Records of Boards/Records of the Board for the Examination of Midshipmen: Register Showing in Detail the Mode of Marking Examinations in Navigation, Languages, Seamanship, Gunnery, and Steam, 1872: Finding Aid

History of the Board for the Examination of Midshipmen

The Navy Department appointed boards composed of naval officers for the examination of midshipmen entitled to promotion as early as 1836 at Baltimore. Later boards met at Philadelphia until June 1846, when the site changed to Annapolis. The board of examiners, in collaboration with the academy’s academic board, convened to determine qualified acting midshipmen’s suitability for promotion to “passed-midshipman.” Examinations gauged midshipmen’s academic proficiency, professional naval skills based on their cruise journals and answers to inquiries, and moral character and fitness for the naval profession supported by testimonials written by their former commanding officers.

Description of Contents

This entry contains a register showing in detail the mode of marking examinations in navigation, languages, seamanship, gunnery, and steam. The register records the surname of the student, the name of each department or subject in which he received an examination (navigation, languages, seamanship, gunnery, and steam), and number of questions, grades received in the first five categories established for each question, average of the five scores, and average for the entire examination.

No dates are entered on the pages of the register. There are two inscriptions on the front pastedown that read: "July 9, 1872, Results of the remainder of the class of Midshipmen who graduated in 1869" and "This book is no part of the record but is left with it to show in detail the mode of marking." An unidentified signature appears under the last inscription.

Arrangement

Arranged by surname of student.

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/3179972.

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 records relating to the examination of midshipmen may be found in entry 202: “Journals of Proceedings for the Examination of Midshipmen, 1836–1880” (NAID: 3179960); and entry 204: “Journals of the Academic Board, 1854-1985” (NAID: 3179980).

Materials Cataloged Separately

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

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

Records of Boards/Records of the Board for the Examination of Midshipmen: Register Showing in Detail the Mode of Marking Examinations in Navigation, Languages, Seamanship, Gunnery, and Steam, 1872, RG 405.6.1 Entry 203

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 -- Curricula
• United States Naval Academy -- Examinations
• United States Naval Academy -- Faculty
• United States Naval Academy -- History -- 19th century
• United States Naval Academy -- Students
• United States Naval Academy. Academic Board
• United States Naval Academy. Board of Examiners

Genre Terms

• Examinations
• Instructional materials
• Registers (lists)