United States. Navy Dept. Bureau of Construction and Repair

President Roosevelt is forming an Advisory Board on Fuels and Structural Materials to investigate greater efficiency and safety in fuels, construction materials, and mining. Roosevelt has invited representatives of government offices engaged in construction and engineering, industry experts, and representatives from national engineering and similar organizations to serve as members. Roosevelt has appointed Rear Admiral W. L. Capps to serve as an ex-officio member as Chief of the United States Navy Department Bureau of Construction and Repair.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-03-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt asks Acting Secretary of the Navy Newberry to send him reports from seagoing officers in addition to reports from W. L. Capps and the Bureau of Construction. While Roosevelt was convinced that William Sowden Sims, Albert L. Key, and Cameron McRae Winslow exaggerated the defects of battleships, Roosevelt is worried that there may still be some merit to their complaints.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt regretfully accepts Rear Admiral Bowles’s resignation of his commission as a naval constructor and appointment as Chief Constructor of the United States Navy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt informs William Amos Bancroft that the Navy Department does not intend to discharge P. E. Smythe who was recently transferred from the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts to the Bureau of Construction and Repair.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-10-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt sends C. S. Hammond a pamphlet on American naval policy and a copy of the Bureau of Construction and Repair’s annual report listing all vessels in the Navy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-09-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-09-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Weaver, W. D. (William Dixon), 1857-1919

Language

English

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt informs Secretary of the Navy Long that he issued the order to Francis T. Bowles and will think over the proposition to abolish the Yards and Docks by merging it with the Bureau of Construction and Repair. He discusses his initial thoughts that the plan is undesirable and comments on the question of dry docks and the matter of torpedo boats. Roosevelt believes sending French Ensor Chadwick to England to learn about naval administration would be beneficial. He will be with the squadron next week.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-09-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Secretary of the Navy Newberry proposes a plan to reorganize the administration of the Navy Department. He believes it is within his and President Roosevelt’s authority to make administrative changes and that these changes will be so positive that Congress will make them permanent by law. Newberry suggests changes to the membership of the General Board, the role of the Assistant Secretary, and the organization of the Board on Construction, and details what these changes will entail.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-12

Creator(s)

Newberry, Truman Handy, 1864-1945

Secretary of the Navy Metcalf, in response to President Roosevelt’s recent request, assures Roosevelt that the Department of the Navy is already preparing sketches of battleships with 14-inch guns. Metcalf details the progress of such plans, which are anticipated to be well developed by the end of December.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-17

Creator(s)

Metcalf, Victor Howard, 1853-1936

Captain Richmond Pearson Hobson has read the papers President Roosevelt asked Albert L. Key to show him and is in favor of Roosevelt’s special message. He has some suggestions if Roosevelt will meet with him. Key has heard that Admiral George Albert Converse is basing his report on misleading data from the Bureau of Ordnance and the Bureau of Construction and Repair. Roosevelt was right to talk to Captain Cameron McRae Winslow before acting on the report. Thankfully, the facts will quickly be discovered after the report is submitted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-02

Creator(s)

Key, Albert L. (Albert Lenoir), 1860-1950

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Newberry explains in detail to Senator Hale of Maine how expenditures for current repairs to the U.S.S. Oregon and Massachusetts, as well as planned naval maneuvers in August and September, violate neither “the letter or the spirit of the existing law.” Newberry will call Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf’s attention to Hale’s concerns on his return.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Creator(s)

Newberry, Truman Handy, 1864-1945

George Albert Converse, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, issues a memorandum responding to a prior memorandum by Commander Cameron McRae Winslow. While Converse agrees with the conclusions Winslow makes, he takes issue with several comments concerning the design of warships and alleging that line officers who would actually be captaining the ships had not been consulted in their design. Converse defends the method of designing ships upon the recommendations of the General Board, and does not believe it is necessary for Congress to intervene in the process, as the greater amount of time required for the process would exacerbate the danger of beginning construction on ships that are immediately outdated.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-19

Creator(s)

Converse, George Albert, 1844-1909

In a memorandum, Commander Sims addresses the need to appoint a new Engineer-in-Chief for the Navy. The Board on Construction’s sudden decision in 1904 to design smaller battleships was due to Senator Eugene Hale’s influence with the Engineer-in-Chief and the Board. Hale has a history of influencing the Navy, and Sims recommends appointing a new Engineer-in-Chief who is not controlled by Hale.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-01

Creator(s)

Sims, William Sowden, 1858-1936

Summary of thirteen letters addressing the question of the distribution of water line belt armor on battleships in the United States Navy. Summarized letters include discussions between admirals, government reports, letters from the Bureau of Construction, and information from international sources.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-03

Creator(s)

United States. Department of the Navy

This report records a series of documents, primarily from Admiral W. L. Capps, Constructor of the Navy, answering recent criticisms about some naval vessels in the United States Navy. These criticisms centered on the height of the freeboard of the ships, their water-line armor distribution, and the ammunition hoists used, among other topics. The report contains a statement by Capps, a report of a relevant discussion by the British Royal Navy, a number of diagrams detailing armor distribution, and a record of hearings conducted by the House Committee on Naval Affairs. Capps refutes the criticism by correcting several misunderstandings about terminology, explaining the rationale behind some shipbuilding decisions, and mentioning that several issues have already been corrected in newer ships.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-19

Creator(s)

United States. Congress. Senate

The Department of the Navy provides a list of commissioned vessels and their current stations. An additional section details ships under construction and projected completion dates.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-08

Creator(s)

United States. Department of the Navy

The recommendation that every armored vessel currently under construction or built in the future be outfitted with at least one submerged torpedo tube is under review. The Board of Construction is investigating the addition of torpedo tubes to the ships currently being built. The Naval Gun Factory has been directed to manufacture twenty tubes. A report will soon be available outlining what can be done, the cost, and a timeline for completion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-06

Creator(s)

O'Neil, Charles, 1842-1927