The plan of the Naval School at Fort Severn, Annapolis, Maryland, approved by the Navy Department August 28, 1846, provided that a Superintendent of the school be appointed by the Secretary of the Navy from a list of officers of a rank not higher than commander. The Superintendent was to have responsibility for the general management of the institution, including overseeing the course of study, professors, and other personnel connected with the Academy. He could appoint and remove all persons employed at the Academy except those for whose appointment or discharge special provision was made by the laws or regulations of the Navy or the Academy. He had general charge of the buildings, grounds, and ships belonging to the Academy. The Superintendent also formulated the code of rules and regulations for the internal government of the school to be submitted to the Secretary of the Navy for approval. After 1867, officers were assigned by the Navy Department to the Academy to serve as assistants or aides to the Superintendent.
The Office of the Superintendent as described in the 1846 plan remained relatively unchanged throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Officers of ranks higher than commander, however, have served in the position.
Handwritten, typed, or duplicated letters received from the Navy Department and its bureaus; other Government officials, including Senators and Congressmen; Navy officers, civilian personnel, and students at the Academy; and private individuals and organizations. The letters related to various subjects including discipline, buildings and grounds, uniforms and equipment, summer practice cruises, instructors, entrance requirements, examinations, gifts and memorials for the Academy, and congressional appropriations and fiscal matters.
Subject files into which the letters have been arranged usually cover intervals of 3 to 8 years, with the exception of the files for the period 1845-61, and this is probably not the original method of arrangement of these letters.
The "miscellaneous," "miscellaneous correspondence," and "letter received" files mostly contain letters and lists that do not fit into a convenient subject classification, but they also contain some letters on subjects for which files have been created. The "miscellaneous" subject files for 1876-80 contains mostly letters received from Navy Department bureaus and offices.
Arranged by time period into six series and thereunder by subject in alphabetical order.
Access is unrestricted.
Generally, materials produced by Federal agencies are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. Any non-government publications held herein may still be subject to copyright. For further information, consult the Head, Special Collections & Archives.
National Archives Catalog entry available electronically at:
RG 405 Records of the United States Naval Academy is the property of the National Archives and Records Administration. The materials are housed at the United States Naval Academy, William W. Jeffries Memorial Archives, an affiliated archive, as per a Memorandum of Agreement between the National Archives and Records Administration and the United States Naval Academy.
The letters in this entry are reproduced as NARS Microfilm Publication M949,
A register of the letters received from the Secretary of the Navy from 1845 to 1853 is in entry 24.
For miscellaneous letters received from public and private individuals outside the Navy Department for this period, see entry 28. For letters received from the Bureau of Navigation for September 1862 and the period December 1863-1883, see entry 26
No materials have been removed from this collection and cataloged separately.
Office of the Superintendent/Correspondence: Letters Received by the Superintendent, RG 405.2.1 Entry 25
Special Collections & Archives Department
Nimitz Library
United States Naval Academy
Collection inventory adapted from the National Archives and Records
Administration inventory of Record Group 405, prepared by
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Includes specifications for Herndon Monument.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.