Naval Order of the United States records

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSC-358

Staff Only

Dates

Creation: 1900s-

Creator

Naval Order of the United States (Organization)

Historical Note

The Naval Order of the United States (NOUS) traces its roots to Boston in 1890, although it did not become a national organization until 1893. The NOUS was intended to be an apolitical venue for veteran naval officers to discuss naval history. Membership has always been by invitation. Full membership is open to veterans of the U.S. Navy or other American maritime military service or descended from a previous NOUS member. The spouses of members, commissioned officers in “an allied seagoing service, and individuals who “have distinguished themselves in the interest of naval service" are eligible for associate membership. The Order’s achievements include participation in funding the restoration of the USS Constitution in the 1920s, the creation of naval memorials, and the presentation of awards to serving and aspiring naval officers in recognition of their writings on naval history.

Extent

121 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Custodial History

These records were assembled by the NOUS itself after various calls for papers beginning in 2005. Many of the records were previously in the hands of Lieutenant Commander (Ret.) Lee Douglas, a former Recorder General for the Naval Order. After his death, his collection was nearly destroyed but saved and reassembled by Captain John Rice, a former Commander General and Historian General Emeritus for the Order. Some records came from Capt. Don Budai via Dean Mosher in 2006 and 2007; the New York Commandery donated a large portion of its records as well. Additions to the collection since 2007 include the combined papers of former Recorder General Dave Austraw and former Commander General James Brooke III (in 2008; boxes 91-100), the papers of former Historian General Dr. William Dudley (in 2012), the papers of former Recorder General Vance H. Morrison (in 2013), and the papers of former Commander General Vance H. Morrison (in 2017).

This collection had been stored at the Cushing Library, Universiy of Texas until they were donated to the Naval Historical Collection in 2018.

Processing Information

This collection came to the NHC having been processed by various NOUS volunteers: Ryan Wadle, 2005-2008; Bradley Cesario, 2016-2017; Erika Weidemann, 2017-2018.

In 2020, this collection was rearraged intellectually by Elizabeth Delmage and a fifth series was added to assist with userbility. This collection requires additional processing work to ensure that its contents are adequately described.