Office of the Superintendent/Directives: Miscellaneous Directives and Memoranda, 1908-1910: 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.

Description of Contents

This entry consists of a scrapbook into which various copies of directives and memoranda, lists of personnel on the academic staff, academy directories, notices, and orders are pasted. Subjects addressed include: candidates for admission and admission examinations; computation of midshipman professional subject grades; annual practice cruise itinerary, general orders and instructions; and the Navy Athletic Association. Included in the rear of the volume is an undated "Estimate as to the Cost of Educating Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy," consisting of a line item appropriation sheet inclusive of officer, faculty, and employee salaries, maintenance of buildings and grounds, and other elements; research notes relative to dates of the academy's Civil War sojourn at Newport, Rhode Island; a list of midshipmen ordered before general courts-martial for hazing in 1906; a list of graduation dates covering 1898 to 1907; and a table of distances from the academy to various points in the surrounding country as computed by academy Professor O. G. Dodge.

Arrangement

The Office of the Superintendent/Directives: Miscellaneous Directives and Memoranda are 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/2990357.

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 earlier, contemporary, and later Superintendents' directives, see entry 51: "Orders, Circulars, Memoranda, and other Issuances of the Superintendent, 1870-1928" (NAID: 2990338); entry 53: "Orders, Memoranda, and Notices, 1905-1910" (NAID: 2990355); and entry 54: "Orders Issued by the Superintendent, 1907-1979" (NAID: For earlier orders, see entry 45: "Orders of Superintendent Cornelius K. Stribling, 1850-1852" (NAID: 2990281); entry 46: "Orders of the Superintendent, 1851-1865" (NAID: 2990283); entry 47: "Orders for the Suspension of Acting Midshipmen, 1856-1862" (NAID: 2990285); entry 48: "Press Copies of Orders Issued by the Superintendent, 1865-1874, 1886-1888" (NAID: 2990289); entry 49: "Orders of the Superintendent, 1874-1886" (NAID: 2990325); entry 50: "Orders Issued by the Superintendent, 1890-1905" (NAID: 2990329); and entry 52: "Printed Orders, Circulars, and Notices, 1900-1903" (NAID: 2990354). Other orders, circulars, notices, memoranda, and directives issued by succeeding superintendents may be found in entries 56-58.

Materials Cataloged Separately

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

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

Office of the Superintendent/Directives: Miscellaneous Directives and Memoranda, RG 405.2.2 Entry 55

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 July 2021. Finding aid written by Samuel Limneos in July 2021. 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

• Midshipmen -- Moral and ethical aspects -- United States
• Midshipmen -- United States
• Naval education -- United States
• United States Naval Academy
• United States Naval Academy -- Administration
• United States Naval Academy -- History -- 20th century
• United States Naval Academy -- Students -- Discipline
• United States Naval Academy. Superintendent

Genre Terms

• Announcements
• Memorandums
• Orders (military records)
• Rules (instructional materials)