Office of the Superintendent/Administrative Records: Registers of Candidates for Admission to the Academy as Midshipmen, Acting Third Assistant Engineers, and Cadet-Engineers, 1861-1867; 1871; 1875: 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 a register of candidates for admission to the academy as midshipmen, acting third assistant engineers, and cadet-engineers. The registers contain columns documenting the following information: date on which the candidate reported to the academy; place of birth; age; state, town, congressional district, and sometimes ward from which appointed; and name, profession, or occupation of parent or guardian. Beside the names of some candidates appear notations such as "Rejd," or "R" indicating that the candidate was rejected or the letters "A.B" or "M.B." indicating rejection by either the Academic or Medical Boards. Entrance of the letter "W" next to candidate names indicates withdrawal.

The register contains the names of midshipman candidates for the period November 1861 through September 1866, and June through September 1875. It also contains the names of candidates for third assistant engineer for the period September 1866 to September 1867 and includes names of a small number of cadet-engineer candidates for September 1871. The volume also contains the names of candidates for the Marine Corps for the period October 1869 to June 1873.

Arrangement

Arranged by type of candidate and thereunder chronologically by date on which candidate reported to the academy.

Access and Use

Access

Unrestricted.

Copyright and Permission

Unrestricted.

Other Finding Aid(s)

National Archives Catalog entry available electronically at: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/3020758.

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

Information pertaining to midshipman candidates for November 1861 to September 1886 in this entry are duplicated, along with earlier and later engineer candidates in entry 62: "Registers of Candidates for Admission to the Academy, 1849-1871; 1876-1930" (NAID: 3000050). For registers documenting later acting third assistant and cadet-engineers, see entry 64: "Register of Candidates for Admission to the Academy as Acting Third Assistant and Cadet Engineers, 1867-1875" (NAID: 3020766). For more on the examinations taken by candidates for admission, see entry 67: "Record of Examination of Candidates for Cadet Midshipmen, 1867-1873" (NAID: 3021181); entry 68: "Marks for the First Oral Examination of Candidates for Cadet Midshipmen, 1867-1870" (NAID: 3021185); and entry 69: "Record of Examination of Candidates for Cadet Engineers, 1871-1873" (NAID: 3021191). Other record books containing grades received on oral, written and full board examinations in subjects enumerated in these volumes as "arithmetic," by candidates for admission are found in Subseries 1d: Mathematics Entrance Examination Grade Books, 1867-1903 in entry 201f: "Records of the Division of Mathematics and Science, 1862-1995." Other candidate examination grades and remarks are found in entry 70: "Register of Grades Received on Examinations for Admission by Applicants for Cadet Appointments, 1873-1886" (NAID: 3021194); entry 71: "Register of Grades Received by Candidates for Appointment at Entrance Examinations, 1874-1890" (NAID: 3023070); entry 72: "Register of Candidates Who Failed to Pass the Required Examination for Admission to the Academy, 1875-1881" (NAID: 3025145); and entry 73: "List of Applicants for Appointment as Naval Cadets at Large, 1898" (NAID: 3026129).

Materials Cataloged Separately

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

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

Office of the Superintendent/Administrative Records: Registers of Candidates for Admission to the Academy as Midshipmen, Acting Third Assistant Engineers, and Cadet-Engineers, RG 405.2.3 Entry 63

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 January 2021. Finding aid written by Samuel Limneos in January 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

• Naval education -- United States
• United States Naval Academy -- Admission
• United States Naval Academy – Students

Genre Terms

• Registers (lists)