n3T-SO1L CRBI 012698 GUIDE TO THE RECORDS OF 1JIL BOSTON NAVAL SHIPYARD COMPILED BY EDWARD HANSON rebniary 1952 A7237 osflc Metorandun Te Chief Planning Historic Preservation oston R14 Huseus Curator Boston NHP Subject Char its town Navy Yard Itecort Attached is copy of Guide to the acords of the Boston Ravel Shlpysrdfr compiled by Archives TechiiciaflTL Hanson This guide serves useful functions it provides our first inventory of archival and related records of the Boston Iaval Shipyard No such record nisted previously Secondly the guide provides way to locate the records both on paper and physically as they are stored in the past we had no systematIc method by which to organize and record the records and attempts to find information were usually extremely haphazard and time consisting This system is not perfect and still takes time to use But now both our knowledge of the collection and cur ability to use It are vastly improved Record Group is organized according to the final organizational charts sf the shipyard so that records produced by the various shipyard departs meats are filed according to those various departments The Table of Contents of Bocord Group is located between pegs 11 and page 12 provides the basic organization of the records according to the shipyard organizational structure To use this system it helps to look over the shipyard organizational chart APflliX pages 82121 Appendix pages 122131 is also useful in that it lists navy shops departments divisions and functions alphabetically along with other relevant retrieval information We have considered that subject index woul4 be helpful In sate cases but we feel that the time and cost of developing such en Index for the Navy Yard would be prohibitive costing much more than It would save Record is separated from Record Group iacause the former contains records related to the shipyard but generally not produced by shipyard departttent This smaller group is listed in detail en pages to Si Any consents on the guide are welcome Peter Steele PSTEflE pJ r2/2/82 bcc Chief Visitor Services SNAP iHistor Ian NHP Historical Architect BlIMP Lirbary TechnIcian Building BlIMP Regional Curator MAR CRBISE o\a% GUIDE TO THE RECORDS OF THE BOSTON NAVAL SHIPYARD Record Group Boston Naval Shipyard Record Group Related Collections Compiled by Edward Han on goston National Historical Park 1981 TABLE OF CONTENTS Agency History Scope Note History of the Collection Organization Content 9- 10 Outline of Collections Record Group Boston Naval Shipyard Collection 12 80 Record Group Boston Naval Shipyard Related Collection 81 87 APPENDICES Shipyard Organizational Charts 88 121 Guide of Naval Shipyard Functions and Offices 122 131 Shipyard Commanders and Commandants of the First Naval District 132 135 Boston Naval Shipyard holdings in other repositories 136 141 Extracts and Abstracts From Record Series 142 146 -j BOSTON NAVAL SHIPYARD COLLECTION AGENCY HISTORY On 17 June 1800 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved An Act authorizing the United States to purchase certain tract of land in Charlestown for aNavy Yard.1 The land wis duly purchased an4 Capt Samuel Nicholson was appointed first superintendent on 12 June 1801 As his first employee Nicholson is said to have hired John Tapley black smith to shoe yoke of oxen being used in construction work Prom this small beginning the Navy Yard work force grew to peak of 50000 employees 11.2 during World War All the rope and much of the chain for the entire Navy was eventually manufactured there in addition to number of ships and myriad of other activities.3 Among the most famous vessels connected with the Navy Yard were the INDEPENDENCE built there 1813 the IRRIMC built there 1855 later converted by the Confederacy into an ironclad the HARTFORD built there 1858 Farraguts flagship the INTREPID built there 1874 the first torpedo boat and the CONSTITUTION the first and last ship repaired in Dry Dock during the active life of the Yard and home-based in Boston since 1897 large number of ships were built in the Yard during World War II including 36 destroyers 59 destroyer escorts and 44 landing ship tanks The development of the die-lock chain in 1926 in the Boston Navy Yard brought recognition as an important research facility The large scale production of chain and rope made the Navy Yard one of the most important naval industrial facilities in the country Known originally as the United States Navy Yard at Charlestown or simply the Charlestown Navy Yard the name was off icia.lly altered to Boston Navy Yard in 1874 when Charles town was annexed to the City of Boston although it had been refered to as such for number of years see or example letters from the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing to Counnandant of the US Navy Yard Boston 1854-55 Series 71 The nfl Boston Naval Shipyard was adopted on 30 November 1945 as part of major administrative reorganization During the early years of the Navy Yard the superintendent of the Yard reported directly to the Secretary of the Navy However in Bàston there was already Navy Agent who was in charge of all general Navy business in the city and whose actual power exceeded that of the Stipyard Commander resulting in many clashed during the early days On 15 June 1815 the Board of Navy Commissioners was established under the Secretary of the Navy and assumed control of the yards This system of commissioners continued until the Bureau System was created by an Act of Congress 31 August 1842 The five new bureaus-Navy Yards4 Construc tion Equipment Repair Provisions Clothing Ordnance Hydrography and Medicine Surgery all reported directly to the Secretary of the Navy.5 Additional bureaus added in 1863 were Navigation Eiuipment formerly with Construction Repair abolished 1910 and Ordnance Steam Engineering formerly Ordnance Hydrography By 1866 Steam Engineering was separate bureau which was later called simply The Bureau of Engineering The Bureau of Ships was established within the Department of the Navy by an Act of Congress approved 20 June 1940 54 Stat 492 through consolidation of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering which were abolished Although the general operation of the yard came under the Bureau of Yards and Docks the other Bureaus were also involved in day-to-day activities The bureaucratic complications that this involved caused one shipyard official to complain that eight of the then nine bureaus had to be involved in the building of ship To alleviate this situation the Bureau System was ended on May 1966 retaining only the Bureaus of Naval Personnel and Medicine and Surgery The defunct material bureaus were replaced by six system commands which were placed under the Chief of Naval Material who was in turn under the Chief of Naval Operations rather than the Secretary of the Navy.6 The two remaining bureaus were also placed under the Chief of Naval Operations.7 On local level administrative changes were continttous throughout the history of the yard At the time of the 1802 plan of the Yard drawn by Osgood Carleton there were only six buildings noted including the Mrine Barracks Carpenters Shop and the Blacksmith Shop In order to detail the increasing daily activities Commandant Bainbridge established the keeping of yard journal beginning January 1816.8 The activities in tbe YArd continued to grow The Board of Navy Commissioners issued two circular letters providing master craftsmen in the various trades carpenter Blacksmith cooper sailmaker mastmaker boatbuilder and blockmaker Labor was organized under various master mechanics e.g the master constructor and master painter who reported directly to the Conunandnt who still was responsible for all the hiring at this period When USS CONSTITUTION was being surveyed for repairs in 1828 the estimates included mention of the various departments then located at the Navy Yard Builders Caulkers Joiners Black smiths Painters Sparmakers Sailmakers Boatbuilders Blockmakers Boatswains in charge of standing and running rigging Gunners Carpenters and Masters sea sores.10 With the growth of yard activities particularly during World War II administration grew more complex The 20th Century saw formalization of the various duties into departments In 1938 before the last major reorganizations the Boston Navy Yard was organized into four major departments- Military with the captain of the Yard in charge Industrial with the Manage in charge Supply with the Supply Officer in charge and Accounting with the Accounting Officer in charge.11 When the change to 69 Boston Naval Shipyard became effective on 30 November 1945 the following main departments were included Planning Production ield Production Public Works Supply Fiscal including Accounting Disbursing Medical and Administrative including matters of Naval Personnel Administration Security Fire Protection Communiàations Plan Protection and various other administrative services required by shipyard departments In addition an Industrial Relations Division and Management Planning and Review Division were established with status comparable to that of head of department2 The major changes involved were Consolidation of the Disbursing Office and the Accounting Office into new Fiscal Depart merit Abolition of the Captain of the Yards Office and the establish ment in lieu thereof of the Administrative Department Inclusion of the Industrial Relations Divsion on permanent basis designed as staff function to handle civilian personnel matters in accordance with Navy Department instructions Elimination from ENS