The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-02-20
GROWING PAINS
The United States. Naval
Academy

The defense program advanced the
Naval Academy's June Week" by
four months. At the same time it is
pushing back the calendar more than
a century as agitation RACES over the
foundation of a junior Naval Acad-
envy on the west coast.
In fact, it was in 1900 that our
Marylander, James McHenry, then
Secretary of War, first suggested a
military academy to embrace funda-
mental school, artillery and engineer
ing school, infantry and cavalry
school and Navy school.
The military school was founded in
1902 at West Point but the Navy
seemed to be in the political dog
house. 1t was assumed that the proper
place for mdshipman to learn to be
a naval officer was aboard ship on
active sea duty. Accordingly from
eight to twenty boys, some as young
as seven and eight, with a teacher
were attached to the naval vessels.
But the youngsters were kept so busy
that there was little time for study.
From the time of the formation Of
the Navy Department in 1898, nearly
every Secretary of the Navy pleaded
with Congress to authorize the estab-
lishment of naval school,, but in
vain. In 1915, and again in 1886, the
midshipmen, themselves, appealed to
Congress, with equal futility.
A few small private schools were
established as were three unauthor-
lied Navy schools, one at. Norfolk
aboard ship, one at NewzYerk in a
ship-house loft, the third at Boston
Furthermore, none of it was obliga-
tory and only about one-seventh of
the midshipmen attended them.
During this period the midshipmen
came up annually for examination be-
fore board Of naval officers to de-
termine whether or not they should be
promoted. Those examinations took
place at old Barnum's hotel in Balti-
more. Each lad was interviewed pri-
vately in one of the hotels parlors
while the others waited in the bar
room.
In 1888, Secretary Paulding set up
a small school, providing an eight
month preparatory course for this
examination, at the Navay Asylum
for aged seamen near Philadelphia.
Thereafter, the board met at the Asy-
lum.
When the twenty year-old mathe-
NAUTICAL genius, William Chauvenet,
became its head and faculty, he had
the school-room changed from the
basement to lighted room upstairs
and wangled out of Commodore Bid
die, the Governor of the Asylum,
blackboards, sextants, chronometers
and other equipment. In an effort to
change the coaching character of the
school into a really educational insti-
tuition, he drew up plans for regular
course. Secretary Henshaw approved
them but before they went into effect
his successor revoked them.
In 1889, steam-powered vessels con-
fronted the Navy with the problem of
changing sailing experts into steam
experts. A school was certainly indi-
Gated now. The locations considered
were Craney's Island near Norfolk,
Fortress Monroe, Governors Island
near New York, Washington, Perth
Amboy, New London and even Mem
phis and Saint Louis as we'll as An
napolis which had been suggested by
our Maryland Legislature as early as
1926. But Congress remained uncon-
WINGED.
In March, 1845, George Bancroft
became Secretary of the Navy. He
studied Secretary Henshaw's approval
of Professor Chauvenet's plans for
the Naval Asylum school and discov-
cred that it set a precedent. That
plan had been revoked, not nullified.
Therefore, it was sufficient authority
for the Secretary to establish the
school. The hitch was the necessity
for a Congressional appropriation.
Bancroft began figuring ways to get
around that obstacle.
He automatically invited tn a t
years examining board to decide the
place and the course. All five agreed
that with West Point in the north,
the Naval School should be in the
south, in Virginia or Maryland. They
wrangled for twelve days and finally
agreed on the suggested Fort Severn
at Annapolis. Secretary Bancroft also
asked younger group of naval Off