GPS City GuideAnnapolisMacedonian Monument

Stop 20 of 27 · Annapolis audio walking tour

Macedonian Monument

United States Naval Academy · 1810 · Circa 1810 wooden figurehead

What you'll hear here: about 90 seconds on Macedonian Monument — how it came to be, who it mattered to, and what to look for while you're standing in front of it.

Across the street from Mahan Hall, at the end of Stribling Walk, the Macedonian Monument carries a white-painted wooden figurehead from a British frigate captured in the War of 1812. This white-painted wooden figurehead once topped the British frigate Macedonian, captured by Stephen Decatur and the American frigate United States in the opening days of the War of 1812. Also known as Alexander the Great and the Figurehead of Hans Macedonian, the sculpture dates to circa 1810 and came to the Academy in 1875.

You can see the carved bust of Alexander the Great, dressed in a shirt with ruffles at the neck and wearing a helmet with long plumes. The wooden sculpture, treated with epoxy resin, surmounts a square stone base whose front carries a bronze relief illustrating the capture of the Macedonian; beneath the figurehead another bronze relief depicts the engagement. Each side of the base is fitted with a curved stone bench and a green-painted cannon tube sits at each corner.

The monument measures 72 by 33 by 45 inches, and the carver remains unknown. Notice the bronze relief on the base, the paired stone benches, and the green cannon tubes guarding each corner.

Where it is

Coordinates
38.98335, -76.48592
Area
United States Naval Academy
Era
1810 · Circa 1810 wooden figurehead
Start the Annapolis tour →

Three stops free. No account needed. The audio plays itself as you walk.