Andrew Boyd Cummings, 1830-1863.

Guide to the Andrew Boyd Cummings Papers, 1847-1963; 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
(Original Guide by Mary R. Catalfamo, 1991)

August 2008

Descriptive Summary

Provenance:

The Andrew Boyd Cummings Papers were donated to the Special Collections and Archives Department by William Wirt Mills. Accession Nos. 88-19 and 91-57.

Size:

8 linear inches.

Access:

Access to the Andrew Boyd Cummings Papers is restricted to photocopies and typescripts, where available.

The Andrew Boyd Cummings Papers are the physical property of Nimitz Library. Copyright belongs to the authors or creators of the works, or their legal representatives. For further information, consult the Head, Special Collections & Archives.

Permission:

It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure written permission to publish, reprint, or reproduce material from Special Collections & Archives. The researcher assumes responsibility for infringement of copyright or literary or publication rights. Please contact the Head, Special Collections & Archives for permission to publish and for further information

Preferred Citation:

Andrew Boyd Cummings Papers, MS 268
Special Collections & Archives Department
Nimitz Library
United States Naval Academy

Biographical Chronology

1830	Born June 22 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1847	On April 7, receives appointment to United States Naval School as a midshipman.
	On August 3, is detached from the Naval School and transferred to U.S.S. Brandywine, en route for service aboard U.S.S. Ohio, which was posted to the Pacific Squadron, patrolling off California.
1848	In March, U.S.S. Ohio retrieves the remains of Commodore Alexander J. Dallas, who had died four years earlier, from Lima, Peru.
1850	On April 29, is detached from U.S.S. Ohio and granted three months leave.
	On August 20, is transferred to the sloop-of-war U.S.S. Saratoga, which was serving in the East India Squadron.
1852	On June 22, is detached to return to the United States Naval Academy as a midshipman.
1853	Ca. June, graduates from the United States Naval Academy.
	On June 13, is transferred to U.S.S. Fulton, which operated in the Home Squadron, protecting merchantmen from the Caribbean to Canada, as well as taking part in the search for U.S.S. Albany.
	On June 25, is warranted as Passed Midshipman from June 10.
1854	In May, U.S.S. Fulton is charged with transporting General James Gadsden, United States Minister to Mexico, to Veracruz, Mexico.
1855	On September 16, receives promotion to Lieutenant.
	On November 30, is detached from U.S.S. Fulton, and granted one month leave.
1856	On August 25, is re-commissioned.
1857	On April 15, is transferred to the side-wheel steamer U.S.S. Dale, which operated off the west coast of Africa suppressing the slave trade.
1859	On May 23, is detached from U.S.S. Dale and granted three months leave.
1860	On August 27, is transferred to the steam sloop-of-war U.S.S. Richmond, which was deployed in the Mediterranean. Ultimately, Cummings would serve as Richmond’s Executive Officer.
1861	On July 3, U.S.S. Richmond returns to New York following the outbreak of the American Civil War and is redeployed to hunt the Confederate raider Sumter.
	In September, U.S.S. Richmond joins the West Gulf Blockading Squadron.
	On November 22, U.S.S. Richmond participates in the bombardment of Fort McRae, Warrington, Florida, and the Pensacola Navy Yard.
1862	In February, U.S.S. Richmond rejoins the West Gulf Blockading Squadron.
	On April 18, U.S.S. Richmond participates in the bombardment of Fort Jackson and St. Philip, Louisiana.
	On August 5, is promoted to Lieutenant Commander.
1863	On March 14, is mortally wounded as U.S.S. Richmond attempts to pass Port Hudson, Louisiana.
	On March 18, dies while en route to New Orleans.

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

Box	Folder
1	1	Invitation - Bachelor's Ball, 1856
	2	Letters Received, April 20, 1859
		Account of U.S.S. Portsmouth firing upon the home of the U.S. Consul during the bombardment of Guaymas.
	3	Letters Received (Typescript), April 20, 1859
	4	Letters Sent, June 13, 1847-Februay 25, 1848
		From U.S. Naval School, U.S. ships Pennsylvania, Brandywine, Ohio. Descriptions of arrival at U.S. Naval School (USNA), flogging as form of punishment (August 23, 1847), seasickness and disappointment in Rio De Janeiro (December 1, 1847), the Andes Mountains, Valparaiso and Callao, Chile and Lima, Peru (February 25, 1848).
	5	Letters Sent, March 11, 1848-April 30, 1849
		From U.S. ships Ohio and Dale. Descriptions of Carnival in Lima and Callao, and distrust of Courts Martial (March 11, 1848), transporting the remains of Commodore Dallas (March 12, 1848), hoisting of the Mexican flag at Mazatlan and Guaymas (July 11, 1848), Cornelius Stribling assumes command of Ohio and the California Gold Rush (August 18, 1848), and residents of California the "scum of creation" (April 30, 1849).
	6	Letters Sent, August 23, 1849-December 4, 1852
		From U.S.S. Ohio, Williamsport, Norfolk, U.S.S. Saratoga and U.S. Naval Academy. Descriptions of Sandwich Islands and Commodore's gold speculation (August 23, 1849), attempts to transfer to East or West Indies (August 2, 1850), English/Brazilian slavery issues and Brazilian government and monarchy (November 20, 1850), and reception in Hong Kong (June 18, 1851).
	7	Letters Sent, July 13, 1853-March 14, 1854
		From U.S.S. Fulton. Descriptions of the decrepit state of U.S.S. Princeton (July 13, 1853), transporting the son of English novelist George Payne Rainsford James (July 19, 1853), false reports of outrages against American fishermen (August 21, 1853), natives and culture of St. Thomas (December 27, 1853), bull fights in Havana (February 25, 1854), and seizure of Black Warrior (March 14, 1854).
	8	Letters Sent, March 24, 1854-June 26, 1855
		From U.S.S. Fulton. Descriptions of murder of English survey team and seizure of Black Warrior (March 24, 1854), transportation and entourage of General Gadsden, Minister to Mexico (May 17-June 6, 1854), various ports of call in the West Indies, marriage of Simon Bolivar's daughter and lynching expedition in Aspinwall (February 28, 1855), and execution of a naturalized American named Estrampos (April 5, 1855).
	9	Letters Sent, July 8, 1855-October 4, 1857
		From U.S. ships Fulton and Dale. Descriptions of effect of alcoholism on a former shipmate (July 8, 1855), sights, people and religion of Madeira (June 11, 1857), the French slave trade and naval impressment, pursuit of slave ships and critiques of native Africans (October 4, 1857).
	10	Letters Sent, October 7, 1857-February 1, 1858
		From U.S.S. Dale. Descriptions of the African slave trade (October 7, 1857), African natives as "squalid savages" and seizure of slave ship William G. Lewis (November 11, 1857), local reaction to capture of William G. Lewis (November 25, 1857), visits to St. Helena and capture of Windward by British (December 26, 1857), and preparation for trip up the Congo River (February 1, 1858).
	11	Letters Sent, March 4, 1858-June 28, 1862
		From U.S.S. Dale. Descriptions of desire to never leave home again (March 4, 1858), landscape and peasants of Tenerife (June 8, 1858), court martial of the ship's surgeon (August 16, 1858), mining on the Gold Coast, visits to Accra, Prince’s Island, and the grave of English poet Letitia Elizabeth Landon (November 29, 1858), and weathering Confederate batteries at Vicksburg (June 28, 1862).
	12	Letters Sent (Typescript), June 13, 1847-April 30, 1849
	13	Letters Sent (Typescript), August 23, 1849-March 14, 1854
	14	Letters Sent (Typescript), March 24, 1854-June 26, 1855
	15	Letters Sent (Typescript), July 8, 1855-February 1, 1858
	16	Letters Sent (Typescript), March 4, 1858-June 28, 1862
	17	Miscellaneous - Death of Andrew Boyd Cummings, 1863 and undated
	18	Miscellaneous - Launch of U.S.S. Cummings, 1913
		Includes letter of June 18, 1913 signed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
	19	Miscellaneous - Launch of U.S.S. Cummings (Typescript), 1913 and 1935
	20	Photographs, undated
	21	Report - U.S.S. Richmond Target Practice, November 4, 1861
	22	Resignation Acceptance Letters, July 8, 1861
		Acceptance of the resignations of Virginius Freeman and F.E. Shepperd.
	23	Service Record, 1913
	24	Warrant - Midshipman, December 12, 1849
Box	Folder
MSOS	1	Commissions and Warrants, 1853-1856
		- Commission - Lieutenant (effective September 16, 1855), July 24, 1856 - Commission - Master (effective September 15, 1855), October 29, 1855 - Warrant - Passed Midshipman (effective June 10, 1853), June 22, 1853
	2	Photograph, undated

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