Service Academy Chapels

American military academies prepare cadets and midshipmen to be career officers in their respective services. However, the academies at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, Kings Point, and New London, as well as state-affiliated academies, like The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute, are also national landmarks that attract thousands of visitors each year. Perhaps the most distinctive buildings on their grounds are the chapels. To some extent, each chapel physically represents the mission and role of its respective academy. The chapels have also been the focal point for important events in the life of the institution and its students. They have hosted innumerable weddings, baptisms, and funerals for faculty, staff, and alumni. The importance of these deeply personal events speaks volumes to the institutional bond the academies have maintained with their members.

Recurring chapel events, such as holiday concerts, memorial services, and graduation ceremonies, figure prominently into the institutional calendar each year. Many important traditions revolve around the chapels, too. Plebes (freshmen) at the Naval Academy, in Annapolis, do not officially shed their status until they see the chapel dome after their first summer training (youngster) cruise. The Naval Academy also uses its chapel to define the radius of the enforcement of many regulations (e.g., regarding the consumption of alcohol or the wearing of military uniforms), which in effect communicates to midshipmen that the chapel is the heart of Annapolis.

The chapels have also played an important role in professional socialization. Services help to indoctrinate students in the core values and beliefs of the institution. Up until the 1970s, chapel attendance was mandatory. Students marched to chapel each Sunday; the liturgical routine of these services included prayers and hymns with a strong military message. Professional socialization did not occur in the chapels alone, but the spiritual significance of the services did add the weight of God in encouraging cadets and midshipmen to do their duty.

The aesthetic qualities of the chapels are consistent with the schools’ overall architectural themes. Any modernization efforts have resulted in an upgrading of the chapels. The two oldest academies, West Point and the Naval Academy, undertook significant expansions near the end of the 19th century. In both cases, these schools built new chapels to service enlarged student bodies. However, the renovations also provided the opportunity to showcase the modern mission of the two schools. The Naval Academy finished construction of its current chapel in 1908. Built in the Beaux Arts style, the chapel was originally designed in the form of a Greek cross, with each arm of equal length, and held more than 1,500 worshippers. In 1905, the chapel became the final resting place of the symbolic founder of the U.S. Navy, John Paul Jones. Numerous professional traditions evolved surrounding the upkeep of Jones's burial site. Marine sentries maintain a constant guard over his crypt, and midshipmen are required to visit it several times during their plebe year. Over the years, important modifications were completed to the existing structure. The chapel's most distinctive feature is its dome, which was originally terra cotta and was replaced with copper in 1929. In the 1930s, another expansion increased seating to more than 2,000 worshippers and transformed its design into more of a Latin cross.

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