Office of the Superintendent/Correspondence: Letters Received by the Superintendent from Officers, 1875-1881: 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 series contains letters received by Superintendents Rear Admiral Christopher R. P. Rodgers (1874-1878), and Rear Admiral George B. Balch (1879-1881). Rodgers, who previously served at the Academy as Commandant of Midshipmen in 1861, clamped down on unauthorized hazing and revamped the curriculum by concentrating professional subjects in the first- and second-class years, and adding upper level electives in math, mechanics, physics and chemistry. George B. Balch, a highly decorated veteran of the Civil War, was viewed fondly as a forgiving figurehead by the midshipmen, and left largely unabated the reforms of his energetic predecessor.

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 letters received by Superintendents George B. Balch and Christopher R. P. Rodgers relating to many subjects, including requests for assignment to duty at the Academy and leave requests.

There are no records from July 1876 to December 1879.

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/2990059.

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

Subject files of letters received from officers for the periods of 1875-1876, and 1880-1881 are in Entry 25: "Letters Received by the Superintendent, 1845-1887" (NAID: 2990043). However, most of the letters contained in Entry 25 were written by officers of the Navy Department and its bureaus concerning officers on duty at the Academy.

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: Letters Received by the Superintendent from Officers, RG 405.2.1 Entry 27

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

• Balch, George Beall, 1821-1908
• Naval education -- United States
• Rodgers, C. R. P. (Christopher Raymond Perry), 1819-1892
• United States Naval Academy
• United States Naval Academy -- History -- 19th century
• United States Naval Academy. Superintendent

Genre Terms

• Correspondence