The ship/captain assignment involves finding information about a naval ship named after the state or city you are from and describing the career of the ship’s first commanding officer.  The ship is supposed to be a battleship or cruiser commissioned prior to 1945.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHIP

The first place to check for information about ships is the 8-volume set called Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.  It is under call number VA61.A53 in the Reference collection and on the bookcases immediately behind the Reference Desk.  You can link to the electronic version here, but it is not as complete as the printed version.  You will get a good summary of the history of the ship.

Do a subject search in our Library Catalog on your ship since the more famous ships have books written about them.  We may also have cruise books from your ship, covering what happened on some deployment and often with many photographs and details about the ship.  Also search the class or type of ship, such as battleships or cruisers, in Innopac and look through general books for background chapters on the development of the ships.  The information should apply to your individual ship.

INFORMATION ABOUT WHY THE SHIP WAS BUILT

There are some Reference books that might be helpful in determining why your ship was built.  In particular, the U. S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History (V815.3F74) and U. S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History (V820.3.F75) are excellent summaries of changes made to each class of these ships.  Both of these titles are by Norman Friedman and copies are in the Reference collection and the general collection.

Another Reference book that can shed light on the political and military climate at the time your ship was built is American Secretaries of the Navy.  This 2-volume set under call number VB23.A57 contains chapters on each Secretary of the Navy describing the major issues and activities of his term.

HEARINGS ON SHIPBUILDING PROGRAMS

There are often official meetings or hearings on funding for many Navy activities or programs.  There may be hearings on your ship or class of ships and these emphasize the justification for building the ship and the level of appropriation. 

One source of these is the Naval Affairs Committee Hearings, which are in book form on the third floor under call number VA53.A2.  This old Congressional Committee debated many Navy topics.  Since not every individual hearing is listed in Innopac, your best bet is to go to the shelves and look at the table of contents or index at the approximate time your ship would have been funded.  These hearings are also cited in bibliographies.

Another kind of hearings is the set called Hearings Before the General Board of the Navy.  The General Board was an advisory group and their reports cover 1917-1950.  This is a microfilm collection of 15 reels under call number VA52.A834H43.  Use the printed guide with the same call number to identify a reel and frame number.  If you find a hearing, you can print it out for free from any of the reader/printers.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHIP'S FIRST CAPTAIN

The first step in learning about your captain is to see if he is a USNA alumnus.  Look in the Register of Alumni (V415.H5) kept at the Reference Desk.  If he is an alumnus, we are more likely to have additional information on him.  The Special Collections and Archives Division of the Library, on the third floor, maintains records on alumni.  If the person is deceased, you are allowed to see the files.  You need to go in person to Special Collections and Archives to consult these.

If your person is not an alumnus, the first place to look for information is in general American biographical directories or biographical sources on naval officers.  Click here for a link to a list of these titles.

Always check the Library Catalog for sources on or by your person.  Search their name as both an author, to find if they wrote an autobiography or any books, and as a subject, to see if others wrote anything about them.

Occasionally, it is difficult to uncover any information about your captain, and you may need to talk to your professor or choose a different ship/captain.

OBITUARIES OF THE CAPTAIN

Obituaries often provide a concise summary of a person’s life and achievements. Since many of the captains died a long time ago, their obituaries are not likely to be in any electronic database.  In addition, not every person has a published obituary, but it is usually worth looking for one on your captain.

If the captain is a USNA alumnus, and you used the files in Special Collections and Archives, you probably already read at least one obituary.  Otherwise, ask the staff there to check the card file index to obituaries in Shipmate, the USNA Alumni Association magazine.  Obituaries of graduates are published there several months after the death is reported.

Some of the captains have a published obituary in the New York Times.  There is a printed 2-volume book set called New York Times Obituaries Index, covering 1858-1978 (CT213.N47, behind the Reference Desk).  The index will tell you the exact date and page number you need.  Older years of the New York Times are retained on microfilm only and are not in electronic form.  You can use the microfilm and print out the obituary.

Another source for naval officers’ obituaries are the magazines called Army and Navy Register and Army and Navy Journal.  We own both of these titles (with some variations in names).  Army and Navy Register is in bound volumes on the second floor, as well as microfilm.  Army and Navy Journal is on microfilm and in Special Collections.  If you know the date of death, you can start looking through the issues in the obituary section for the subsequent few months.  Or there is an old card file index in the Reference Office which a librarian will check for you to see if an exact date and page has been noted.

OTHER PLACES TO CHECK

Ask a librarian to explain how to use bibliographies to find books or journal articles on your ship or person.  Click here to link to some possible bibliographies.   Notice there is one called Battleships and Battle-Cruisers, 1884-1984: A bibliography and chronology, which cites material on specific ships.  It is in book form only under V815.S64 on the bookcases behind the Reference desk.  While some bibliographies are electronic, another useful series, called American Naval History Bibliography, is not and you’ll need to come to the Library to use it.

Also in the Library is a single volume printed index to the United States Naval Institute Proceedings.  Located on Reference Table 5, this index is the quickest way to see if there were any articles on your ship or person in the old Proceedings.  The magazine itself is shelved with bound periodicals on the second floor and is duplicated on microfilm.  Only recent years are available electronically, but the bound volumes and microfilm go back to 1874.

Need more help?

Ask a Reference librarian for further suggestions or contact the History Librarian.

Return to History Tip Sheets Page.

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URL: http://www.usna.edu/Library/History/Shipscapt.html
Last updated: 20 May 2008