This week is a week of birthdays for the United States Navy. The birthday to kick off the week is the Naval Academy. It was on this day in 1845 that the Naval Academy was established.
This is the Naval Academy Seal; the Latin stands for “Through Knowledge, Sea Power”
That very first class only had fifty midshipmen and seven professors. The Academy’s campus was placed on the grounds of the former Army post, Fort Severn. The institution was founded by the Secretary of the Navy at the time, George Bancroft. There is a debate of the true reason behind the establishment of the USNA. Some claim it was in part due to the Somers Affair. This event was an alleged mutiny involving the Secretary of War’s son that resulted in the execution of said son at sea.
Commodore Matthew Perry (1794-1858), a highly respected man of the U.S. Navy had a huge interest in the naval education and supporting an apprentice system (a way of training the new recruited seamen). He helped to establish the curriculum for the Academy. The course of study was different than what it is now. Orginally, it was a prescribed term of five years of study, yet only the first and last year were spent at the Academy. The inbetween years were spent at sea, to simplify they wanted to give them more of an hands-on education. In eventually changed to seven years, those first and last two years (four years in total) were spent at the Academy. The other years inbetween, again used for training at sea. The first Naval Academy Cadets graduated on June 10th, 1854.
When the American Civil War broke out there were many changes to be made for the Academy. The first was the move from the Annapolis campus in Maryland to Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island. It is said that the USS Constitution (which is still commisioned in present day) transported the cadets and staff there. The Annapolis campus went from being the place where Naval Cadets learned to become leaders in the Navy to an United States Army Hospital.
Another change was the Cadets themselves, three upper classes were detached and were sent with orders to sea to serve the Union Navy. Not every Cadet stayed; 24% of its officers resigned and joined the Confederate States Navy. This included 95 graduates and 59 midshipmen.
After the war ended in 1865, the midshipmen and the faculty returned to Annapolis, Maryland during the summer of the same year. I did not research if any of those who left did come back.
In the 1870s, the numbers of midshipmen classes were lower and even lower were those who graduated and made the Navy their career. An example of this was in 1872, twenty-five midshipmen graduated, but only eight would make the Navy their career.
Other things began also in the 1870s, minorities began attending. Men like John H. Conyers was the first African-American to attend the Academy on September 21st, 1872. Alas, he resigned in October of 1873 due to severe, ongoing hazing, including verbal torment, and even beatings. It is claimed his shipmates even tried to drown him. Even with three cadets dismissed for the actions taken upon him it never really stop. Others men like Kiro Kunitomo, (Japanese Citizen) and Robert F. Lopez, who was the first Hispanic-American did graduated from the Academy. On August 8th, 1975 was the introduction of women to the Academy and the class of 1980 there were 81 female midshipmen that graduated.
One of the funnier and trivial things in the Academy’s history was when Congress required the Academy to have a formal course on hygiene. This requirement was first for any military academy. There is a tradition to this fact; it is said that a congressman was particularly disgusted by the appearance of a midshipman returned from cruise.
By the Academy’s centennial, it is estimated that roughly 18,563 midshipmen had graduated; this number included the class of 1946.
From this Academy came many important figures to American History. To just name a few: Alan Shepard, Jim Lovell, President Jimmy Carter, Senator John McCain, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. and many more.
The Naval Academy (Present Day)
Happy Birthday USNA, Anchors Aweigh!
The Adamsist 