Office of the Superintendent/Administrative Records: Monthly Report of the Academic Record of Acting Midshipmen, 1850-1860: 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 contains monthly reports of the academic record of acting midshipmen that consist of printed forms recording the following information: month, class, department, branch, rank, names of acting midshipmen, grades from weekly reports of professors, and remarks. The reports record grades for the following subjects: mathematics, modern languages, natural philosophy, ethics, seamanship, gunnery, astronomy, field artillery, and infantry tactics. The reports are entitled “superintendent’s reports” for the period October 1850 to May 1859, and “class reports” for October 1859 to November 1860. There are no reports for June to September 1859.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by academic year.

Access and Use

Access

Access is unrestricted.

Copyright and Permission

Use of materials is unrestricted.

Other Finding Aid(s)

National Archives Catalog entry available electronically at: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/3033353.

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

Registers documenting the complete conduct and academic histories for some of the midshipmen mentioned in this entry are found in entry 85: “Register of Delinquencies, 1846-1850, 1854-1882” (NAID: 3033255). Other conduct and academic records related to this entry are found in entry 96: “Monthly Reports of Relative Class Standing, Marks, and Demerits, 1855-1907” (NAID: 3039649). Copies of letters written by the superintendent and the secretary of the navy formally warning and reprimanding midshipmen for academic deficiencies are found in entry 1: “Letters Sent by the Superintendent, 1845-1865” (NAID: 2953622), and entry 4: “Letters Sent by Superintendent George S. Blake, 1857-1865” (NAID: 2983376).

Orders, notices, and other directives pertaining to academic deficiencies documented in this entry are found in entry 45: “Orders of Superintendent Cornelius K. Stribling, 1850-1852,” (NAID: 2990289); entry 46: “Orders of the Superintendent, 1851-1865” (NAID: 2990283); and entry 47: “Orders for the Suspension of Acting Midshipmen, 1856-1862” (NAID: 2990285).

Reports of relative academic standing, deficiency lists and merit rolls pertaining to midshipman grades are found in entry 204: “Journals of the Academic Board, 1854-1942” (NAID: 3179980). Other reports and correspondence of the superintendent, the secretary of the navy, and midshipmen and their parents pertaining to academic deficiencies and resultant dismissals and reappointments are located at the National Archives’ Record Group 45 series: “Letters Received from the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, 1847-1884” (NAID: 1801239).

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: Monthly Report of the Academic Record of Acting Midshipmen, 1850-1860, RG 405.2.3 Entry 91

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 May 2022. Finding aid written by Samuel Limneos in May 2022. 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 -- United States
• Naval education -- United States
• United States Naval Academy - Students
• • United States Naval Academy -- History – 19th century

Genre Terms

• Registers (lists)