Office of the Superintendent/Correspondence: Letters Sent by Superintendent George S. Blake, 1857-1865: 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.

In May 1861, following the outbreak of the Civil War, rising tensions in the Annapolis community, and the potential for Maryland to secede from the Union, the Superintendent of the Academy, Capt. George S. Blake applied to the Navy Department for permission to remove the Academy to Newport, R.I. for the duration of the war. At Newport, the Academy was temporarily accommodated at Fort Adams. In October 1861 the Navy Department rented a summer hotel in Newport, the Atlantic House, where the upper-class midshipmen were quartered. The lower classes were quartered on board the frigates Constitution and Santee. The grounds at Annapolis were taken over by the Union Army, and a base hospital was established there. The Academy returned to Annapolis in September 1865.

Description of Contents

This series contains letters sent by Superintendent George S. Blake to the Secretary of the Navy, Navy Bureau chiefs, midshipmen, instructors and personnel of the Academy, merchants, and others relating to personnel and administration of the Academy. Volumes 13 and 14 contain lists of letters to and from the Navy Department, the Commandant of Midshipmen, and others. These volumes also contain fair copies of some letters received by Blake and a few copies of orders issued by him.

Major topics include admissions and resignations of midshipmen, leaves of absence, complaints, discipline, academics, faculty and staff, supplies, construction of buildings and accommodations at Newport, movement of ships between Annapolis and Newport, practice ships for summer cruises, captured confederate vessels, examination boards, fiscal year estimates, promotions and pay increases, and Navy Bureau instructions. Of particular interest are letters sent by Superintendent Blake to the Secretary of the Navy and others during mid-April and May 1861 regarding the threat of confederate attack on the Academy at Annapolis, the composition of midshipmen from seceded states, relations with the citizens and government of Annapolis, and the boarding and defense of the frigate Constitution should an attack on the Academy occur. The letters also document plans, actions, and reports during the Academy’s transition from Annapolis to Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically. Name and subject indexes are in volumes 7, 9, 12, 16, 17, and 19.

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/2983376.

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

Location of Copies or Alternate Formats

The letters sent in these volumes are copied in entry 1 (National Archives Identifier 2953622).

This entry has been digitized and are available in Trireme at: https://trireme.access.preservica.com/index.php?name=SO_3486a8ec-4189-45bf-8e58-04eccc79d282.

Related Archival Material

For letters and press copies of letters sent by Superintendent George S. Blake and other Superintendents to the Secretary of the Navy, Navy Department, Congress, Academy officers instructors and midshipmen, and public and private individuals see entries 1 through 23.

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 Sent by Superintendent George S. Blake, RG 405.2.1 Entry 4

Special Collections & Archives Department

Nimitz Library

United States Naval Academy

Processing Information

This collection was inventoried by Samuel Limneos in March 2019. Finding aid written by Samuel Limneos in March 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

• Blake, George Smith, 1803-1871
• Constitution (Frigate)
• Fort Adams (Newport, R.I.)
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
• United States Naval Academy -- History -- 19th century
• United States Naval Academy -- Students
• United States Naval Academy. Superintendent
• United States. Office of the Secretary of the Navy

Genre Terms

• Correspondence