United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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MIDSHIPMEN NEEDED RECREATION but little was provided; a bowling alley and a boat house had been constructed, but the bowling alley burned down and no attempt was made to rebuild it. Gatherings behind the battery occupied the leisure time of most students. Oldsters gathered there to sing songs to the green Young- sters. One of their favorites was the prelude to the modern Yea Furlough, so familiar to today ' s midshipmen. G)me all ye gallant middies, Who are going on furlough, We ' ll sing the song of liberty, We ' re going for to go. Take your tobacco lively. And pass the grog around. We ' ll have a jolly time tonight Before we ' re homeward bound. NOT EVERY STUDENT that entered the school graduated. It was more custom- ary to bilge than to graduate; of the first 1,209 midshipmen admitted only 269 completed the course. George Dewey entered with a class of seventy-five men; after his annual examination in June, 1855, only thirty-eight were retained. The career of the future admiral himself almost came to an abrupt end when he stood just under the line, ranking thirty-fifth in the class. Upon graduation, however, he stood No. 5 in his class of fifteen men and received the star which went to the five highest midshipmen. It might be interesting to note that his lowest standing was in naval tactics and gun- nery, the very essentials of his stellar victory some forty years later at Manila Bay. Another great naval name appeared on the honor rolls the year following Dewey ' s graduation. It was that oi Alfred Thayer Mahan, who stood second in his class and had the added distinction of being the first three-year man to graduate from Annapolis. THE ACADEMY was first honored with a visit from a President of the United States when Franklin Pierce attended a naval ball in 1856. We also find the first literary society at the Academy in 1858; it was formed in honor oi James Lawrence, whose famous words, Don ' t Give Up the Ship, adorn Memorial Hall today. During this same period the Japanese Bell was presented to the Academy by the widow of Commodore Matthew C. Perry, according to his wish at the time of his death in March, 1858. The inscription on the bell is quite lengthy and was finally translated about 1875 by a Japanese subject who was attending the Naval Academy. - MIDSHIPMEN GRADUATES of the Academy soon proved to be very efficient aboard ship and Captains chose the new men from the shore school in preference to merchant marine officers. As the Academy increased in scope, a serious rooming shortage was felt. Appropriations for new buildings could not be obtained and the existing ac- commodations were far too limited. The old practice ship Plymouth was converted into a school-ship and the entering Fourth Class were quartered aboard her in the fall of 1859. Soon after, the historic old Constitution replaced the Plymouth as school-ship. Material improvement in the teaching personnel was forthcoming with the in- clusion of many young line officers. Among them was Lieutenant Stephen B. Luce whose admirable work Seamanship was written for the midshipmen and constituted the standard text in that subject for years to come. Some followed it so closely that the story is told of one young officer who was tacking ship according to the instructions PRESIDENT ATTENDS NAVAL BALL

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YOUNGSTER PRANKS TAX INSTRUCTORS ' PATIENCE who were admitted directly from civilian life under the new system. This latter group formed the First Class and remained as such until graduation. With each suc- ceeding year new students became the Second, Third, and Fourth classes. Thus was born the present class system of the Naval Academy. Another change radically affected the method of appointing midshipmen. Formerly, students came almost exclusively from the Middle Atlantic states, through the benevolence of some relative or friend who had influence in the Navy Department. With the advent of the Naval Academy, midshipmen were to be appointed in proportion to the members of the House of Representatives, and finally in 1852 they were required to receive the recommendation of their Congressmen. The program of the Naval Academy soon became apparent as the school became master, and the students shaped themselves to the courses. New and harder subjects were introduced, the Department of Foreign Languages was estabhshed, and a stricter discipline was enforced. Still the authorities found the pranks of the Youngsters an even match for their ingenuity. The students tormented the instructors by blowing vigorously into their gas burners, thus extinguishing all their lights during study hour. The morning gun was so often loaded with bricks that only the bravest would fire it. The academic department drew its share of troubles — many an ofiicer entering a classroom was greeted by a deluge of water from buckets concealed on the door tops which he inadvertently brought down on himself by crossing the threshold. Disciplinary power for instructors later ended such pranks. A GENUINE SALUTE was always feared at the Academy. One day the Oldsters were detailed to prepare the guns of the fort for a salute to a French frigate. The con- spiring Oldsters piled up window panes underneath the muzzles of the guns. When the authorities fired the first gun of the salute there was a fearful crashing of glass. The salute could not be interrupted, so the perpetrators had the unprecedented delight of watching the officials helplessly blow all their own windows to bits — one hundred and thirty-six in all, as a rear-admiral who had a hand in the transaction confessed many years later at a class reunion. IN 1853 the course of instruction was handled by nine departments; Professor Chauvenet was at the head of the most important one. Astronomy and Navigation. More land was again needed, so Superintendent Stribling purchased the land which the Chapel, administration building, and officers ' club now occupy. The land was used for officers ' quarters at that time and the road was called Blake Row. Another purchase added the land lying along the Severn on the opposite side of Maryland Avenue. Today Isherwood Hall stands on part of the added acreage. Some of the buildings constructed around this time were quite worthless. In fact, an entire side of one of the midshipmen ' s quarters was blown down in a storm. But the Academy still held out; it was young, and it was striving. In 1855 the original Fourth Class entered; almost simul- taneously the my Plebe tradition sprang up. New Third Classmen selected particular members of the incoming class over whom they kept a watchful eye. Eventually this practice developed into a First Class privilege, and today, strange as it may seem, the closest relationship at the Naval Academy is between the First Class and the Plebes. T '

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in Luce ' s book. In the midst of the maneuver, he, having lost one page unknowingly, glanced down to the next sheet that turned up and in literal conformity with the text he read, unhesitatingly gave the command, Let go the starboard anchor. Colored barbers and mess attendants at the Academy were in vogue in 1860 just as they are today. One barber, Moses Lake who had been to Europe as the servant of Commander Buchanan decorated the walls of his shop with pictures and inscriptions, such as these: Windsor Castle visited by Mr. Moses Lake, September, 1858. Mount Vesuvius, first seen by Mr. Moses Lake, October, 1858. WITH THE OPENING OF CIVIL WAR HOSTILITIES came the most trying years of the young institution. Southern midshipmen took up their state allegiances. Some had resigned as early as December, 1860. Midshipman William Sampson, top ranking man in his class, walked arm in arm with the other honor man as far as the gate, where the latter left to join his southern comrades. The major break, however, came in April, 1861. A peace pipe was smoked, and then all hands were ordered aboard the Constitution. The drums beat for formation; Northerners and Southerners fell in; the band played The Star Spangled Banner and Hail Columbia; Commandant Rodgers spoke quietly and pleadingly, and then ordered all those who desired to resign to fall out of ranks. It was a pitiful farewell, amid sincere handclasps and tearful good-byes. Even the officers went their respective ways. Lieutenant William Parker and his brother Foxhall both were officers in the Navy. William argued that they should remain loyal to the North because of education and Navy ties; Foxhall v diS equally determined that they should join the South on account of family and state connections. They separated after their talk, and each was so persuasive that he convinced the other — William resigned and Foxhall remained true to the Union. The Constitution flew her battle flag of old, stood down the Chesapeake, and laid her course due north. She sailed to Newport, Rhode Island, which was to be the new home of the Academy for several years. Again the need for junior officers was pressing; the First, Second, and Third Classes were sent to war; the Fourth Class remained aboard the Constitution. THE 1862 REORGANIZATION of the Navy provided that the rank of passed midshipman would be abolished and in its stead the Academy graduate would be commissioned an ensign. Annapolis men in the Civil War lived up to the expectations of its founders and advocates. Lieutenant Cushing displayed remarkable ingenuity and daring when he placed a torpedo directly under the side of the Confederate ram Albemarle and pulled the firing lanyard himself. He escaped only by diving into the water and swimming to safety. Cushing, Preston, and Midshipman Benjamin Porter led the Naval battalion into action at Fort Fisher. Robley D. Evans, the famous Fight- ing Bob, was wounded several times in the same engagement and was the only officer who reached the parapet of the fort. The two great admirals of the next war were trained in adversity, with Sampson losing his ship from under him, and Dewey being forced to abandon the venerable Mississippi while the crew set her afire. The War between the States was the first major test of the value of the Naval Academy and firmly convinced the country that the Academy was an absolutely necessary institution.