Andrew Boyd Cummings, 1830-1863.

Guide to the Andrew Boyd Cummings
Papers, 1847-1863, 1913, 1935

MS 268

A collection in the
Special Collections & Archives Department
Nimitz Library

United States Naval Academy
589 McNair Road
Annapolis, MD 21402-5029

Prepared by David D'Onofrio
August 2008
(Original Guide by Mary R. Catalfamo, 1991)

Descriptive Summary

Biographical Chronology

Selected Bibliography

Navy Department. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959-1981.

Wilson, James Grant, ed.  Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography.  New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889.

Scope and Content Note

The Andrew Boyd Cummings Papers, comprising eight linear inches of documentation, spans Cummings' sixteen year naval career, from 1847 to 1863, and also includes limited material dating from 1913 and 1935.  The papers, consisting primarily of letters written by Cummings to his family, focus on Cummings' service aboard U.S. Navy ships Ohio, Fulton, and Dale.

The papers consist primarily of hand-written letters with typescript copies, but also contain other documents, including photographs, official records, an invitation, and a news clipping.

The Andrew Boyd Cummings Papers are arranged alphabetically by document type into a single records series with no subdivisions.  The bulk of the collection consists of hand-written letters by Cummings (along with typescript copies) addressed to his father, mother, uncle, and sister, Clara.  The majority of these letters are the product of Cummings' service aboard three United States Navy vessels.  Letters from Cummings' service aboard ship-of-the-line U.S.S. Ohio (dated December 1, 1847 - August 23, 1849) include descriptions of various South American cities, such as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Valparaiso, Chile, and Lima, Peru, as well as discussions of the California Gold Rush and Mexican rule after the Mexican War.   Letters from Cummings’ time aboard U.S.S. Fulton (dated July 13, 1853 - October 11, 1855) include descriptions of ports of call in the West Indies and details of various duties and incidents, including the transportation and negotiations of Minister to Mexico General James Gadsden.  Letters from sloop-of-war U.S.S. Dale (May 2, 1857 - January 18, 1859) focus on visits to ports along the west coast of Africa and the Canary Islands, as well as the ship's duties pursuing slave traders.  Interspersed throughout the letters are discussions of life and events on the home front and Cummings’ desire to return home.  Also included are two letters from the United States Naval Academy (June 13, 1847 and December 4, 1852), as well as one letter from Cummings’ Civil War service aboard U.S.S. Richmond (June 28, 1862). 

The remainder of the collection is composed of various documents relating to Cummings’ naval career and death, and two United States Navy vessels named for him.  The documents relating directly to Cummings’ service consist of four of his warrants and commissions, his service record, a target practice report from U.S.S Richmond, and the acceptance of resignations from two sailors, at least one of whom served aboard Richmond with Cummings.  There are also two photographs of Cummings.  Materials relating to Cummings’ death consist of a memorial letter and news clipping, and a handwritten note from Cummings’ sister.  The collection also contains several letters (and typescripts) relating to the construction and launch of two U.S.S. Cummings (DD-44 and DD-365), including a letter signed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt (June 18, 1913).

Research interests served by the Andrew Boyd Cummings Papers, in addition to Cummings’ personal history, include the United States Navy’s anti-slavery patrols prior to the American Civil War and opinions of South American and African customs and culture.

Container List

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