#Tecumseh September 26

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In September 2025, many of us will be taking part in the 30-Day Monuments Coach4aday Challenge. Each day we will spotlight one of the nearly 50,000 National Monuments or Memorials across the United States. In addition, we’ll feature a wide range of other tributes—from statues honoring heroes and athletes to memorials recognizing outstanding citizens and many other categories. Today the post is on one of the 21 memorials identified by the National Monument Audit dedicated to TECUMSEH located at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis MD.

History often reveals the origins of people and events, and that is certainly true for the Tecumseh Statue at the U.S. Naval Academy. In fact, despite it being commonly called “Tecumseh” it is officially the “Tamamend Statue“. For decades it was referred as Tecumseh.

According to the Naval Academy Museum and Smithsonian records, the current statue is a bronze replacement of a wooden figurehead sculpted by William Luke of Norfolk in 1821. Representing Chief Tamanend, or “Tammany”, the figurehead graced the prow of USS Delaware.  During the Civil War the Navy burned the ship in Norfolk VA to prevent its capture by the Confederate Army. Some years later the figurehead was located and returned to the US Naval Academy where it was on display for 40 years. Finally, the wood began to rot and a bronze replica was created.

Here is the statue today.

Monuments-30 Day Challenge Guidelines

As with previous challenges, participants are encouraged to adapt the guidelines to fit their own circumstances. If you can, commit to sharing something about a Monument in September

1. Record something about a particular US Monument. Make sure you include the location and something about its significance. Try, if possible, to include a photo.
2. Share with a challenge partner if you have one.
3. Join the conversation by posting on social media with the hashtag #Coach4adayChallenge

September 26-Tecumseh

Over the years the statue was also known by various other names — Powhatan, King Phillip, and finally Tecumseh. The records indicated that the Naval Academy Class of 1891 recognized that the true name of that figurehead on the USS Delaware was Tamamend. The Bronze replica was erected in 1930 sitting outside the front door of Bancroft Hall.