Press Release

NAVAL ACADEMY SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERNOR O’MALLEY AND MAYOR COHEN TO CUT RIBBON FOR WAR OF 1812 WALKING TOUR

NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: Please call the Naval Academy Public Affairs Office at (410) 293-2292 by noon, Thursday, July 5, if you plan to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony. A tour of the War of 1812 sites will be given after the ribbon cutting ceremony. On July 6, please check in with the Public Affairs staff between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m., at USNA Public Affairs office by Gate 3, Maryland Ave.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Vice Adm. Michael Miller, U.S. Naval Academy superintendent, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Annapolis Mayor Joshua Cohen will cut the ceremonial ribbon commencing the opening of the Annapolis War of 1812, 200th anniversary commemorative walking tour at 9 a.m. Friday, July 6 in Mahan Hall.

The self-guided walking tour throughout the Naval Academy and the city of Annapolis consists of 10 stops of historical significance to the War of 1812 and will be available through October 2014.

The walking tour will include five stops at the Naval Academy and beginning April 1, 2013, the tour will also feature “Seas, Lakes & Bay: The Naval War of 1812” exhibit in Mahan Hall. This exhibit will feature artifacts from the War of 1812 and will be open to the public, free of charge, from Monday through Saturday, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Sunday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m through November 3, 2013. This walking tour and exhibition are made possible by Mr. William I. Koch, whose generous support and loan of his inspired collection of historic maritime paintings and artifacts provide a glimpse into life on the seas during the War of 1812.

Copies of the walking tour map are available at the USNA Visitor Center, USNA Museum, the Maryland State House, the Historic Annapolis Foundation on Main Street and the Annapolis Visitor Center. (Guided tours are available from the USNA Visitor Center and Annapolis Tours by Watermark).

For more information about the Naval Academy, visit www.usna.edu. For more information about the War of 1812 walking tour, visit www.usna.edu/War1812.

Visitors to the Naval Academy may walk through Gate 1 (King George Street) and Gate 3 (Maryland Avenue) of the academy and will be required to show valid, government-issued picture identification. Vehicles without Department of Defense decals are not permitted on Naval Academy grounds. Authorized vehicles may enter through Gate 1 (King George Street) or Gate 8 (Maryland Route 450). Handicapped visitors with proper decals and identification are permitted through Gate 1 during normal business hours and may be subject to a vehicle inspection. All bags are subject to search.

USNA