The Board of Navy Commissioners was a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
administrative body in existence from 1815 to 1842, with responsibility for the navy's material support. The three-member Board was created as part of an expansion of the
U.S. Navy Department
The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary of ...
at the end of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. The system was implemented by
Benjamin W. Crowninshield
Benjamin Williams Crowninshield (March 12, 1837–January 16, 1892) was an American historian, businessman, and Union Army officer during the American Civil War.
Life
A member of the Boston Brahmin Crowninshield family, Benjamin Williams Crowni ...
,
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
during the administrations of Presidents
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
and
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
.
Following the recommendations of
William Jones, the establishment of the Board of Naval Commissioners by
act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...
on February 7, 1815 (3 Stat. 202), was the outgrowth of efforts to relieve the Secretary of the Navy of some of responsibilities connected with the civilian functions of the navy, so he could devote more time to overall administration.
As naval warfare continued to increase in technical complexity, however, reformers began to consider that the three commissioners and a minimal staff were not enough to handle the navy's procurement needs. By the 1840s, it seemed that a functional approach was preferable—one which established bureaus or offices within the Navy Department to focus on specific areas such as shipbuilding or provisioning. This reform was finally achieved during the administration of President
John Tyler
John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...
, and implemented by his Secretary of the Navy
Abel P. Upshur
Abel Parker Upshur (June 17, 1790 – February 28, 1844) was a lawyer, planter, slaveowner, judge and politician from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Active in Virginia state politics for decades, with a brother and a nephew who became distinguis ...
. An Act of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
on August 31, 1842 abolished the Board of Naval Commissioners and established the
"bureau system" in the Department of the Navy. This system, with modifications, lasted until the mid-1960s.
Establishment and responsibilities
The board had responsibility for the procurement of naval stores and materials; construction, armament, equipment, repair, and preservation of naval vessels; establishment of regulations to secure uniformity in the classes of naval vessels; preparation of estimates of expenditures for different parts of the naval service; and supervision of navy yards, naval stations, and navy agents. The Secretary of the Navy retained control over personnel and appointments, movement of ships, and other administrative matters not delegated to the board.
As provided by the act, the board, attached to the Office of the Secretary, was composed of three
post-captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy.
The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:
* Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...
s appointed by the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and confirmed by the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
; the ranking officer of the board was to be its president. The board was authorized to establish its own regulations and employ a secretary to keep a record of its proceedings and two clerks to assist in other office work. Each commissioner was to receive $3,500 a year in lieu of wages, rations, and other pay due him as a naval officer.
Personnel
Board presidents
During its existence the board had five presidents. All held the courtesy rank of
commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore, a ...
; the rank of admiral did not come into existence until the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
#
John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to:
Military
* John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland
* John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first na ...
, 1815–1824; 1827–1837
#
William Bainbridge
William Bainbridge (May 7, 1774July 27, 1833) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. During his long career in the young American Navy he served under six presidents beginning with John Adams and is notable for his many victories at sea. He ...
, 1824–1827
#
Isaac Chauncey
Isaac Chauncey (February 20, 1772 – January 27, 1840) was an American naval officer in the United States Navy who served in the Quasi-War, The Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. In the latter part of his naval career he was President of th ...
, 1837–1840
#
Charles Morris, 1840–1841
#
Lewis Warrington
Lewis Warrington (3 November 1782 – 12 October 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. He later became a Captain. He temporarily served as the Secretary of the Navy. His highest rank w ...
, 1841–1842
Chauncey, Morris, and Warrington also served on the board prior to their appointments to its presidency. Chauncey served from 1822 to 1824 and 1833 to 1837; Morris from 1823 to 1825, 1826 to 1827, and 1832 to 1840; and Warrington from 1827 to 1830 and 1840 to 1841.
Other commissioners
The officers listed below served as the board's other commissioners. Likewise, all held the courtesy rank of commodore.
#
Isaac Hull
Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. He commanded several famous U.S. naval warships including ("Old Ironsides") and saw service in the undeclared naval Quasi War with the revolutionary Fre ...
, April–November 1815
#
David Porter, 1815–1822
#
Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unite ...
, 1815–1820
#
Jacob Nicholas Jones, 1824–1826
#
Thomas Tingey
Thomas Tingey (11 September 1750 – 23 February 1829) was a commodore of the United States Navy. Originally serving in the British Royal Navy, Tingey later served in the Continental Navy. Tingey served with distinction during the Quasi-War and s ...
, October 1827
#
Daniel Todd Patterson
Daniel Todd Patterson (March 6, 1786 – August 25, 1839) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and the War of 1812.
Early life
Patterson was born on Long Island, New York. He was a son ...
, 1828–1832
#
Charles Stewart, 1830–1833
#
Alexander Scammel Wadsworth, 1837–1840
#
John B. Nicolson, 1840–1841
#
William Montgomery Crane
Commodore William Montgomery Crane (February 1, 1776 – March 18, 1846) was an officer in the United States Navy during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. He was the son of General William Crane who was wounded at the Battle of Quebec ...
, 1841–1842
#
David Conner, 1841–1842
Secretaries of the board
James Kirke Paulding
James Kirke Paulding (August 22, 1778 – April 6, 1860) was an American writer and, for a time, the United States Secretary of the Navy. Paulding's early writings were satirical and violently anti-British, as shown in ''The Diverting History of ...
—later Secretary of the Navy during the
Van Buren administration
The presidency of Martin Van Buren began on March 4, 1837, when Martin Van Buren was inaugurated as President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1841. Van Buren, the incumbent vice president and chosen successor of President Andrew Jackso ...
—served as secretary of the board from 1815 to 1823. He was succeeded by the Navy Department's long-time chief clerk, Charles Washington Goldsborough.
References
General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1798-1947- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Located at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060914234414/http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/civilian_personnel.htm Brief History of Civilian Personnel in the U.S. Navy Department by Robert G. Albion, Recorder of Naval Administration, U.S. Navy, October 1943. Online. Last updated 6 November 2003. Naval Historical Center. Viewed 13 September 2006. (Includes reference to the service of Charles W. Goldsborough)
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United States Navy organization
Military units and formations established in 1815
1842 disestablishments in the United States
1815 establishments in the United States