U.S. Navy Anchors Aweigh

In an attempt to write a catchy tune to rally the Naval Academy’s football team, Anchors Aweigh was born. Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmerman, the U.S. Navy bandmaster from 1887 to 1916, started the practice of composing a march for each graduating class. However, none of these tunes really caught on Zimmerman was approached by Midshipman Alfred Hart Miles to write a piece of music that would be inspiring, one with swing to it so it could be used as a football marching song, and one that would live forever.

Together, Zimmerman and Hart composed the tune and lyrics that became Anchors Aweigh, dedicated to the class of 1907. The new fight song indeed propelled Navy to a win that year over Army. The march was subsequently adopted as the official Navy song and continues to inspire classes of Naval Academy Midshipmen.