A short-lived military preparatory academy in Oxford, Maryland (1885–1887) that trained cadets for West Point and Annapolis.
The academy offered instruction, lifestyle, and discipline modeled on the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and the United States Military Academy at West Point. Faculty of sixteen were graduates of Yale College, West Point, Annapolis, and other top institutions. The curriculum included modern languages, history, natural sciences, and ancient languages. Students ranged in age from 13 to 22 in the first year, though age requirements were later raised to at least 14 years old and 4 feet 6 inches tall.
Located south of Oxford's town square, the academy occupied Eastford Hall, a three-story former resort hotel constructed in 1878 on Morris Street overlooking the Tred Avon River. The campus featured assembly rooms, drill grounds, a gymnasium, a two-story dormitory wing, and two practice ships anchored in the river. Cadets participated in social events including holiday hops, Easter cruises along the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, and summer cruises to Newport, Rhode Island. Two social fraternities operated on campus: Kappa Sigma (Delta chapter, formed October 19, 1885) and Gamma Delta Psi.
Students with Congressional appointments paid $125 per term for tuition plus approximately $10 for washing and incidentals, with uniforms costing $37 annually. Non-appointed students paid $500 per term. The academy advertised as offering affordable education through Congressional cadetships, attracting students from wealthy families and the sons of congressmen across thirty states in its first year.
The academy closed April 6, 1887, following a major embezzlement scandal by Superintendent Major Benedict J. Burges, who stole over $50,000 through fraudulent goods ordering and bad checks. A Board of Inspectors appointed by Governor Henry Lloyd found gross mismanagement, poor living conditions, and inadequate supplies. Remaining students were transferred to St. John's College in Annapolis, where naval and army officers continued their preparatory education. The Maryland legislature revoked the academy's incorporation in 1890. Notable alumni include photographer Frank G. Abell, U.S. Representative J. Harry Covington, and Colonel Thomas Leidy Rhoads, physician to Presidents Taft and Wilson.