Muster Rolls of the Officers and Men attached to the New York Navy Yard, 1813-1815: Finding Aid

History of the New York Navy Yard

The New York Navy Yard, known alternately as the New York Naval Shipyard and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was established along New York's East River in 1801 in what is now the Borough of Brooklyn. Originally measuring 42 acres in size, the Navy Yard grew to a maximum size of 356 acres during World War II. Founded as one of the county's first six federal yards for the construction and repair of U.S. Navy vessels. At its peak, the New York Navy Yard's facilities included six dry docks, the oldest of which was commissioned in 1851 (the nation's third oldest overall).

While its earliest years witnessed little activity, the New York Navy Yard increased in both size and significance during the War of 1812. Expanded by 131 acres in 1810, the Yard outfitted or armed over 100 vessels for the war effort, although it would not construct its first warship until laying the keel of U.S.S. Ohio (Ship-of-the-line) in 1817. Developing into one of the Navy's premier centers of shipbuilding, the New York Navy Yard was also home one of the Navy's intellectual centers, hosting the United States Naval Lyceum from its founding in 1833 until its dissolution in 1889. Four years after the founding of the Lyceum, the New York Navy Yard would launch the Navy's first successful steam warship, U.S.S. Fulton.

During the Civil War, the Yard proved crucial to the warfighting efforts of the Union Navy. Constructing over a dozen Navy vessels and converting over 400 commercial vessels for Navy use, the New York Navy Yard launched U.S.S. Adirondack, Ticonderoga, Shamrock, Mackinaw, Peoria, Tullahoma, Maumee, Nyack, Wampanoag, and the ironclad Mianonomah, while also fitting out and arming U.S.S. Monitor.

In the twentieth century, the New York Navy Yard became known for its construction of battleships. In 1904, the Yard launched U.S.S. Connecticut, which would go on to serve as flagship of the Great White Fleet. Thereafter, the Yard would launch the dreadnaughts U.S.S. Florida, New York, Arizona, New Mexico, and Tennessee. During World War II, the Yard would also launch the Iowa class battleships U.S.S. Iowa and Missouri. After the war, operations at the Navy Yard were reduced, although New York was still awarded the contracts for the construction of the Forrestal class aircraft carriers U.S.S. Saratoga and the Kitty Hawk class carrier U.S.S. Constellation, the latter of which was one of the last major warships constructed in New York. Its inability to construct nuclear powered vessels, combined with its precarious location upriver of two of the East River's major bridges, eventually resulted in the New York Navy Yard's closure in June 1966.

Description of Contents

The Muster Rolls of the Officers and Men attached to the New York Navy Yard, comprising 0.23 linear feet of documentation in a single volume of 113 leaves, span from 1813 to 1815. The volume consists of muster rolls for the New York Navy Yard and harbor defense gunboats at New York during the War of 1812.

Bearing the full title "Muster Rolls of the Officers and Men attached to the New York Navy Yard and to the Gunboat Flotilla based at New York," the volume consists of muster rolls for the individual gunboats, and for the flotilla in general, defending New York Harbor. Also included are muster rolls for the New York Navy Yard and vessels held in ordinary at the Yard, as well as a list of officers attached to the New York station.

Arrangement

The Muster Rolls of the Officers and Men attached to the New York Navy Yard comprise a single volume.

Access and Use

Access

Patron use restricted to microfilm and digital surrogates.

Copyright and Permission

The Muster Rolls of the Officers and Men attached to the New York Navy Yard are the physical property of Nimitz Library. Copyright belongs to the authors or creators of the works, or their legal representatives. For further information, consult the Head, Special Collections & Archives.

It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure written permission to publish, reprint, or reproduce material from Special Collections & Archives. The researcher assumes responsibility for infringement of copyright or literary or publication rights. Please contact the Head, Special Collections & Archives for permission to publish and for further information.

Acquisition and Appraisal

Provenance and Acquisition

Found in office. Accessioned on September 4, 1942. Accession No. 96179.

Related Materials

Location of Copies or Alternate Formats

Digital copies of the Muster Rolls of the Officers and Men attached to the New York Navy Yard are available in the USNA Digital Collections at https://usna.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USNA_INST/t2tcj0/alma991003378559706751.

This collection also available on microfilm.

Related Archival Material

Later documentation of the operations of the New York Navy Yard in this repository can be found in the Samuel Livingston Breese Papers, 1855-1870, MS 318.

Other documentation pertaining to the New York Navy Yard can be found in the Records Relating to the Closure of New York Naval Shipyard, 1965 - 1966 at the National Archives and Records Administration.

Materials Cataloged Separately

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

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

Muster Rolls of the Officers and Men attached to the New York Navy Yard, MS 93

Special Collections & Archives Department

Nimitz Library

United States Naval Academy

Selected Bibliography

The following sources were consulted during preparation of the biographical note:

Brooklyn Navy Yard Historic District. Washington: United States Department of the Interior; National Park Service, April 7, 2014, access May 4, 2020, https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/14000261.pdf

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Mary R. Catalfamo. Finding aid written by David D'Onofrio in May 2020.

Subject Headings

Name and Subject Terms

• New York Naval Shipyard -- History -- 19th century
• United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Naval operations
• United States. Navy -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
• United States. Navy -- History -- War of 1812

Genre Terms

• Manuscripts
• Muster rolls