''Freedom'' (IX-43), an

unclassified miscellaneous vessel The IX (unclassified–miscellaneous) hull classification symbol is used for ships of the United States Navy that do not fit into one of the standard categories. Similar lists of 'miscellaneous' ships can found at : and :. Ship status i ...

, was the second ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

of that name. An auxiliary schooner, she was acquired by the Navy in 1940, and assigned to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

where she served in a noncommissioned status through 1962.

History

An Act of Congress of 6 June 1940 authorized the Secretary of the Navy to accept without expense to the Government the 88-foot 2-masted schooner ''Freedom'' and her equipment as a gift to the Naval Academy from her owner J. Sterling Morton, nephew of former

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Paul Morton Paul Morton (May 22, 1857 – January 19, 1911) was a U.S. businessman, and served as the 36th Secretary of the Navy under Theodore Roosevelt. Biography He served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy between 1904 and 1905. Previous to this, ...

. She had been designed by John G. Alden and built at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The yacht was delivered to the Navy on September 10, 1940 at the shipyard of

Henry B. Nevins, Inc. Henry B. Nevins Incorporated was wooden-hull yacht builder in City Island, New York founded in 1907 by Henry B. Nevins. Nevins was a master yacht builder and author on vessel construction who apprenticed at the island's Charles L. Seabury & Company ...

, City Island, Bronx and arrived at the Naval Academy two days later. On 24 October 1940 the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

assigned her the class designation "Unclassified" and directed that her name be retained. On 8 January 1941 the Secretary of the Navy approved the adoption by the

BuShips The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships (BuShips) was established by Congress on 20 June 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) and the Bureau of Engineering (BuEng). The new bureau was to ...

of the symbol IX, already in use in the Navy Filing Manual, for vessels designated "Unclassified," and BuShips assigned her the hull designation IX-43. ''Freedom''proved to be an excellent boat for ocean cruising and for teaching midshipmen how to handle a large sailing rig. She was sold in 1968, following the investigation of the faltering sailing program at the Naval Academy by the Fales Committee in the mid-1960s. Purchased by the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Annapolis, Md., she became the miscellaneous function (training) vessel ''Freedom'' and was still in service in 1972.

References

:{{DANFS Unclassified miscellaneous vessels of the United States Navy United States Naval Academy Schooners of the United States Navy Individual yachts