Office of the Superintendent/Correspondence: Press Copies of Letters, Endorsements, and Memorandums Sent by the Superintendent to the Bureau of Navigation Relating to Academy Buildings and Grounds, 1905-1907: Finding Aid

History of the Office of the Superintendent

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. This entry contains letters sent by Superintendents Captain Willard H. Brownson (1902-1905), and Rear Admiral James H. Sands (1905-1907). The administration of these two superintendents coincided with the greatest architectural expansion of the yard buildings and grounds ever in the Academy's history. The eminent New York architect, Ernest Flagg designed and implemented the master plan, overseeing construction in the French Renaissance style the buildings which make up the Academy today: Bancroft, Macdonough, Dahlgren, Mahan, Maury, Sampson, and Isherwood Halls, the Chapel, and the Superintendent's Residence, among other quarters and buildings. Construction commenced in March 1899 with a congressional appropriation of $1,000,000, and continued throughout the opening decade of the first century. By 1902 the Academy grew to over 125 acres. The expansion not only renewed and expanded the physical plant but more than tripled the size of the classes graduating after 1904.

In 1862 the Academy was placed under the Bureau of Navigation, but in 1867 the Secretary of the Navy assumed direct control of the school, leaving the Bureau of Navigation with a lesser role, as supervisor of its administrative and financial affairs. This role was eliminated in 1869 but was restored in 1889.

Description of Contents

This series contains press copies of letters, endorsements, and memorandums sent to the Bureau of Navigation. The outgoing correspondence relates to the purchase of materials and labor, and the construction and repair of Academy buildings and grounds.

Major topics include contracts and bids for construction and other work on the Academy buildings and grounds, requisitions for materials, rates of wages for workmen, dredging, extension of time for contracts, sewers, drains, and other plumbing infrastructure; power houses, plants, boilers, and other engines; construction equipment; construction of the permanent crypt to house the recently discovered remains of John Paul Jones; and other work related to ongoing construction.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Access and Use

Access

Access is unrestricted.

Copyright and Permission

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.

Other Finding Aid(s)

National Archives Catalog entry available electronically at: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2990006.

Acquisition and Appraisal

Custodial History

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.

Related Materials

Related Archival Material

For letters and press copies of letters sent by the Superintendent to the Secretary of the Navy, Navy Department Bureaus, Congress, Academy officers instructors and midshipmen, and public and private individuals see entries 1 through 23. For letters sent to the Bureau of Navigation for 1883-1888 see Entry 16: "Press Copies of Letters Sent by the Superintendent to the Bureau of Navigation, 1883-1888" (NAID: 2989998). For other letters sent and received relating to buildings and grounds during 1858-1910 see entries 115-117. For letters and endorsements sent to the Secretary of the Navy's office regarding construction the same construction work at the Academy see Entry 11: "Press Copies of Letters and Endorsements Sent by the Superintendent to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1903-1905" (NAID: 2989988). For other letters sent by the Superintendent specifically to certain Navy Department Bureaus see entries 14 through 19. For other letters sent and received relating to buildings and grounds, 1858-1860, see Entry 115: "Letters Sent and Received and Contracts for Construction and Grading Work at the Academy, June 1858-June 1860" (NAID: 3053966), and Entry 181: "Press Copies of Letters Sent by the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds, 1875-1911." Press copies of correspondence relating to claims of companies under contract to construct buildings designed by architect Ernest Flagg from 1904 to 1907 are found in Entry 182: "Press Copies of Letters and Memorandums Sent Relating to Claims for Companies Under Contract for Academy Buildings (Claims of Contractor Versus Government) 1904-1907" (NAID:3164808). For a register of costs for work performed at Academy buildings from 1882 to 1884 see Entry 183: "Register of Cost of Work Performed at Academy Installations (Record of Work), 1882-1884" (NAID: 3164811).

Materials Cataloged Separately

No materials have been removed from this collection and cataloged separately.

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

Office of the Superintendent/Correspondence: Press Copies of Letters, Endorsements, and Memorandums Sent by the Superintendent to the Bureau of Navigation Relating to Academy Buildings and Grounds, RG 405.2.1 Entry 17

Special Collections & Archives Department

Nimitz Library

United States Naval Academy

Selected Bibliography

The following sources were consulted during preparation of the historical note:

Sweetman, Jack. The U.S. Naval Academy: An Illustrated History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press, 1979.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Samuel Limneos in April 2019. Finding aid written by Samuel Limneos in April 2019. Historical Sketch and Scope and Content Note adapted in part from Inventory of Records Group 405 by Geraldine N. Phillips and Aloha South, 1975.

Subject Headings

Name and Subject Terms

• Brownson, Willard H. (Willard Herbert), 1845-1935
• Flagg, Ernest, 1857-1947
• Sands, James Hoban, 1845-1911
• United States Naval Academy
• United States Naval Academy -- History -- 20th century
• United States Naval Academy. Superintendent

Genre Terms

• Correspondence