The US Naval Academy cheerleading squad poses for a group photo near Bancroft Hall

The United States Naval Academy is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland, United States established in 1845 under Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. The 338-acre campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay 33 miles east of Washington, D.C. and 26 miles southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments.