Herndon Monument

Historic site

Herndon Monument

United States Naval Academy

Campus of the US Naval Academy

For the loss of William Lewis Herndon
Unveiled| 1860
Location|

Annapolis, Maryland

near

the Naval Academy Chapel

Designed by| unknown

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

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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

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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

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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

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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] 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

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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  | Bernard J. Racely
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
2024  | 2027  | 2:19:11  | Ben Leisegang

## Notes

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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. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
12. ^ "Navy plebe monument climb could be ending". NBC News. 2010-05-24. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
13. ^ "Grease returns to Naval Academy climb". Deseret News. 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
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

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* "Naval Academy Class of 2011 to participate in Herndon Monument climb". U.S. Naval Academy press release. May 7, 2008.
* http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=23729
* http://www.public.usna91.info/TheCapitalVCIII#141_19880521o.pdf
* https://www.amazon.com/Herndon-Climb-Academys-Greatest-Tradition/dp/1682474380/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=the+climb+herndon&qid=1587500670&sr=8-9
* https://www.usna.edu/PAO/faq_pages/herndon.php

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Herndon Monument.

* YouTube video of plebes scaling Herndon

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