Your TR Source
President Roosevelt congratulates and thanks the Navy Department and Admiral Albert Smith Barker for the courage displayed immediately following the explosion aboard the USS Missouri.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-14
President Roosevelt cannot believe the “catastrophe,” referring to the explosion on the USS Missouri, and sends his sympathies to Captain Cowles and all his officers and men. The last telegram from Admiral Albert Smith Barker made Roosevelt feel “pride even over sorrow.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-04-15
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt informs Francis E. Battershell that the newspaper article is a “slanderous…falsehood,” as confirmed by Captain Albert Smith Barker. He wants Battershell to promote Barker’s confirmation in his paper and to rebuke the source of the false information.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-09-17
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt agrees with Captain Mahan about both Hawaii and foreign policy generally. Roosevelt worries about Japan, and feels that the United States should increase its military presence in the Pacific Ocean. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge has spoken with President William McKinley on this topic and “pressed his views upon him with all his strength.” Roosevelt additionally mentions his worries about the international situation in the West Indies. He believes the United States should increase its presence and make sure that no strong European power is allowed to gain a foothold there. The institutional resistance to the build-up of the Navy annoys Roosevelt. He comments to Mahan, however, that Secretary of the Navy John Davis Long agrees with the two of them about Hawaii, and that he hopes for positive action on that front.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-05-03
This exhaustively illustrated account of the Spanish-American war seeks to present the official history of the war according to the United States War Records Office. It encompasses the events leading up to the war, the war itself, as well as its resolution and aftermath. While it mentions the various engagements taking place during the war, most of the focus is on Cuba and the action of the United States Navy and Army in fighting Spanish forces there in support of Cuban rebels. It additionally includes general information on the theaters of war, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
1900
Anna Roosevelt Cowles has read the documents about the collision of the battleships Illinois and Missouri, and she finds Rear Admiral Albert Smith Barker’s statement to be logical. She encourages President Roosevelt to “inquire following the ordinary course as to publishing.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-03-20
Secretary of the Navy Moody updates President Roosevelt on assignments to various positions in the Navy. He looks forward to visiting Roosevelt in Oyster Bay, New York.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-07-21
St. Clair McKelway recommends Admiral Albert Smith Barker for command of the European squadron.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-01-15
St. Clair McKelway describes to President Roosevelt a conversation he had with Rear Admiral Albert Smith Barker, who was very pleased with the appointment of Captain Charles E. Clark to represent the United States at King Edward’s coronation. Barker also commented on Roosevelt’s intended action regarding the Sampson-Schley controversy. Barker admires Sampson but acknowledged that it was unfortunate Schley was “the only man on whom the searchlights were turned.” McKelway asserts that while Barker is a man of broad mind, the navy needs to be saved from cliques which might prevent Roosevelt’s administration from doing what it ought.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-01-15
Captain Mahan emphasizes to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt that he writes only to suggest thoughts or give information–not to influence action. He calls Roosevelt’s attention to two related factors: a previous article he wrote suggesting that the threat to Hawaii is from Asia, rather than Europe, and a situation in South America which saw the United States worried about not having a battleship in the Pacific Ocean. He suggests that a similar situation could now occur if the Japanese have two battleships while the United States has only one. Mahan feels that it is important that the United States begin to prepare its fleets in order to avert potential conflict, saying “preparedness deters the foe,” and helps maintain peace without actually having to fight.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-05-06