Herndon Monument

Coordinates: 38°58′56″N 76°29′09″W / 38.9823°N 76.4859°W / 38.9823; -76.4859
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Herndon Monument
United States Naval Academy
Campus of the US Naval Academy
For the loss of William Lewis Herndon
Unveiled1860
Location
Annapolis, Maryland

near 
the Naval Academy Chapel
Designed byunknown
Forgetful of self, in his death he added a new glory to the annals of the sea

The Herndon Monument on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy is a 21-foot-tall (6.4 m) grey granite obelisk. It was erected in memory of Captain William Lewis Herndon, who died during the sinking of his ship, SS Central America, on September 12, 1857 while helping to evacuate passengers and crew. All women and children and many of the men aboard were saved by a nearby ship during the storm.

Description[edit]

The monument is a 400-by-71-by-71-inch (10.2 m × 1.8 m × 1.8 m) granite obelisk presented to the Academy by the class of 1860. The sculptor is unknown.[1]

Inscriptions[edit]

The Herndon Monument in 1868.

On the monument's base, facing the Naval Academy Chapel, is a plaque:[2]

Commander William Lewis Herndon
1818-1857
Naval Officer - Explorer - Merchant Captain

In command of the Central America, home-bound with California gold
seekers, Captain Herndon lost his life in a gallant effort to save
ship and lives during a cyclone off Hatteras, September 12, 1857.

"Forgetful of self, in his death he added a new glory to the annals of the sea" - Maury

Maury is Matthew Fontaine Maury, Herndon's co-worker (from 1842 to 1846), brother-in-law, and cousin.[3]

To the right on the obelisk from the plaque, in raised block letters, is "HERNDON.". On the opposite side of the obelisk, also in raised letters, is "September 12, 1857.".[2]

Ship's bell[edit]

Central America′s ship's bell — discovered in her wreck in 1988 and donated to the Naval Academy as a gift in August 2021 — was positioned next to the monument and was dedicated in a ceremony on May 23, 2022.[4][5][6]

Herndon Monument Climb[edit]

Class of 2014
The climbing of the monument by Fourth Class Midshipmen.

The monument is the site of the annual Herndon Monument Climb,[7] known colloquially as the "plebes-no-more" ceremony. First-year students at the academy, known as plebes or freshmen, are expected to work together to scale the monument, with the goal of replacing a plebe "dixie-cup hat" on top with an upperclassman combination cover. Prior to the climb, the monument is normally greased by upperclassmen with as much as 50 pounds of vegetable shortening,[8] though some years have opted for no grease.[9] This campus tradition marks the official end of the plebe year.

It is a Naval Academy tradition that the midshipman who replaces the dixie cup hat will be given the Superintendent's combination cover or shoulder boards. Legend says that he or she will be the first of his or her class to make Flag Rank, although in reality, this has not yet occurred.

The academy began recording times in 1959.[10] In 1962 Midshipman 4th Class Ed Linz scaled the monument with the aid of a cargo net. Using such devices is now banned.

The record was set in 1969 when Midshipman Larry Fanning made the climb in 1 minute and 30 seconds. However, the monument was not greased.

Midshipman 4th Class Michael J. Maynard of the Class of 1975 scaled the monument in 20 minutes in 1972, believed to be the fastest time since the tradition of greasing the monument began.

Before the 2010 Herndon Monument climb, Superintendent Vice Admiral Jeffrey Fowler publicly indicated dissatisfaction that year with the risk of injury associated with the climbing tradition.[11][dead link] Vice Adm. Fowler ordered the Brigade of Midshipmen not to slather the monument with lard "to improve the safety of the event".[12] However, his successor, Vice Admiral Michael Miller, reinstated the tradition in 2011, citing that "[c]onducting the ceremonial climb in the same manner as so many previous classes helps to instill spirit and camaraderie among plebes and better links them to the many classes that have gone before them. The Herndon Monument climb serves as a useful event in reinforcing teamwork, organization and leadership."[13][14]


Table of recorded times[edit]

Scaling times of the Herndon Monument
Year Climbed Class Year Time (H:MM:SS) Scaler
1950 1953 Frederick Graff
1957 1960 Jose Chavez
1958 1961 William H. Parks
1959 1962 John M. Truesdell[10]
1960 1963 0:12:00[15] John Marlowe Truesdell[16]
1962 1965 0:03:00[17] Ed Linz
1963 1966 0:42:00 Thomas L. Gibson
1964 1967 0:38:30
1965 1968 0:23:07 David W. Wallace
1966 1969 1:30:00 Gerald T. Witowski
1967 1970 1:21:00 Jim Zaborowksi
1968 1971 0:58:00 Steve DiAntonio
1969 1972 0:01:30[18] Larry Fanning
1970 1973 Phil Ertel[19]
1971 1974 0:35:00 William Jackson
1972 1975 0:20:00[20] Michael Maynard
1973 1976 1:50:00 Lawrence J. O'Donnell Jr.
1974 1977 0:46:00 Alexander Acera
1975 1978 1:30:00 Michael T. Spencer
1976 1979 0:58:00 Dwight Crevelt
1977 1980 2:33:00 Kenneth Flack [21]
1978 1981 1:21:00 Doug Heimbach
1979 1982 2:09:00[22] Jay Gallo
1980 1983 2:43:00 Bill Freitag
1981 1984 1:24:00[23] Andreas Bierbrauer
1982 1985 1:44:50 Sonny Dean
1983 1986 1:43:55 Kevin Delamer
1984 1987 2:22:00 Bob Kay
1985 1988 3:12:23 Chad Watson
1986 1989 1:23:07 Kenneth Grimes
1987 1990 1:51:20 Byron Hopkins
1988 1991 0:43:44 Melvyn Davis
1989 1992 1:51:30 Sam Cook
1990 1993 1:34:50 Larry Parker
1991 1994 2:36:57[24] Brad Cougher
1992 1995 2:21:37 James Golladay
1993 1996 1:38:20 Kepper Pickard
1994 1997 1:44:20 Ross Scott
1995 1998 4:05:17[25] Steve Fortmann
1996 1999 2:08:46 Joshua Caleb Williams
1997 2000 2:55:17 Zachary Guerra
1998 2001 2:22:55 Josh Stewart
1999 2002 2:07:41 Jason Fahy
2000 2003 1:19:44 Nathaniel Jennings
2001 2004 2:15:52 Alexander Lim
2002 2005 2:07:41 Daniel Knott
2003 2006 1:19:00 Daniel Shea
2004 2007 2:19:24 Philip Johnson
2005 2008 1:16:13 John David Olsen
2006 2009 1:14:15 Brian Richards
2007 2010 1:32:42 Jamie Shrock
2008 2011 2:35:59 Greg Reichel & Kristen Marie Dickmann
2009 2012 1:14:38[26] Schyler Widman
2010 2013 0:02:02[27] Keegan Albi
2011 2014 2:41:32 Matthew Dalton
2012 2015 2:10:13 Andrew Craig
2013 2016 1:32:43 Patrick Lien
2014 2017 2:19:35 Mike Landry
2015 2018 1:38:36 Javarri Beachum
2016 2019 1:12:30 Chris Bianchi
2017 2020 2:21:22 Joe McGraw
2018 2021 2:09:23 Peter Rossi
2019 2022 1:05:05 Christian Schwien
2021[28] 2023 3:00:39 James Crossfield
2021 2024 3:41:00[29] Michael Lancaster
2022 2025 3:36:58 Nick McGowan
2023 2026 2:31:51 Chris Paris


Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Smithsonian American Art Museum. "Herndon Monument, (sculpture)". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b "HERNDON Monument at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland". dcMemorials.com. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  3. ^ This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
  4. ^ "USNA Gifted Recovered Bell From Fabled "Ship of Gold"". MEDIARELATIONS@USNA.EDU. May 23, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  5. ^ "Fabled Sunken Treasure Ship's Bell Donated to US Naval Academy". coinnews.net. May 24, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Bullfinch, Chris (May 27, 2022). "Manley donates bell recovered from 1857 shipwreck". Coin World. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "History and Traditions of the Herndon Monument Climb". www.usna.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  8. ^ Hill, Christen. "US Naval Academy 'plebes' climb greased monument to end freshmen year". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  9. ^ "U.S. Naval Academy plebes cap their first year with greasy, grueling Herndon Climb". www.cbsnews.com. 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  10. ^ a b USNA Public Affairs Office (2015). "Herndon Monument Climb Fact Sheet". USNA.
  11. ^ Ewing, Philip (May 12, 2010). "Academy supe wants to end Herndon Climb". Marine Corps Times. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  12. ^ "Navy plebe monument climb could be ending". NBC News. 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  13. ^ https://www.deseret.com/authors/associated-press (2011-05-24). "Grease returns to Naval Academy climb". Deseret News. Retrieved 2023-05-23. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
  14. ^ Johnson, Jenna (May 23, 2011). "Tradition of properly greased obelisk makes a comeback at Naval Academy". Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  15. ^ First recorded time
  16. ^ "1964 Annual Register". cdm16099.contentdm.oclc.org. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  17. ^ Used a cargo net - "Herndon Monument Climb time: 1:14:38". Capital Gazette Communications, Inc. 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  18. ^ Fastest time officially recorded, although the monument was not greased
  19. ^ USNA Public Affairs Office www.usna.edu Herndon Monument Fact Sheet
  20. ^ Fastest time greased Capital Gazette 5-5-2008
  21. ^ Shipmate, July-August 1977
  22. ^ Bisbee, Gene. "Monumental madness." Annapolis Evening Capital, May 25, 1979.
  23. ^ The Washington Star, May 23, 1981.
  24. ^ "Plebes climb through the ooze to academy respectability". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
  25. ^ Longest time
  26. ^ Official time per press release - "Herndon Monument Climb time: 1:14:38". Capital Gazette Communications, Inc. 2009-05-18. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  27. ^ Ungreased following an order by VADM Fowler, Superintendent of the Naval Academy
  28. ^ Delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic – "Class of 2023 Herndon Monument climb | PHOTOS". Baltimore Sun. August 22, 2021.
  29. ^ "Naval Academy Class of 2024 records one of slowest Herndon Monument climbs in history". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-05-25.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Herndon Monument.

38°58′56″N 76°29′09″W / 38.9823°N 76.4859°W / 38.9823; -76.4859

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