Office of the Superintendent/Correspondence: Letters Sent by the Superintendent, 1881-1885: 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 Superintendent Captain Francis M. Ramsay (1881-1886).

The period covered by this series covers the administration of Superintendent Captain Francis M. Ramsay, which oversaw substantial changes to the Academy’s curriculum, departmental and military organization. Seamanship drills and training were systematized, the conduct grade was introduced, midshipmen were quartered according to divisions as opposed to classes, and midshipmen officers were given charge over the maintenance of order and discipline in the dormitories. During Ramsay’s administration significant numbers of "naval cadets" (the contemporary title of midshipmen) either resigned or were discharged due to the limitations on commissioning new officers stipulated in the August 5, 1882 Personnel Act.

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 sent by the Superintendent to the Secretary of the Navy; the Assistant Secretary of the Navy; the Bureau of Navigation and other bureaus of the Navy Department; Members of Congress; Academy personnel; naval officers not at the Academy; Federal, State, and local officials, private citizens, including families of midshipmen; and private organizations including academic institutions.

Major topics include disciplinary, medical, and material problems of the Academy; midshipmen requests for leaves, admissions, resignations and re-instatements; Navy regulations; purchase of text-books; transportation of ship parts; building and construction supplies; Academy dances and other events; allowance pay to midshipmen; and rules governing attendance of, and requests to attend alternate Sunday worship services; Of particular interest are letters relating to hazing, cheating, and the general protests of midshipmen against the Superintendent during the 1882-1883 academic year.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically. There are name indexes in both volumes. There is slight overlapping of dates between the two volumes.

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/2983384.

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

Press copies of a portion of the letters sent are in volumes 44, 71-76, 80, and 81 in entry 3: "Press Copies of Letters Sent by the Superintendent 1865-1911" (NAID: 2980540). For letters and press copies of letters sent by 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 the Superintendent, RG 405.2.1 Entry 6

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 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

• Ramsay, Francis Munroe, 1835-1914
• United States Naval Academy -- History -- 19th century
• United States Naval Academy -- Students
• United States Naval Academy. Superintendent

Genre Terms

• Correspondence