Military operations, Naval

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt has forwarded Senator Lodge’s letter to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Truman Handy Newberry. Roosevelt thinks the USS Constitution should be at Annapolis rather than taken out of commission. The media campaign regarding the fleet’s trip to the Pacific will likely have no effect, as Roosevelt feels there is public support for the action. Senator Eugene Hale of the Committee on Naval Affairs has been trying to negatively influence Newberry, but Roosevelt has told Newberry to ignore the sentiments.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Victor Howard Metcalf to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of the Navy Metcalf returns to President Roosevelt a letter from James F. J. Archibald detailing what Archibald feels is necessary to provide adequate Naval defense for the Pacific coast. Metcalf also sends a report from the General Board of the Navy, as requested by William Loeb, Roosevelt’s secretary. Metcalf states he agrees with the board’s report.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-01

Creator(s)

Metcalf, Victor Howard, 1853-1936

Letter from Robert A. Abernathy to Dennis H. Mahan

Lieutenant Abernathy describes the USS Indiana‘s relief efforts after the Kingston, Jamaica, earthquake: clearing of King Street and Harbor Street, tearing down unsafe walls, searching for survivors, and disposing of victims’ bodies. Abernathy states that his men, including L. Cresap and W. C. Barker, continued their work until Admiral C. H. Davis sent orders to return to their ship. Abernathy also mentions that Mr. Morrison offered all the assistance he could.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Creator(s)

Abernathy, Robert A. (Robert Andrew), 1880-1961

Letter from James F. J. Archibald to Theodore Roosevelt

James F. J. Archibald reports to President Roosevelt on the submarine defense of the Pacific Coast and the Hawaiian Islands. Archibald believes America to be “so far behind” other nations in this area of marine warfare—particularly Great Britain, France, and Japan. Upon visiting principal cities and harbors, he finds the Pacific Coast and Hawaiian Islands in a “deplorably defenseless position” and notes that the people living in these areas feel vulnerable because of the large extent of “oriental labor and immigration.” Whereas guns and mines are not ideal defense weapons because of the foggy weather, Archibald feels the Pacific Coast is prime territory for the use of submarines due to the large harbors, climates, and topography of the region. Archibald details the number of submarines and personnel he believes to be needed at each of four geographic locations–the Puget Sound, the mouth of the Columbia River, the San Francisco Bay, and the San Diego Bay–as well as the costs of these fortifications, and he emphasizes that his opinions are shared by military officers and civilian experts.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-02

Creator(s)

Archibald, James F. J. (Francis Jewell), 1871-

Telegram from Joseph Bullock Coghlan to William H. Moody

USS Truxton reported that everything was quiet on the northeast coast. USS Newport sighted Pinzon, a Colombian ship, heading north. The Sasardi chief is now supporting Panama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-15

Creator(s)

Coghlan, Joseph Bullock, 1844-1908

Memorandum from the Office of Naval Intelligence

There has been a considerable amount of activity in the past week near the railroad in Manchuria, and the Russians seem to be falling back rapidly. The key to the Russian position is Kirin, and the Japanese appear to be moving on it from the east, southeast, and south. Japan can now move her forces and supplies by sea with complete safety.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-23

Creator(s)

United States. Office of Naval Intelligence

What now?

The writer discusses the factors leading to the Japanese victories over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War as well as the controversy surrounding proposed negotiations for peace.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-23

Creator(s)

Unknown

Memorandum from the Office of Naval Intelligence

No change in the positions of the Russian and Japanese armies were noted this week. It is rumored that Japan has occupied a strategic point eighty miles east of Kirin. The defeat of Admiral Zinoviĭ Petrovich Rozhestvenskiĭ in the Sea of Japan leaves the Japanese a more direct route through which to deliver troops and supplies to armies in the field.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-09

Creator(s)

United States. Office of Naval Intelligence

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to John Hay

President Roosevelt tells Secretary of State Hay that he is confused by Emile Loubet’s telegram of April 30. Roosevelt was under the impression that the American squadron would not dock anywhere on the continent of Europe. He points out that fleet arrangements should not be altered without the President’s sanction.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Louis Alexander Mountbatten

Theodore Roosevelt thinks that when World War I goes in history, it will be recognized that Admiral Louis Alexander Mountbatten’s action in connection with the mobilization of the British Fleet was one of two or three critical things which the Allies did that allowed them to neutralize the extraordinary German efficiency. Roosevelt assures Mountbatten that he will receive credit for this. Roosevelt also sends Mountbatten a copy of an article he has written in which he references Mountbatten’s actions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-10-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur R. Pardington

Theodore Roosevelt writes that while he is glad to meet another naval militia man in Arthur R. Pardington, he does not think Pardington’s plan would work.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-01-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Hermann Speck von Sternburg

President Roosevelt thanks Ambassador Sternburg for the interesting pamphlet and letter. He agrees that Sternburg does not need to be present with the yachtsmen and describes his plan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Paul Morton

Secretary of the Navy Morton should keep President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hay informed about any action by American cruisers in Shanghai.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alvey A. Adee

President Roosevelt tells Acting Secretary of State Adee not to state in his instructions that the Navy will not interfere. Roosevelt does not want conclusive committal and asks that Adee consult Secretary of State John Hay before taking any step of importance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alvey A. Adee

President Roosevelt approves of Acting Secretary of State Adee’s views and tells him to let Consuls General Fowler and Goodnow, at Che-fu and Shanghai, respectively, act in accordance with them. Adee is to ask Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles Hial Darling to warn Admiral Yates Stirling to keep a sharp lookout so that he will not be taken by surprise. Stirling must be allowed to act to preserve American rights against either combatant (presumably China and Russia).

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alvey A. Adee

President Roosevelt thanks Acting Secretary of State Adee for the copy of the notes regarding the decision of the Russian Prize Court concerning the Arabia. He agrees that Count Lamzdorf’s principle is “unsound, vicious, and untenable,” and instructs Adee to respond that the United States will not assent to it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Paul Morton

President Roosevelt does not think Lieutenant Colonel Waller should be ordered to the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Memorandum from William W. Wotherspoon for James Franklin Bell

General Wotherspoon attaches a memorandum by Captain Sherwood Alfred Cheney to General Bell in connection to the memorandum from Bell’s office dated March 5, 1908. Wotherspoon agrees with Cheney’s conclusions. The line of occupation and defense in Subic Bay is longer than estimated. A copy of the memorandum and duplicates of maps are filed with other papers connected with Subic Bay.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-19

Creator(s)

Wotherspoon, William W. (William Wallace), 1850-1921

Letter from Robert Means Thompson to Theodore Roosevelt

Robert Means Thompson reports on a successful return of the Channel Fleet from exercises in the North Sea. Thompson also plans to take a yachting trip to meet with several Japanese generals he had previously befriended and asks President Roosevelt if, given the current tensions between the United States and Japan, there are any talking points he should or should not bring up.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-26

Creator(s)

Thompson, Robert Means, 1849-1930

Report on the United States navy

A listing of the naval strength of the American navy, listing the battleships, armored cruisers, cruisers, defense vessels, destroyers, torpedo boats, and submarines, and noting which are or are not currently available.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-30

Creator(s)

United States. Office of Naval Intelligence