Office of the Superintendent/Administrative Records: Reports of Relative Standing and Deficiencies and Merit Rolls, 1866-1867: 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 general merit rolls or merit rolls for each midshipman class, reports of midshipmen at sea on summer practice cruises, monthly reports of relative standing and conduct of classes in various branches of study, and reports indicating midshipmen found to be deficient and recommended to be dropped from the rolls or to be reexamined. The reports are folded and bound into two volumes.

The general merit rolls typically record the results of semi-annual or annual examinations and document the class number and total number of class members, and each midshipman’s name, order of general merit number, and marks in seamanship, naval tactics, gunnery, fencing, steam engineering, navigation, physics, law, Spanish or French, and other academic subjects depending on class; and the midshipman’s final aggregate number and number of demerits. The reports of midshipmen at sea on summer practice cruises typically document the class number and total number of class members, and each midshipman’s name and marks in seamanship, gunnery, and navigation; and marks for aptitude as an officer, “activity aloft,” attention to duty, reliability, and deportment; along with the midshipman’s final average for the cruise and a remarks column typically containing candid annotations regarding the midshipman’s attention to duty, intelligence, fitness and enthusiasm, and routine matters such as leave of absence. The monthly reports of relative standing and conduct typically record each midshipman’s marks in seamanship, gunnery, fencing, steam engineering, astronomy and surveying, natural and experimental philosophy, and French or Spanish, along with the monthly and annual number of incurred, removed, and remaining demerits. The reports of midshipmen found deficient document the midshipman’s name, from whence appointed, class number, age and time at the academy in years and months, subjects in which deficient, aptitude for study, habits with regard to study, general conduct, and aptitude for the naval service. The reports also contain a remarks column with comments regarding the final recommendation.

The volume for 1867 also includes a monthly report of midshipmen under punishment, and monthly reports of midshipmen serving guard duty. The reports are signed by the superintendent and/or the commandant of midshipmen and addressed to the secretary of the navy or the Navy Department.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically and thereunder by type of report.

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/3039645.

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 monthly reports of relative class standing in these two volumes are copied in entry 96: “Monthly Reports of Relative Class Standing, Marks, and Demerits, 1855-1907” (NAID: 3039649). 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). Later conduct and academic records are found in entry 98: “Reports of Examination Grades of Midshipmen, 1872-1879” (NAID: 3039658). 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 3: “Press Copies of Letters Sent by the Superintendent, 1865-1911” (NAID: 2980540).

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); and the Record Group 24 series: “Records Concerning Naval Cadets, 1862-1910” (NAID: 2524308).

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: Reports of Relative Standing and Deficiencies and Merit Rolls, 1866-1867, RG 405.2.3 Entry 95

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

Genre Terms

• Registers (lists)
• reports