A History of the Navy in 100 Objects

The Marine Corps is rich in history and tradition, and the Marine officer's Mameluke sword is one of the most historic items of that tradition. Its story goes hand in hand with that of one of the most famous early Marines, First Lieutenant Presley Neville O'Bannon. Less well known, however, is the role of a midshipman in the same attack that brought fame to O'Bannon, and this midshipman's role in the real story of how the Marine Officer's sword came to be.

We conclude our discussion, for now, of the history of the Naval Academy by discussing one of the Academy's most iconic symbols: the class ring. A beautiful display of rings, passed on to the museum by family members of deceased graduates, adorns the wall near the entrance to the museum. The class of 2013 became the most recent class to permanently wear their ring as graduates, and this episode looks at some of the graduation statistics of the Academy over the past 150 years. It concludes with a look at the history of the class rings and, in honor of fallen alumni, a performance of the Navy Hymn by the Naval Academy Men's Glee Club.

This iconic piece of stone has graced the Academy's grounds since 1860, and it has symbolized the completion of "Plebe Year" for almost one hundred years. Erected as a memorial to remember the heroism of one of the Navy's early leaders, the monument has become the site of an ever-evolving set of traditions and customs held dear to the Brigade of Midshipmen. Jim Cheevers goes more in depth into its history, and the background of the plebe recognition ceremony.

Transitioning the training of midshipmen from an on-board apprenticeship to an academic curriculum on shore supplemented by time on training ships was a significant change in thought when it came to the development of the navy's officer corp. The man who guided this transition was Franklin Buchanan. He founded the Navy School at the direction of George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy in 1845, on the banks of the Severn River in Annapolis, MD. Today, we look at two objects that mark this transition from ship to shore: Buchanan's own training journal when he was a midshipman on board U.S.S. Franklin, and a copy of the first rules and regulations of the new Naval School, signed by Buchanan himself.

It is relatively well-known that students at the Naval Academy are called midshipmen. But what is less-known is where that term comes from. How were officers prepared and trained prior to the founding of the Naval Academy and other, later commissioning programs like ROTC? For the month of May, we are looking at the midshipman training process at the Naval Academy, and we begin with a discussion of the origin of the term midshipman using today's object, a dirk owned by Stephen Decatur.

This cannon was taken from HMS Confiance after the Battle of Plattsburg in 1814. Clearly visible on the muzzle is the indentation from when the gun was struck by an American cannonball, sending the cannon crashing into George Downie, the commander of the British naval forces, killing him instantly. The Americans went on to defeat the British forces, bolstering American morale and helping to bring about the final end of the War of 1812.

Today's object is the original flag bearing this famous navy saying which has inspired generations of sailors. There is no error in the title - the original flag does not include an apostrophe. The actual flag is on display in the Academy's museum, but it looks different from the pristine blue representations of it elsewhere. This is because it in fact was not blue originally, but was covered in blue material in later years in an effort to preserve it. This knowledge was uncovered during recent conservation efforts to preserve the flag for future generations, along with many other interesting discoveries. Dr. Scott Harmon takes us through the story of heroism that inspired the flag and also helps us understand the extensive conservation effort to help preserve the flag for future generations.

One of the impetuses behind this series was a desire to understand transition and innovation in the Navy. This model gunboat helps highlight just how the navy learned and grew in its early years. This episode also helps show why the War of 1812 is so important for naval leaders today. Current Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert briefly tells us just why he studies the War of 1812, and then Dr. Harmon explains how this gunboat would have worked had it been built, and elaborates on the circumstances under which it was designed.

Before the advent of GPS, how did sailors navigate across the open ocean? Did you know that the War of 1812 raged all over the country, including a great naval victory for the fledgling U.S. states on waters of Lake Erie? What is a sextant and how is it used? This are the questions answered by today's episode.

As we continue through our naval history journey, keep in mind that for much of recorded history, one of the only other non-manpowered methods of propulsion on the high seas was wind. Raises the obvious question of what do when the wind dies. Today we discuss a piece of equipment called a "sea anchor" and how the most famous ship in the U.S. Navy worked to solve the problem of no wind during the War of 1812.

Women in the military today is the norm, but this was not always the case. Today's object, a non-descript woman's naval officer uniform, helps tell the story of the thousands of women who blazed the trail for the women serving today. This podcast is the first of several episodes that will address the broader narrative of women in the Navy. And since these objects all are located at the Academy, today's episode focuses on the first women to enter the Academy in 1976. This is the first of a two part episode. The second half is an interview with Sharon Disher, member of the first class of women at the Academy and author of the book First Class.

The oldest commissioned vessel of the United States Navy, the U.S.S. Constitution, has a storied history that stretches back over two hundred years. "Old Ironsides" has an iconic place in American naval lore. This wooden model accurately represents her construction, and unlike many of our objects, we can still see the original ship in person. The real Constitution looks nearly the same as she did two hundred years ago, and can be visited in Boston where she remains on permanent display.

One of the most famous naval battles in history occurred between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia. Although the battle itself it ended in a draw, the introduction and successful use of ironclads nevertheless was a pivotal moment in naval history, and made wooden ships irrelevant. Dr. Scott Harmon, former Director of the USNA Museum discusses two historic pieces of iron that came from the battle's participants.

This is a model of HMS Minerva, one of the last new warships produced by the British navy during the 18th century. As the dominant maritime power for centuries, the influences of the British navy were significant in the U.S. Navy's development. From force structure and operational style, to ranks, to ship and cannon technology, the American navy relied heavily on the influences of its precursor, and many of those influences are still seen today. The Minerva was innovative in many ways, but today Naval Academy Museum education specialist Grant Walker takes us through two of the biggest.

One of the most well-know exhibits of the Naval Academy Museum is the collection of roughly two dozen model ships constructed almost entirely of bone by French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars. Although not specifically U.S. Navy history, the collection nevertheless helps set the stage for understanding the conditions into which the American Navy was born. The War of 1812 loomed on the horizon, and in that war the U.S. Navy would be put to the test.