After my great time at West Point, NY, I now headed south with the goal to visit the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland before venturing into Virginia. I left pretty early in the morning to avoid as much traffic as possible as I skirted around NYC, Philadelphia and Newark. The drive out of West Point heading south was absolutely gorgeous along the Hudson River and of course I found a unique memorial. This small plaque recorded the history of the Hudson River National Defense Fleet; these were WWII era cargo/passenger ships that in essence were stored here along the river in case they were needed in a crisis.
The weather chose not to be cooperative for the first time on this leg of my journey and began to rain after the first hour or so. I chose non-Interstates for parts of this trip and that allowed me to see more of the country side and to stop at the spectacular Princeton Battle Monument in New Jersey. This large detailed sculpture venerates Washington and notes the passing of General Mercer; the artwork is quite spectacular.
I continued south into Delaware and I arrived in Wilmington in a steady rain but that did not deter me from finding the memorials that I had come to photograph. They were located in Veteran's Park, however the park is huge and so I stopped to ask 2 paramedics who were stationed in the park. They generously wrote out directions to the memorial section, and they were spot on! The memorial that had most drawn me to this location is the African American Medal of Honor Commemoration that chronicles all of the Congressional Medals of Honor awarded to African Americans from the Civil War to the present and it really is quite beautiful and detailed with name, units and dates included on each plaque around the base. The park also houses a Vietnam and World War I memorial that catch the eye.
My journey this day took me over numerous large bridges (in the rain mostly) and as I crossed the bay bridge into Maryland I was lucky; traffic heading out was backed up for miles but not much going my way.
I was now headed for the lovely seaside town of Annapolis and the US Naval Academy. As I approached my turn, however, there were signs indicating a WWII memorial so off I went in a new direction (my GPS lady kept telling me to turn around LOL). The memorial was really quite beautiful and looks out across Annapolis and the Naval Academy across the river actually. What a nice surprise! 
The memorial sits on high ground and honors all those Marylanders who fought in the war and espcially those who perished. It has a massive steel star and then columns in a circle which list the names. 
There are also quite a few plaques that simply provide information about the war and Maryland's contribution, so the site is very educational/informative. 
And there was a special marker to commemorate those from Maryland who died on December 7. 
I was really glad I had pulled over to visit this lovely site and take advantage of the view. 
I now approached the USNA - of course first I had to park. The Academy sits in amidst a residential area and so there is no designated parking at the visitor center (unlike the USMA); one must try find a spot along one of the many small streets. I really lucked out and found one at the end of the street so no one could park behind me and I just had to pull in forward -- no parallel parking LOL. The walk to the Academy was not bad except for the steady rain and now a wind, but I pulled my raincoat tighter around me and hid under my umbrella. 
I must say I was not impressed with the security here however, especially as compared to West Point since in the entrance to the visitor's center one simply showed a security guard your id; he briefly perused it and gave it back. He indicated that I could proceed down the street to the main visitor center/museum store but when I walked out I could have headed in any direction and I saw people walking in a variety of directions. 
The visitor center and shop sit right at the water's edge and afford a beautiful view even in the rain. 
The small museum and exhibitions located here focus on John Paul Jones, naval aviators who became astronauts and the famed Tecumseh from the USS Delaware. Also included were lists of those Academy graduates who have become president or received the Medal of Honor; while this list is not as long as those from West Point keep in mind that much harder to go it alone on a ship and so navy personnel usually receive the Medal when something terrible has happened such as the ship is sinking and not just in regular combat conditions so the opportunities are less. This tribute is to the Commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia that exploded over Texas unfortunately.
The visitor center and shop sit right at the water's edge and afford a beautiful view even in the rain. 
The small museum and exhibitions located here focus on John Paul Jones, naval aviators who became astronauts and the famed Tecumseh from the USS Delaware. Also included were lists of those Academy graduates who have become president or received the Medal of Honor; while this list is not as long as those from West Point keep in mind that much harder to go it alone on a ship and so navy personnel usually receive the Medal when something terrible has happened such as the ship is sinking and not just in regular combat conditions so the opportunities are less. This tribute is to the Commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia that exploded over Texas unfortunately.
After some extensive shopping in the store (I had to match or surpass what I bought at USMA since I'm a navy person!), I headed out on my own to explore the Academy grounds and find the memorials that I wanted to photograph. They were no longer conducting walking tours (they do not have a bus tour like West Point) because of the pouring rain so I took my bag of goodies and began my sojourn. Again, theoretically I could have gone anywhere and into any building which I found a little unsettling and I saw many civilians just meandering around the grounds without having an idea of where they were. The new cadets had already arrived on campus so some of these folks were probably family members. With my map, I set my sites on several memorials and the chapel. I stopped to photograph the statue of General Lejeune for whom the famous Camp Lejeune is named. 
The Academy also has a memorial to the pivotal battle of Midway and a tribute to submariners.
The Academy also has a memorial to the pivotal battle of Midway and a tribute to submariners. 
I walked to the chapel and viewed JPJ crypt although no pictures allowed here and then as I prepared to enter the chapel, they had closed it down for a wedding! A bus load of folks had just arrived for the nuptials. So I meandered around the lovely grounds nearby taking more pictures. I also stopped in front of the absolutely lovely commandants house -- mind you there is no big visible banner like at West Point here that says "Beat Army" although they are located all around the rest of the campus. 
As I began my trek back to the exit gate, I walked along Captain's Row -this is where the officers stationed at the Academy live in duplex homes. Their names and ranks are indicated on the stairs to the front door and many of these lovely homes fly Navy or Marine Corps flags and most sport the "Go Navy, Beat Army" signs.
As I began my trek back to the exit gate, I walked along Captain's Row -this is where the officers stationed at the Academy live in duplex homes. Their names and ranks are indicated on the stairs to the front door and many of these lovely homes fly Navy or Marine Corps flags and most sport the "Go Navy, Beat Army" signs. 
The rain and wind had really picked up now and so condictions were miserable and I was hungry. I had noticed a few small restaurants and now stopped at a local crab house for some great Maryland crab cakes before continuing my journey.After a great little lunch of native grub, I again headed south into Virginia and was now really back in the South (I think Maryland is a little iffy LOL). My destination was historic Fredericksburg which is dominated by reminders of the Civil War. My first stop here was the old Fredericksburg cemetery that contained mainly a Confederate burial ground with many soldiers re-interred here from other burial grounds in the city. The Ladies Memorial Association has cared for this site since 1870 that contains the remains of more than 3500 of the fallen. Within the cemetery is a fairly standard Southern Civil War statue of a Confederate soldier on a high pedestal; this commemorates many soldiers who were re-interred here from other local battlefield burial sites and are unknown. 
Surrounding this monument are the mostly faded headstones of Confederate soldiers. What I must say is somewhat disconcerting to me and throughout the south (and I say this as a Southerner) are the Confederate flags that fly here in these cemeteries. It is like visiting a foreign cemetery within the US but of a nation that does not exist. [And really interestingly as they sought to have their representatives re-admitted to the US Congress in the post Civil War period, the South sought to use Lincoln's argument that they had not succeeded in seceeding and thus were still part of the US not a separte entity and thus under the Constitution with its protection of their rights and should have representation. This as opposed to having successfully separated and thus upon losing the war being considered "conquered territories" with no rights yet accorded.] Other defeated nations usually do not fly the flags of a non-existent government/nation over their honored war dead such as Germany from WWI or WWII that I had recently visited in Europe or the 2nd Republic of France after the Franco-Prussian War.
Surrounding this monument are the mostly faded headstones of Confederate soldiers. What I must say is somewhat disconcerting to me and throughout the south (and I say this as a Southerner) are the Confederate flags that fly here in these cemeteries. It is like visiting a foreign cemetery within the US but of a nation that does not exist. [And really interestingly as they sought to have their representatives re-admitted to the US Congress in the post Civil War period, the South sought to use Lincoln's argument that they had not succeeded in seceeding and thus were still part of the US not a separte entity and thus under the Constitution with its protection of their rights and should have representation. This as opposed to having successfully separated and thus upon losing the war being considered "conquered territories" with no rights yet accorded.] Other defeated nations usually do not fly the flags of a non-existent government/nation over their honored war dead such as Germany from WWI or WWII that I had recently visited in Europe or the 2nd Republic of France after the Franco-Prussian War.
My last stop this day before heading to my hotel in Richmond was the Fredericksburg National Battle Site and its burial ground. Several major Civil War battles were fought throughout this region with a large number of casualties; the remains of the fallen from both the North and the South were collected and buried in two major sites and this is one of them. Most of those buried here are unknown.
As you can also see that by the time I had arrived here in Virginia, the sun had come out to brighten the day. And what a day it had been! 
