Office of the Superintendent/Directives: Brigade and Regimental Orders, 1909-1920): 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 series contains brigade and regimental orders issued by the Superintendent. The typed, printed, and carbon copies of orders have been bound together to form these volumes. The orders cover midshipman records; leave and liberty; infectious diseases and quarantines; deaths of officers and faculty; references to the Regulations for the Government of the Navy; congratulatory remarks for athletic performance; contests, prizes and awards; rules for informal dances, hops, and balls; charities; midshipman post-graduation orders; midshipman class privileges; midshipman rank appointments, promotions, and demotions; official warnings of academic and conduct deficiency; study periods; newspaper publications covering the Naval Academy and midshipmen; midshipman target practice performance; dismissal of midshipmen from the academy; official correspondence format and style; uniforms; travel and conduct regulations pertaining to Army-Navy football games; midshipman patronage of local establishments; mail and local postal regulations; occupancy of public quarters; board of investigation reports on midshipman misconduct; and midshipman delegations to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and other American universities. A large portion of the regimental orders pertain to midshipman misconduct and resultant disciplinary action taken by academy authorities. There is a list of subjects of orders at the beginning of volumes 554-556. Brigade orders exist for the period July 1909-September 1914. Regimental orders begin in October 1914 and continue until September 1920.

Arrangement

Arranged in chronological order and numbered.

Access and Use

Access

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/3000019.

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

The subjects of these orders are potentially duplicated and interspersed throughout entry 51: "Orders, Circulars, Memoranda, and other Issuances of the Superintendent, 1870-1928" (NAID: 2990338). For earlier and contemporary 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); entry 52: "Printed Orders, Circulars, and Notices, 1900-1903" (NAID: 2990354); entry 53: "Orders, Memoranda, and Notices, 1905-1910" (NAID:2990355); and entry 55: "Miscellaneous Directive and Memoranda, 1908-1910" (NAID: 2990357). For earlier, contemporary, and later directives issued by the Superintendent see entry 54: "Orders Issued by the Superintendent, 1907-1979" (NAID: 2990356); and entry 56: "Notices Issued by the Superintendent, 1908-1971" (NAID: 2990358). For notices issued by other units of the Superintendent's office see entry 58: "Notices Issued by the Aide to the Superintendent, 1912-1914" (NAID: 3000020).

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: Brigade and Regimental Orders, RG 405.2.2 Entry 57

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 October 2021. Finding aid written by Samuel Limneos in October 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

• Orders (military records)