The U.S. Naval Academy


Since 1845, with an interruption during the Civil War, the United States Navy as trained its commissioned officers on the banks of the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland.  Located on a scenic campus opening to the Chesapeake Bay, the Academy forms the heart of this sailing town.

As a military installation, the Academy is unusually user-friendly.  Once you arrive at the visitor's gate at the corner of Randall and Prince George Streets, signs direct you to the security station, and then they tell you exactly what to take out and off.


The Naval Academy is the most compact of the three military campuses.  It is easily walkable, and half a day is appropriate for most interested visitors.  A guided tour ($11 adults/$9 students) is available, and takes you through most of the important public buildings.  (The Jewish Chapel and Academy Museum are not part of the tour but are open to visitors.  All public buildings are open free of charge and a map is available.)  Before you enter the center, take a walk just past the door to the edge of the water.  Most of historic Annapolis can be seen from this point, as well as the confluence of the Severn with the Bay.

As you wait for your tour, a small visitors center with exhibits will help you get acquainted. Be careful not to confuse this with the Naval Academy Museum (which will end this blog post).  The tour begins with the athletic facilities.  Guided by retired commissioned officers, it is clearly a recruitment tool, and on the day that I went, most of the participants were parents with high school students.


The first stops along the tour highlight the athletic facilities, the pool and trophy cases, and even Roger Staubach's Heisman.  The aquatic facilities are the most impressive: an Olympic standard pool, and a diving well located in the same facility.  As the academy for the Navy, swimming and diving are essential parts of the curriculum.  All Middies must pass yearly swimming exams, culminating with 1500 m swim in their senior year, to be completed in 30 minutes.  And while that sounds routine to this regular swimmer, the requirement is not completed in a Speedo, but in a khaki uniform!  Students must also jump feet first, in khaki uniform, from the 10-meter platform into the 17-foot deep diving well below.


The tour proceeds to Dahlgren Hall, a large events facility that includes a restaurant for visitors, and is the only access to this side of campus open to the public.  A couple of items of interest include a Wright B-1 Flyer, as well as a large model ship, both of which are used for training purposes.





Exiting on the other side, we arrive at the campus's most prominent feature, the Chapel.  There are actually a number of chapels on campus, providing a variety of spaces for many faiths, but the building commonly called the Naval Academy Chapel is an overtly Christian structure.  Designed by Ernest Flagg in 1904 in the form of a Greek Cross, it was expanded in 1940 to a Latin cross (with a long nave) and seats 2500.  Like the dome towering above it, the organ is massive, containing nearly 16,000 pipes. The original windows, some of which were lost in a storm, are a translucent blue cobalt color.  Produced in Germany before World War II, the formula for the glass was lost in Allied bombing, and the replacement windows differ slightly in color.  Using an altar-wise arrangement, the space is the only interior chapel space at the three academies used by Catholics and Protestants.  In the crypt is the tomb of John Paul Jones, the early American Naval hero who was re-interred here in 1913. A second, smaller chapel is located next to the crypt, and is used for daily Protestant services and Catholic masses.  All religious services at the Academy are open to the public, with Mass being on Sundays in the main Chapel at 9 AM and the Protestant service (a mix of traditions favoring Methodist patterns) at 11 AM.


Although not part of the regular tour, the Jewish Chapel is open to the public and worth a visit.  Located on a perpendicular route relative to the tour, pick up a campus map when you arrive, and you'll find it's a few minutes’ walk from the Visitor's Center.  Completed in 2005 as part of a privately funded Jewish Community Center, the Chapel is a light and airy space, seating 450 on two levels. The front wall is constructed of Jerusalem stone, with the Ark and Bima centrally placed beneath the eternal flame.  The space splits the balance between traditional and progressive observance; wearing of a kippah is required on entry, there are no apparent musical instruments, but men and women may mix freely inside unless otherwise noted.


The tour culminates at Bancroft Hall.  A massive Beaux-Arts structure also designed by Ernest Flagg, the building is home to all 4,576 Midshipmen, including dorm rooms and a cafeteria that serves the entire student body in 30 minutes.  To get a real sense of life at the Academy, arrive for a morning tour.  By the time it ends, you should be in position to observe Midshipmen lining up for roll call and marching to lunch.  The sight is impressive, though the sound of different brigades singing (shouting?) "Anchors Aweigh" and the "Marine Corps Hymn" at different times, and in different keys, was jarring for this musician.  The public areas of Bancroft are ceremonial, including the Rotunda and Memorial Hall.  Memorial Hall contains the honor roll of all Academy graduates who have perished in active service.

The formal tour concludes here, but make sure you continue to Preble Hall, home of the Naval Academy Museum.  The lower level documents the history of the Navy from its foundations during the American Revolution to the present day.  The exhibits are a bit uneven: the Civil War section is remarkably difficult to follow and World War I is nearly non-existent, while the Federal Period and World War II are extremely well organized.  The approach to enemy vessels and officers is technical, and includes biographies of Confederate Academy graduates (25% of USN officers left for the Confederacy) and models of the Japanese battleship Yamoto.  The second level of the museum is devoted to a valuable collection of shipyard models, many from the late 17th century.  This impressive collection from the age of sail is a must see for any current or boyhood model-maker.

As you make your way off campus, you'll pass the Herndon Monument.  At the end of each year, Plebes (the freshman class) climb the monument, greased, to replace the Plebe cap with the cap of a 2nd year student.  Though the tradition has nearly been discontinued at least once for safety reasons, it continues to be an important part of Academy life, something that brings together a diverse body of men and women from around the country.  It can be lost amid a college tour that this is no ordinary institution; it's purpose is to defend us all, and sober reminders of that fact surround the campus.  Our men and women preparing to serve at the Academy have tremendous facilities, a small token of gratitude for what they offer us.


The United States Naval Academy is open year-round.  More information is available at


© 2017 Randall Stewart

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