From the Introduction This publication seeks to aid students of naval history by identifying manuscript, archival, and other special collections deposited im more than 250 American archives and libraries. Most of these materials are the private papers of the officers, men, and civilian officials of the U.S. Navy. In addition, listings are included for the personal paper collections of the chairmen of Congressional naval committees and other individuals with a significant interest in naval affairs, the records of a number of business firms that acted as naval contractors, and official records of U.S. Navy. When information was available for private and official documents relating to the other uniformed maritime services of the United States, or foreign navies closely associated with our nation’s history, entries for these documents also were included. The starting point for the present compilation was U.S. Naval History Sources in the Washington Area and Suggested Research Subjects, A 1970 publication of the Naval History Division. In updating that work’s coverage and expanding its scope to include repositories throughout the United States, the editors consulted accession notes appearing in scholarly journals, individual manuscript catalogs, and such overall references as the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (Library of Congress and other publishers, 1959— ); Directory of Archives and Manuscripts Repositories in the United States (National Historical Publications and Records Commision, 1978); Philip M. Hammer, ed., A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States (Yale University Press, 1961); and William Matthews, American Diaries in Manuscript, 1580–1954: A Decriptive Bibliography (University of Georgia Press, 1974). The information obtained from these sources then was forwarded to the appropriate repository with the request that the data be reviewed for accuracy and completeness.

Book Details