United States. Navy

Letter from Madeline Thomas to C. H. Davis

Sister Madeline asks if Rear Admiral Davis would be willing to send two white American children, Ada Manguall and Norman Manguall, back to the United States. She provides the address of their mother and explains that their father left the children as boarders. She feels that at this time the Deaconess Home’s resources are better geared towards helping those Jamaicans on the island who need their help following the earthquake.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Letter from Arthur Bainbridge Hoff to Edwin C. Pendleton

Lieutenant-Commander Hoff, of the USS Missouri, expands upon his report from the previous day on the aid provided by the United States Navy following the earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica. Upon arrival, food and supplies were administered by Paymaster Barron P. DuBois. Hospitals and medical care were assessed by military personnel. Under the command of Midshipmen Douglas Legate Howard, the archives from the U.S. Embassy were protected and removed. Howard’s team went on to assist in removing unsafe and damaged buildings. Another patrol aided local authorities in preventing looting. Supplies were distributed to destitute Americans on the island. Considering the situation, the hospitals were properly functioning and the water supply was untainted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Letter from Lawrence G. Haughey

Assistant Paymaster Haughey requests his leave be extended until he can get transportation back to the base, as he has been caught without transportation back to his naval base. He is not sure that his telegram to the commandant at Guantanamo has gone through.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Letter from E. F. Hall to D. H. Mahon

Paymaster E. F. Hall reports updates on the U.S. emergency response in Jamaica following the earthquakes. Famine is kept mostly at bay, though certain provisions are difficult to obtain. He notices that there are still many injured people who have not received medical care. With the help of local priests, they assist some injured people in receiving that care. The British troops, however, are not being as helpful as they could be.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Letter from H. C. Dinger to Dennis H. Mahan

Lieutenant Dinger reports on the damage to the electric power house and ice making plant in Kingston, Jamaica, after the earthquake. He estimates that the electric power house can be fixed in a week and the ice plant will take several weeks.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Letter from C. H. Davis to Lawrence G. Haughey

Rear Admiral C. H. Davis informs Assistant Paymaster Lawrence G. Haughey that he has permission to extend his leave until he can obtain transportation to Guantanamo, Cuba.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Letter from Dennis H. Mahan to C. H. Davis

Captain Mahan reports to Rear Admiral Davis about the condition of Kingston harbor, courtesy of John K. Robison, navigator of the USS Indiana.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-19

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

Letter from John Low Sticht to Dennis H. Mahan

Lieutenant Sticht reports on the United States Navy landing force under his command, which assisted the local forces in quelling a prison riot following an earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica. The warden was pleased with their performance, and others thought that if the U.S. forces had not arrived to help, the case would have been lost.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Memorandum from Arthur Bainbridge Hoff to Edwin C. Pendleton

Lieutenant-Commander Hoff, of the USS Missouri, notifies Captain Pendleton that he arrived in Jamaica with fifty men, including Lieutenant William P. Scott, Midshipman Richard S. Edwards, Gunner Robert E. Cox, and Carpenter Harry E. Cooper, and began removing damaged walls and clearing deceased bodies following the recent earthquake. Hoff and six others protected the United States Embassy while its archives were safely extracted as well as stopped looters and protected property.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Memorandum from Dennis H. Mahan to C. H. Davis

Captain Mahan provides a detailed chronology of events that occurred and work completed by U.S. forces in Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Report from J. F. Green to Dennis H. Mahan

Lieutenant Green reports on the work of his men in Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake. The men were split into two parties: one to exhume dead bodies from the ruins and the other to pull down dangerous walls. Green describes in detail the work accomplished by both parties.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Letter from Joseph P. Eustace, et al. to C. H. Davis

Joseph P. Eustace and committee reports that there are a number of American refugees on the Hamburg-American Wharf and requests that Rear Admiral Davis send an officer to investigate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Letter from C. H. Henry to Barron P. DuBois

Rear Admiral C. H. Davis orders Commanding Officer Barron P. DuBois to issue stores from the Missouri to be distributed in Kingston, Jamaica, in response to the earthquake.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Letter from C. H. Henry to Dennis H. Mahan

Rear Admiral C. H. Davis orders Commanding Officer Dennis H. Mahan to issue stores from the U.S.S. Indiana to be distributed in Kingston, Jamaica, in response to the earthquake.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Letter from Robley D. Evans to C. H. Davis

Rear Admiral Evans informs Rear Admiral Davis that he is sending the USS Yankton to Kingston, Jamaica, with two press agents, to communicate with Davis and to deliver bandages and other supplies. Evans directs Davis to send back as soon as possible any communications for Evans and anything the public should know. Any medical officers not required in Kingston should be sent back on the Yankton, as well, so they may return to their ships. Davis should return with the two battleships as soon as they are no longer needed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Telegram from Edwin Alexander Anderson to C. H. Davis

Commander Anderson of the USS Whipple reports to Rear Admiral Davis of the USS Missouri that the channel has changed, the marks are down, the pilot brought the Whipple in using private lights, no landing force was necessary, and no medical assistance was needed. Anderson also notes that there is a food shortage ashore, and they have no food to give.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Letter from A. T. Mahan to Theodore Roosevelt

Rear Admiral Mahan is very worried about reports that claim U. S. Naval ships will be situated in the Pacific. Fearing U. S. forces are vastly inferior to Japan’s, Mahan posits that war with Japan could devolve into a very poor situation for the United States. Should warfare with Japan commence, the United States’ ties to the Philippines and Hawaii might be in danger.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-10

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

Memorandum from Albert H. Howe to William Loeb

Albert H. Howe is frustrated by Commander John Allen Dougherty’s delay in sailing to his position as naval attaché in Tokyo. Dougherty has been directed three times to leave, and his living quarters have been established and set up, yet he still has not physically made his way to Tokyo. This is causing distress and slowing down normal work procedures.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-11