OVERVIEW
The Naval Historical Collection is the depository for College archives, manuscripts,
and oral histories relating to the history of naval warfare and the history of the
Navy in Narragansett Bay. Established in 1969 and located in Mahan Hall, the collection's
primary source materials are of interest to naval historians, scholars, and students
of American military and diplomatic history, Naval War College students, faculty
and staff, and the general public.
ARCHIVES
The Naval War College archives contain more than 1,200 feet of records documenting
the administrative and curricular history of the institution since its founding
in 1884. The archives house 45 record groups, including administrative correspondence,
curriculum items and publications, conference proceedings, library records, lectures,
faculty and staff presentations, theses, World War II Battle Evaluation Group records,
and a vast array of intelligence and technical source materials pertaining to technological
developments and strategic and tactical problems of interest to the Navy.
MANUSCRIPTS
The collection includes more than 266 manuscript collections containing the personal
and official papers of Naval War College presidents, professors, and naval officers
who have served on the staff or have been affiliated with the institution during
the years, including those of Alfred Thayer Mahan, Stephen B. Luce, Raymond A. Spruance,
H. Kent Hewitt and James B. Stockdale.
In addition to the larger collections, single manuscript items represent a growing
and unique body of documents available for research. There are now more than 636
letters, journals, letterpress volumes, certificates, commissions, and signatures
stored in the Naval Historical Collection. Representative holdings in this category
range from letters of Admirals David Farragut, Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., and William Leahy
to a 1783 paymaster's book from the USS Alliance, which was homeported in Providence
at the time.
Besides a comprehensive guide to research source materials and select subject guides,
the Naval Historical Collection routinely publishes finding aids to its manuscript
collections. These may be obtained from the collection's curator. In addition, the
Naval War College Historical Monograph Series, published by the Naval War College
Press, is based on collection sources. To obtain a publication order form, contact
Head of the Naval Historical Collection. Address: President, Code 1E3, Naval War
College, 686 Cushing Road, Newport, RI, 02841-1207. Telephone: (401) 841-2435, DSN
948-2435 or by e-mail at NHC[at]nwc.navy.mil
ORAL HISTORIES
Oral histories treating the life and career of flag rank naval officers, WAVES,
Navy wives and civilians who made important contributions to the Navy are housed
in the Naval Historical Collection. There are over 386 oral history interviews treating
a variety of twentieth century naval warfare topics conducted by the staff of the
Naval Historical Collection, the Naval Institute Oral History program, and the Columbia
University Oral History Office.
SPECIAL COLLECTION
The Special Collection contains historical newspapers, including the only extant
run of the Newport Navalog (the Newport Naval Station's paper), pamphlets treating
naval history topics, association books and Office of Naval Intelligence Monthly
Information Bulletins.
HOURS
The collection is open to all researchers between the hours of 0800 and 1630, Monday
through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Prospective visiting researchers interested
in using the collections should write in advance to: Naval Historic Collection,
U.S. Naval War College, Code 1E3, 686 Cushing Road, Newport, RI 02841-1207. Further
information may be requested by telephoning (401) 841-2435 (DSN 948-2435), fax (401)
841-7790 or e-mail NHC[at]nwc.navy.mil .
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