The Macedonian Monument is on the campus of 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 ...

, across the street from Mahan Hall, at the end of Stribling Walk. The monument's sculpture is the

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

of HMS ''Macedonian'', captured by Stephen Decatur and the American frigate in the opening days of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. Also known as ''

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

'' and the ''Figurehead of Hans Macedonian'', the wooden sculpture dates to circa 1810. It came to the Academy in 1875.

Description

The monument's size is . The sculpture is wood, treated with epoxy resin, surmounting a stone base. The carver is unknown. Beneath the figurehead is a bronze

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

of the engagement between the frigates ''United States'' and ''Macedonian'' by Edward Berge, created in 1924. The four cannons are

18-pounder long gun The 18-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of naval artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 19th century, on the second deck of third-rate ships of the ...

s captured with HMS ''Macedonian''.

Inscriptions

Berge's relief of the battle has eroded with time. It is a graphic very similar to

Thomas Birch Thomas Birch (23 November 17059 January 1766) was an English historian. Life He was the son of Joseph Birch, a coffee-mill maker, and was born at Clerkenwell. He preferred study to business but, as his parents were Quakers, he did not go to t ...

's ''Engagement between the "United States" and the "Macedonian"'', painted in 1813. On the front of the base, facing Mahan Hall: Directly below is a small plaque: Macedonian Monument Plaque

On the back of the base, facing

Bancroft Hall Bancroft Hall, at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is said to be the largest contiguous set of academic dormitories in the U.S. Bancroft Hall, named after former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and famous historian/author Geor ...

History

Paths of the United States and the Macedonian

The

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

between the two frigates was an American victory. ''Macedonian'', over-matched by every measure, was captured after a short fight. She became USS ''Macedonian'', and served in the United States Navy until late 1828. Arriving in Virginia 30 October 1828, she was decommissioned and broken up at Gosport Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va. Her keel became that of the US Navy's second , a 36‑gun frigate started in 1832. Some time afterwards, the old ''Macedonian's'' figurehead became a monument at the shipyard. It was transferred to the Academy in 1875. The monument was refreshened in 2014. The figurehead was replaced with a newly carved mahogany version, the benches were replaced, the concrete base was repaired, and the cannons and plaques were refurbished. The project cost $300,000, provided as a gift by the Academy class of 1973. The rededication ceremony was 25 April 2014.

References

External links

{{cite web, title=Bicentennial of the War of 1812, url=http://www.navy.mil/1812/gallery/photoGallery.asp?id=4, publisher=Navy News Service, accessdate=27 May 2014, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527213125/http://www.navy.mil/1812/gallery/photoGallery.asp?id=4, archive-date=27 May 2014, url-status=dead Monuments and memorials in Maryland 1875 sculptures United States Naval Academy buildings and structures