Office of the Commandant/Records of Annual Summer Practice Cruises: Materials and Publications Used in Lectures on Naval Customs and Traditions During Summer Practice Cruises, 1940: Finding Aid

History of the Annual Summer Practice Cruises

The first annual midshipman training cruise took place in 1851 aboard the steamer John Hancock and sloop-of-war Preble. The Navy Department assigned the Preble to the Naval Academy as its first training ship. Other vessels that served the academy as practice ships at various times were the U.S.S. Constitution and U.S.S. Constellation. There was no summer practice cruise in 1861 with the outbreak of the Civil War and the academy’s move to its temporary home in Newport, Rhode Island, nor was there a summer cruise in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. In 1909, the midshipmen made their last summer cruise under sail aboard the Civil War veteran U.S.S. Hartford (screw sloop-of-war). After 1909, midshipmen largely performed summer training cruises aboard modern battleships in small dedicated training squadrons. This practice continued, interrupted by World War II (which restricted summer cruises to Chesapeake Bay) until 1958, when the academy instituted the modern practice of distributing midshipmen among active ships of the fleet.

Description of Contents

This entry contains materials and publications used in lectures on naval customs and traditions during summer practice cruises. It includes materials used aboard the U.S. ships Arkansas, Texas, and New York. The material, which is filed for each vessel, includes copies of lectures: Colonel William H. Waldron's "Flags of America" (Huntington, West Virginia, 1935); and the pamphlet "Customs of the Service" (Annapolis, 1935) issued by the academy. Subjects of the lectures include: sea-going language, the shore establishment, the sea establishment and personnel, shipboard organization, etiquette of salutes, etiquette of the flag, and rendering of honors. For the U.S.S. Arkansas, there are other pamphlets relating to the merchant marine, leadership psychology, and navy's inspection system and organization, and outlines of lectures for the first and third classes.

Included for the U.S.S. Texas are James A. Moss's "The Flag of Our United States" (Chicago, 1938); the completed true and false examination given aboard the ship June 21, 1940; a typed copy of an extract of a letter of John Paul Jones to the naval committee of congress, September 14, 1775, relating to the qualifications of a midshipman; and a copy of the navy articles of government.

Arrangement

Unarranged, see container list for folder contents.

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/3164801.

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

Location of Related Materials

Other correspondence, orders, notices, and memoranda, reports, journals and other records related to the academy’s annual summer cruises between 1859 and 1940 may be found in entry 160: “Press Copies of Letters Sent and Orders Issued on Summer Practice Cruises, 1883-1892” (NAID: 3129092); entry 161: “Press Copies of Letters Sent on Summer Practice Cruises, 1894-1902” (NAID: 3129098); entry 162: “Letters Sent, Orders, Memorandums, and Notices Relating to Preparation for and Training of Midshipmen on Summer Practice Cruises, 1907–1909” (NAID: 3129160); entry 163: “Register of Letters Sent by the Squadron Commander, 1910” (NAID: 3129161); entry 164: “Register of Letters Received by the Squadron Commander, 1910” (NAID: 3144191); entry 165: “General Correspondence of the Summer Practice Cruise, 1910” (NAID: 3144193); entry 166: “General Correspondence of the Summer Practice Cruise, 1911” (NAID: 3144194); entry 167: “General Correspondence of the Summer Practice Cruise, 1914” (NAID: 3144196); entry 168: “Register of Communications Received and Forwarded by the Commander of the Practice Squadron, 1914” (NAID: 3144198); entry 169: “General Correspondence of the Summer Practice Cruise, 1914-1915” (NAID: 3144212); entry 170: “General Correspondence of the Summer Practice Cruise, 1916” (NAID: 3144354); entry 171: “Correspondence of the Commander of the Midshipmen's Practice Squadron, 1927–1928” (NAID: 3144356); entry 172: “Press Copies of Orders Issued on Summer Practice Cruises, 1892–1902” (NAID: 3144358); entry 173: “Reports Submitted by the U.S. Ships Massachusetts, Indiana, and Iowa to the Commanding Officer of the Summer Practice Squadron, 1910” (NAID: 3144480); entry 174: “Class Reports for Summer Practice Cruises Aboard the U.S. Ships Florida and Nevada, 1904” (NAID: 3144483); entry 175: “Class Reports for Summer Practice Cruises, 1904–1916” (NAID: 3144494); entry 176: “Logbook of a Summer Practice Cruise Aboard the Practice Ship U.S.S. Plymouth, 1859” (NAID: 3144720); entry 177: “Logbook of a Summer Practice Cruise Aboard the Practice Ship U.S.S. Plymouth, 1860” (NAID: 3164782); entry 178: “Journal of Operations and Movements of Ships on the Midshipmen's Summer Practice Cruise, 1916” (NAID: 3164793); and entry 179: “Signal Drill Record Book, 1910” (NAID: 3164796).

Materials Cataloged Separately

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

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

Office of the Commandant/Records of Annual Summer Practice Cruises: Materials and Publications Used in Lectures on Naval Customs and Traditions During Summer Practice Cruises, 1940, RG 405.3.2 Entry 180

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 April 2023. Finding aid written by Samuel Limneos in May 2023. 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
• United States Naval Academy -- History – 20th century
• United States Naval Academy -- Midshipmen -- Cruises
• United States Naval Academy -- Social Life and Customs
• United States Naval Academy. Commandant of Midshipmen

Genre Terms

• Lectures
• Pamphlets