Your TR Source
If any applications arrive for a priest position in the Navy with Father Doyle’s support, then President Roosevelt can be sure that the applicant is dependable.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-14
W. W. Kimball reviews his theories on the organization, training, and outfitting of torpedo-boats.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-14
Mary W. Owens’s father, George Welshman Owens, was responsible for obtaining the appointment of James Dunwody Bulloch to the Navy in the late 1830s. Original and typewritten copy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-14
Bradley T. Johnson thanks President Roosevelt for his letter. He explains that the main thing he has to live for is the success of his grandson and writes to Roosevelt about his grandson’s options of joining the Army or Navy. Johnson mentions the possibility of Congress increasing the President’s power of appointment to military academies. He hopes to call on Roosevelt sometime soon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-11
Should there be a vacancy, H. W. Raymond requests to be considered for the position of assistant secretary of the Navy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-05
Poultney Bigelow writes on behalf of his friend, Walter Neef, whose son would like to enter the American Navy. He hopes President Roosevelt can help Neef. In a postscript, Bigelow comments on Emperor Nicholas II’s visit to France which he thought went very poorly.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-09-30
Richard Wainwright wishes that President Roosevelt had been permitted to wait and be elected president in 1904, but he is pleased that the public can grieve for William McKinley while not fearing the future. Wainwright is appalled when he thinks of his efforts to persuade Roosevelt to stay with the navy as Roosevelt has been able to accomplish so much.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-09-23
Captain McCalla has followed President Roosevelt’s career with interest and admiration. Along with the rest of the nation, McCalla has grieved for President McKinley but cannot think of anyone else better qualified to assume the presidency than Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s friends in the Navy believe that the Roosevelt administration will bring “great good to the service.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-09-17
The dispatch, which was printed in a variety of Associated Press newspapers on May 30 and May 31, 1898, reveals that American warships have located and trapped the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. The Americans have also captured a coal ship meant for the Spanish fleet. The dispatch also reports that the temperature is 110 degrees in the shade, and that the American warships involved include the Brooklyn, Texas, Massachusetts, Iowa, Marblehead, and Vixen.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1898-05-29
Secretary of the Navy Long tells Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt that when Long is absent from the Department, Roosevelt can sign all orders and other papers “appertaining to such duties.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-04-21
Captain Mahan sends Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt some of his various thoughts about naval and international matters. Emphasizing that he does not want Roosevelt to think he aims to do more than suggest ideas for consideration, Mahan draws Roosevelt’s attention to a news article suggesting Japan’s proposed program of building ships, and muses about United States relations with the Asian nation. Mahan feels that there is more chance of naval trouble in the Pacific than the Atlantic, and believes that former president Grover Cleveland should have fully annexed Hawaii when he had the chance.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-05-01
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
Hermann Speck von Sternburg congratulates Theodore Roosevelt on his new appointment in the Navy. He discusses hunting and his opinions on various rifles and of the Navy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-05-08
As requested, Superintendent of Naval War Records Edward Kirk Rawson forwards Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt a memorandum listing incidents connected with the history of the United States Navy that could be possible subjects in a series of historical paintings.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-06-05
Senator Chandler agrees with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt on acquiring the guns for the United States’ commercial ships and torpedo boats and that deciding on a general policy about the Navy’s size before building any additional large ships would be wise. Chandler wants to find some way to force Andrew Carnegie and the Bethlehem Iron Company to make plate armor on mutually agreed-upon terms. Roosevelt does not need to say anymore about the “infernal gunboat,” as hopefully it served as a good lesson. He sends a letter from Howell to be read only by Roosevelt and Secretary of the Navy John D. Long. Chandler asks when a warship is going to Havana, Cuba.
The “infernal gunboat” is a reference to an administrative issue with the USS Newport.
Richard Wainwright thanks Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt for his kind letter and the esteem that he expressed for him. He values Roosevelt’s praise very highly, not only because of Roosevelt’s high office, but also because of his personal character. Wainwright’s personal and official relations with Roosevelt have given him hope that the Navy will be established on a sound basis.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-11-10
Holmes E. Offley is being reinstated in the Pension Office for the purpose of transfer to the Navy Department.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-11-13
Rear Admiral Higginson writes Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt praising him for his report which emphasizes investing in training Navy personnel. Higginson favors the current bill and hopes it does not die in Congress. However, the selection clause in the bill is as divisive among Navy personnel as the silver currency issue is in Congress. He hopes this bill will make for a more unified, organized Navy for the future.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1898-01-10
Representative Cockran believes that Thomas B. Connery would be an excellent selection for paymaster in the Navy and urges Secretary Roosevelt to hire him.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1898-03-07
Henry White informs Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt that his team has been able to purchase a ship, the Amazonas, from the Brazilian Government. He also discusses personnel changes directed by Roosevelt’s department, and hopes that he can return home for a visit if war does not break out. He additionally wishes Mrs. Roosevelt a speedy recovery from an illness.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1898-03-18