Arrival of the United States Navy at Newport

Arrival of the United States Navy at Newport

During the Civil War The United States Navy first established its presence in Rhode Island when the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland was relocated to Newport over concerns of its location & proximity to southern sympathies. On May 8, 1861, a few weeks after the attack upon fort Sumter, the officers & men belonging to the academy arrived at Newport Harbor aboard the U.S.S. Constitution better known as “Old Ironsides” & the U.S.S. Baltic. Fort Adams initially served as academy headquarters until it more suitable accommodations were obtained in September at the Atlantic House Hotel located at Pelham & Bellevue Avenues. The U.S.S. Constitution along with other training vessels including the U.S.S. Santee, U.S.S. Macedonian, U.S.S. John Adams remained at Newport Harbor throughout the war as the primary classrooms & receiving ships for cadets & newly enlisted naval recruits.

See also:

Rhode Island State Archives Resources

A Battle Hard Fought - Rhode Island and the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Observance

Civil War – Commission to Preserve the Military Records of the State

Military Records - Civil War

Civil War Recruitment Book (1861)

Board of Military Enrollment

Adjutant General - Orders Received, Executive Department (1857 - 1858;1861; 1863)

Civil War - Record Book, Orders received, First Detached Militia / Tenth Rhode Island Volunteers (1861 - 1862)

Rhode Island Militia - Enrolled Men, Town Returns (1843 - 1898)

Additional Resources

National Archives Civil War Photographs

National Archives Civil War Records

National Archives The Civil War as Photographed by Mathew Brady

Library of Congress US Civil War: Selected Resources

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