer was already a member to
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization who had a focus to work against racism through influential
statements on race starting with a declaration of anthropologists. In 1941, the 5th and 6th wings of Bancroft Hall were completed. A total of 3,319 graduates were commissioned during World War II. Dr.
Chris Lambertsen held the first
closed-circuit oxygen SCUBA course in the United States for the
Office of Strategic Services maritime unit at the academy on 17 May 1943. In 1945, A Department of Aviation was established. That year a vice admiral,
Aubrey W. Fitch, became superintendent. The naval academy celebrated its centennial. During the century of its existence, roughly 18,563 midshipmen had graduated, including the class of 1946. At 48, Holloway was the youngest superintendent in fifty years, having been handpicked by
Secretary of the Navy Forrestal to implement the academic changes suggested by the Holloway Board, which had recommended that the Naval Academy curriculum move away from rote recitation and continuous crams "to give a stronger emphasis to basic and general education, rendering more fundamental and less detailed instruction in strictly naval material and techniques." An accelerated course was given to midshipmen during the war years which affected classes entering during the war and graduating later. The students studied year around. This affected the class of 1948 most of all. For the only time, a class was divided by academic standing. 1948A graduated in June 1947; the remainder, called 1948B, a year later. From 1946 to 1961,
N3N amphibious biplanes were used at the academy to introduce midshipmen to flying. On 3 June 1949,
Wesley A. Brown, the sixth African-American to enter the academy, The 1950 Navy fencing team won the NCAA national championship. The Navy eight-man rowing crew won the
gold medal at
1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. They were also named National Intercollegiate Champions. In 1955, the tradition of greasing
Herndon Monument for plebes to climb to exchange their plebe "dixie cup" covers (hats) for a midshipman's cover started. In 1957, the moored training ship
Reina Mercedes, ruined by a hurricane, was scrapped. The academy started the Trident Scholar Program in 1963. From 3 to 16 juniors are selected for independent study during their final year. Professor Samuel Massie became the first African-American faculty member in 1966. On 4 June 1969, the first designated engineering degrees were granted to qualified graduates of the Class of 1969. In 1972,
Lieutenant Commander Georgia Clark became the first female officer instructor, and Dr. Rae Jean Goodman was appointed to the faculty as the first civilian woman. Later in 1972, a decision of the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia terminated compulsory chapel attendance, a tradition which had been in effect since 1853. In September 1973, the new expansive library facility complex was completed and named for
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Class of 1905. On 8 August 1975, Congress authorized women to attend service academies. The Class of 1980 was inducted with 81 female midshipmen. In 1980, the academy included "
Hispanic/Latino" as a racial category for demographic purposes; four women identified themselves as Hispanic in the class of 1981, and these women become the first Hispanic women to graduate from the academy: Carmel Gilliland (who had the highest class rank), Lilia Ramirez (who retired with the rank of
commander), Ina Marie Gomez, and Trinora Pinto. In 1979, the traditional "June Week" was renamed "Commissioning Week" because graduation had been moved earlier to May. On 23 May 1984, Kristine Holderied became the first woman to graduate at the head of the class. In addition, the Class of 1984 included the first naturalized Korean-American graduates, all choosing commissions in the U.S. Navy. The four Korean-American ensigns were Walter Lee, Thomas Kymn, Andrew Kim, and Se-Hun Oh. In 1982, Isherwood, Griffin, and Melville Halls were demolished. On 3 November 2007, the Navy football team defeated long-time rival
Notre Dame for the first time in 43 years: 46–44 in triple overtime. The two teams have met every year since 1926 and continue a rivalry that became amicable when Notre Dame volunteered to open its facilities for training of naval officers in
World War II. Notre Dame's enrollment fell to just 250 students during World War II however the Navy was credited with saving the university by using its campus to train 12,000 men to become officers. In November 2007, Memorial Hall was the venue for a 50-nation
Annapolis Conference on a Palestinian-Israeli peace process discussion. In 2017, hospital functions were moved across the Severn. The race commemorated the centenary of the 1919 Royal Henley Peace Regatta, and included the original World War I allies Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, joined in 2019 by Germany and the Netherlands. After exciting eliminations, the USNA mixed crew won the final race beating the strong German team. In 2024, the USNA rescinded the invitation it had given Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a scholar of authoritarianism and fascist movements, to deliver the annual Bancroft Lecture in response to pressure from right-wing politicians. Ben-Ghiat's planned lecture was strictly nonpartisan and historical in nature. ==Training ships==