Fifty Midshipmen: The Beginning of the U.S. Naval Academy

A Small School Beside the River

On October 10, 1845, 50 midshipmen began the first term of the United States Naval School in Annapolis, Maryland. Seven faculty members taught the initial class. The school occupied Fort Severn, a ten-acre Army post, rather than the extensive campus associated with the academy today.

Bancroft’s Educational Project

Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft played a central role in establishing the school. Bringing students together at a permanent institution created a setting for organized instruction alongside practical experience at sea. Commander Franklin Buchanan became its first superintendent.

Learning More Than Seamanship

The curriculum included mathematics, navigation, gunnery, steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy and French. These subjects reflected the range of knowledge expected of naval officers. Operating a ship required practical judgment, but navigation, machinery and weapons also demanded technical understanding.

School Years and Sea Years

The original course lasted five years. Students spent the first and final years at the school, with the three intervening years at sea. Classroom instruction and shipboard service were therefore separated into substantial blocks, rather than following the later pattern of four consecutive academic years.

A New Name and a New Structure

In 1850, the Naval School became the United States Naval Academy. A revised program required four years of study at the academy, with training aboard ships during the summers. That structure became the foundation of the institution’s subsequent educational model.

What Opening Day Represents

The anniversary marks the opening of the Annapolis school that developed into the modern academy. Calling it the Naval School preserves its name in 1845. A historical recreation should show the modest Fort Severn setting, period uniforms and classroom equipment, rather than later campus buildings.