United States Naval Academy

The Navy operates the Naval Postgraduate School and the Naval War College separately. The Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS) in Newport, Rhode Island, is the official preparatory school for the Naval Academy.

U.S. Naval Academy in 1853 Stereoscopic views 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 Guerriere 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. [ 6 ] It was from that small start that the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis grew. [ 7 ] 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. [ 8 ] The academy's Latin motto is Ex Scientia Tridens , 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. [ 9 ] 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 Somers 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. [ 10 ] 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. [ 11 ] 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 USS Constitution , 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. [ 12 ]

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 USS Constitution in April 1861, where the academy was set up in temporary facilities and opened in May. [ 13 ] The Annapolis campus, meanwhile, was turned into a United States Army Hospital. [ 14 ] US Naval Academy waterfront in the late 1860s with the barrack/school ships USS Constitution and Santee tied up in the background. Other ships not identified. 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, [ 12 ] 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 [ 15 ] 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, [ 16 ] 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 .