Office of the Superintendent/Correspondence: General Correspondence, 1922-1927: 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.

A circular letter dated October 12, 1906, from the Navy Department to chiefs of bureaus and offices 9file No. 942 of 1906) directed the discontinuance of books for indexing and recording briefs of letters received and letters sent. This system was to be replaced by "an index card record system" with a card size of 3 1/4 by 8 inches. Beginning January 1907 separate series of letters sent and letters received with their separate indexes and registers were no longer maintained. Instead, letters sent and received, reports, telegrams, endorsements, and other documents relating to the same subject were filed together under the file or case number designated for that subject. For example, file No. 534 was assigned to surveys and appraisals and file No. 550 to the Bureau of Education. For the period January 1907-March 1911 file numbers were also assigned to, and hence related correspondence was fled under, names of individuals. Fro example, file No. 101 was assigned to Midshipman G. K. Calhoun. Each document filed under the file number was consequently assigned another number beginning with number 1, thus the full file No. 534-5 denoted the fifth document to be filed under survey and appraisals.

Record cards were also prepared for each of the general correspondence files. The file or case number and the filing subject or name appears at the top of each record card. Abstracted on each card in chronological order is the date, name of addressee or writer, contents of each letter, and the full file number. Sometimes the action taken on the letter has been entered on the record card.

In addition, name and subject index cards were also prepared with similar registering of pertinent correspondence files. The index cards reveal the number assigned the subject or individual, as well as related correspondence filed under other subject numbers. For the period April 1911-September 1913, when file numbers were assigned only to subjects, the name index cards are essentially the only means of located correspondence relating to specific individuals.

General correspondence for the period 1913-1922 has been similarly treated except that the index cards have been prepared on 5- by 8-inch cards and no record cards were made. Some of the larger files have been divided into smaller files designated either by subnumbers (e.g. 1-1) or letters (e.g. 1-A). Larger miscellaneous correspondence files have not been indexed as well as some of the other files of the series.

General correspondence for the period 1907-22 related principally to the administration of the Academy with some of the letters sent signed by the aide to the Superintendent and the Secretary of the Academy. Related records, such as annual reports of the boards of visitors, records of proceedings of boards of investigation, summer practice cruise reports, directives, copies of examinations,and routine reports such as inventory, survey, and personnel appraisal reports have been included in the files. Also included is correspondence relating to Academy postgraduate education and to the Reserve Officers' Training Program, 1917-19.

On February 13, 1922, a new filing system was initiated for the Academy that divided all correspondence into five series - personnel, candidate, midshipmen, subjective, and contract. Only two series were maintained in the Superintendent's files - subjective and contract - and only the subjective series is in this record group. It is primarily concerned with the overall administration of the Academy, as well as the Academy's relations with other academic institutions, businesses, newspapers, magazines, professional and learned societies, and private individuals.

In order to identify the correspondence relating to the various departments and branches of the Academy, each department and branch, along with the Superintendent's office, was assigned a principal number (e.g. 26) and jacket number (e.g. 2-1) made up the subject file number (e.g. 26-2-1), which was also to appear on each item of correspondence contained in the file. In addition, a separate communication number was given to each item of correspondence coming into the Superintendent's office, and the same number usually appeared on the copy of the letter sent in reply. Communication numbers were assigned seriatim for each calendar year. Even after the adoption of the Navy Filing Manual system at the Academy, this system of local reference numbers was continued.

Description of Contents

Correspondence files from the Office of the Superintendent from 1922-1927. The correspondence pertains to academy administration; internal security; military and civilian personnel; material supply; public utilities; accidents; academics; professional training; medical services; athletic events; religious services; midshipman welfare, discipline, performance, graduations and assignments; special events; letters from various Navy Bureaus and offices, copies of ALNAV messages, notices, notes, and orders are included among the correspondence.

Arrangement

Arranged according to a duplex numeric filing scheme.

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/2990163.

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 Materials

A name and subject index is available in RG 405.2.1 Entry 38 (ARC Identifier 2990160), and a guide to the filing scheme is available in RG 405.2.1 Entry 37 (ARC Identifier 2990117).

Materials Cataloged Separately

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

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

Office of the Superintendent/Correspondence: General Correspondence, RG 405.2.1 Entry 39

Special Collections & Archives Department

Nimitz Library

United States Naval Academy

Processing Information

Collection inventory was prepared by Alice Gilliland in 2012. Historical sketch and Scope and Content Note prepared by Geraldine N. Phillips and Aloha South in 1975.

Subject Headings

Name and Subject Terms

• Naval education -- United States
• United States Naval Academy
• United States Naval Academy -- Administration
• United States Naval Academy -- Alumni and alumnae
• United States Naval Academy -- Buildings and grounds
• United States Naval Academy -- Curricula
• United States Naval Academy -- Faculty
• United States Naval Academy -- Students.
• United States Naval Academy. Band
• United States Naval Academy. Superintendent

Genre Terms

• Correspondence