United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and is located in Annapolis, Maryland. The Academy is often referred to simply as "Annapolis" although naval officers normally refer to it in conversation as "the Academy", "the Yard" or "the Boat School". U.S. sports media refer to the Academy as Navy, and this usage is officially endorsed. ROTC and Officer Candidate School graduates as well as cadets from the Air Force Academy and the Military Academy at West Point (USNA's traditional rivals) often refer to the Naval Academy as "Canoe U."

History

The institution was founded as the Naval School in 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 on October 10 with 50 Midshipmen students and seven professors.

Related Topics:
1845 - Secretary of the Navy - George Bancroft - October 10

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Originally a course of study for five years was prescribed, but only the first and last were spent at the school, the other three being passed at sea. The present name was adopted when the school was reorganized in 1850, being placed under the supervision of the chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, and under the immediate charge of the superintendent, and the course of study was extended to seven years; the first two and the last two to be spent at the school, the intervening three years to be passed at sea. The four years of study were made consecutive in 1851, and the practice cruises were substituted for the three consecutive years at sea. The first class of Naval Academy students graduated on June 10, 1854.

Related Topics:
1850 - Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography - 1851 - June 10 - 1854

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Civil War years

At the outbreak of the American Civil War the three upper classes were detached and were ordered to sea, and the academy was moved to Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island in May 1861, but it was brought back to Annapolis in the summer of 1865.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - Newport, Rhode Island - 1861 - 1865

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the Civil War to World War I

The Spanish-American War greatly emphasized the academy's importance, and the campus was almost wholly rebuilt and much enlarged in 1899-1906.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~