In a sense this article is a report to the Naval Institute, which for so many years has most generously given its moral and financial support to the Naval Historical Foundation. Twenty-five years ago the Institute published “Our Vanishing History and Traditions.” The inspiration of that article was the belief that something must be done to save that history and preserve those traditions; a belief shared and supported by the late Admirals Strauss, Knight, and Hilary Jones, the late General Richards, the late Drs. Jameson and Paullin, as well as a few others.
That small group was stimulated by the heartening interest awakened in Captain Harry Baldridge, then Secretary of the Institute, and started the Foundation on a rope yarn—a gift of $1,000 from the Institute, which later converted the rope yarn into a hawser of larger funds.
The child thus born and nourished had a special purpose in life ... a purpose similar to that of the Institute itself, in some respects narrower and in other respects much broader. On the whole the two were complementary.
The Foundation’s objects had to do with the history and traditions of American sea- power in all its components, including the Merchant Marine; with “the diffusion of knowledge respecting such history and traditions”; with the acquisition and preservation of things and information pertaining to such purposes. The fostering of patriotism was also a primary objective.
Implied in all this, and prominent in the minds of those who incorporated and subsequently administered the Foundation, was the intention to interest and educate the American public in the relation between sea- power and the national welfare and the significance of naval history. An informed and intelligent public opinion could be counted on to give the support to its Navy and Merchant Marine that the best public interests warranted. One has merely to review recent events wherein the Navy and other sea-power components have suffered grave injury from a poorly informed, or misinformed public, to realize the soundness of this conception.
In the quarter century of its existence the Foundation has been diligent in striving towards these ends, within limits of available means and capacities. In the collecting field it has been successful in acquiring a large number of manuscripts, much of which might otherwise have been lost or so badly dispersed as to be virtually useless for historical reference. Historical research is best facilitated by concentrating source materials into large collections. Accordingly we are loaning our very interesting accumulations to the Library of Congress, which already has a very large naval collection of its own. To our loan we expect soon to add the outstandingly important personal papers of the late Admiral Sims.
We have also collected many pictures of great interest, among them some 1,500 antique naval and marine prints given by Mrs. Ferdinand Eberstadt and related principally to European affairs in the times when many of our forefathers were European subjects. Purchases have been very few, largely from want of funds but also from a policy of buying only when the item is particularly interesting, is obtainable at a bargain price, and should be saved from possible loss or oblivion. In this way we acquired the very handsome painting of Decatur boarding a Tripolitan corsair, and the beautiful Agate collection of pictures of the Wilkes Expedition, together with a model of the Flying Fish.
Diffusion of knowledge is another field which limited funds has curtailed. Several facsimile reproductions of early documents have included the 1775 Navy Regulations. We published a history of the early Revenue Marine. The Naval Institute most generously underwrote our facsimile reproduction of a contemporary French engraved map in colors of the situation about Yorktown in 1781. This shows graphically and very effectively the influence of the French Fleet upon that decisive operation of the Revolutionary War. The Institute also underwrote our current publication of the narrative “Admiral Dewey and the Manila Campaign,” prepared by Commander Sargent under the Admiral’s immediate direction, and signed by Dewey himself.
The many helpful kindnesses of the Naval Institute have made the Foundation anxious to reciprocate. We have a standing offer that the Institute is at liberty to publish any of our manuscript documents in its columns, and we hope that the future may disclose other ways in which we may be helpful to it. The Foundation has ever considered itself to be principally an agency to do service, rather than attempt any semblance of self aggrandizement. In many minor ways it has been of service to the Navy Department and other naval establishments. It has felt an especial interest in being of service to the Naval Academy and its Museum. All of the Foundation’s collections are of course freely available to that Museum as loans for exhibits.
Some years ago an official of a corporation wished to present a series of large and handsome paintings to the Naval Academy, yet hesitated to do so because of a fear that his motives might be misunderstood or given a sordid interpretation by unfriendly critics. In this dilemma he sent an agent to Foundation officials for advice and the following solution was devised. He gave the paintings to the Foundation with the understanding that it would place them on permanent loan at the Naval Academy.
The Foundation has endeavored to promote the interests of the Naval Academy Museum, with its special mission to stimulate Midshipman morale, in appropriate ways. In about 1944 our attention was drawn to a large collection of relics alleged to have had a personal association with Commodore John Paul Jones. The peculiar fitness of placing these at the Naval Academy seemed obvious, and the Foundation’s Secretary so recommended to influential persons who probably had sufficient power to induce Congress to make appropriations for the purchase price. Unfortunately subsequent investigation seemed to cast doubt on the authenticity of the relics and consequently the project was abandoned. On numerous other occasions interesting materials have been given the Naval Academy Museum on recommendation of Foundation officials. One such case is the handsome early watercolor of the Frigate Constellation, by an Italian artist. It had been inherited by the late Vice- Admiral William L. Rodgers who was for many years President of the Naval Historical Foundation. Acting under his instructions it was presented to the Naval Academy Museum soon after the Admiral’s death. He had felt that the Constellation's long association with the Naval Academy as a practice ship had made it appropriate that that Museum should have the picture.
No one was more ardently in favor of a Museum at the Naval Academy for the benefit of Midshipmen and the officer-body at large than Admirals Rodgers and Strauss, each of whom served as President (and Vice- President) of the Foundation for many years. They were both very Museum-minded and in frequent summer trips to Europe spent much time studying maritime museums. Their deep conviction was that as an effective potential means of interesting and educating the general public in naval and nautical affairs generally nothing equalled museums. However it is impossible to transpose the potentialities into realities unless museums are placed where a large proportion of the population will visit them. The mountain will not go to Mahommet. The only solution lies in a dispersion of museums. One section of the country already meets this condition fairly well. In New England, because maritime affairs were so prominent in its early history, one finds museums even in many small towns that do justice to naval and merchant marine topics. In other parts of the country such museums are scarce, and usually to be found only in very large cities.
Admirals Rodgers and Strauss were especially earnest in advocacy of a naval and maritime museum in Washington. Here was the most advantageous location for indoctrinating the American, public. Here a large segment of the mountain annually moves to Mahommet. True enough, in the kaleidoscopic travel of modern times every city receives a large number of visitors. But only to Washington do those swarm who are in search of cultural sights. Here also is the greatest center of educational research, because of the vast store of manuscript and other source materials. Consequently for nearly twenty years the two Admirals strongly advocated and schemed for the creation of a naval-maritime museum in Washington by the Foundation. Unkind fate denied them both the opportunity to see the realization of their dream.
It should be stated that meanwhile a very good, if small, museum has been established at the Gun Factory, which the Foundation has helped in various ways and stands ready so to continue at all times. It is a principle to be borne in mind that museums, even those in the same specialized field, are noncompetitive. On the contrary they are mutually beneficial. Each one serves to cultivate the “museum habit” in its visitors and to stimulate an interest in the subjects shown and thus to whet their desire to examine other museums. Moreover most museums have a great deal more material than they can possibly exhibit at one time, or even in a long series. Hence it is the custom for museums to lend materials temporarily to each other, when selected items are needed to fill in gaps to round out a certain theme. In such cases the fact of the loan is invariably captioned at the exhibit, and the lender thus benefits by the advertising. The Washington Gun Factory Museum and the Foundation’s museum will be complementary and mutually helpful. Both are small and will serve widely separate sections of the city, and consequently different groups of visitors.
The Truxtun-Decatur Naval Museum hopes to open its doors to the public in April. It is located in an outbuilding of historic Decatur House through the generous cooperation of its owner, Mrs. Truxtun Beale. The location is only two blocks from the White House in a vicinity much frequented by tourists. More properly speaking it is a maritime museum, since merchant marine as well as naval affairs will be represented. Although somewhat different from the Naval Academy Museum in character and purpose, the two will nevertheless be basically complementary.
Recent correspondence between the Superintendent of the Naval Academy and Fleet Admiral King, writing as President of the Foundation, formally established the relation between the two museums as being closely cooperative and mutually helpful. The Washington museum will gladly distribute to its visitors such literature concerning the Annapolis one as it may care to have so done. At times the entire Washington space and facilities will be made available to the Naval Academy Museum for such shows as it may care to put on and publicize under its own sponsorship. The Foundation’s materials which may be especially appropriate for display at Annapolis will be gladly loaned. One such item is our handsome painting of Decatur boarding and capturing a Tripolitan corsair that for many years has hung in the Navy Department and recently in the office of the Secretary of the Navy.
Appropriately the opening exhibit at the Truxtun-Decatur Museum will be devoted to the historical era related to these two Commodores, with particular emphasis upon them individually. For such a theme it will be necessary to borrow unique items from a number of sources. For example a portrait of Thomas Truxtun can come only from its present private owner. Another important item is Preble’s famous attack on Tripoli. Although there are several fine paintings of this, the best is the one by Corné at Annapolis. Captain Baldridge has very kindly consented to lend it during the few months that the opening exhibit will run.
The Foundation’s building in Washington is much too small to permit the exhibition of our entire collection at one time. In this respect it is in the same situation as nearly all museums, and their customary practice of rotating exhibits every few months will accordingly be followed.
This museum venture of the Foundation is, of course, bitt one aspect of its educational purpose of diffusing knowledge, which in its turn is merely one element of the broader general objects of the Society.