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Alfred Thayer Mahan papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSC-017

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of letters Mahan sent primarily to his daughter, Helen E. Mahan, copies of Mahan family photographs, and research notes and materials compiled by Mahan from 1897-1914 on a variety of subjects including the Spanish American War and the War of 1812. Also of note are two sets of lectures written by Mahan that he delivered at the Naval War College as well as a journal and some writings he kept while serving on the U.S.S. Iroquois in Japan.

Dates

  • Creation: 1814-1914 and undated

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Access is open to all researchers, unless otherwise specified.

Conditions Governing Use

Material in this collection is in the public domain, unless otherwise noted.

Biographical Note

Alfred Thayer Mahan was born at West Point, New York, the son of Professor Denis Hart Mahan, who taught at the United States Military Academy. The atmosphere of his family home undoubtedly played a role in his future work, and helped to mold his later interests. Although his father hoped that Alfred would pursue a civilian career, the boy joined the Navy after only a year at Columbia University.

As a line officer in the U.S. Navy, Mahan had a rather uneventful career, but saw active service in the Civil War and went on to command three ships. In 1885, Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce selected him as an instructor in naval history and tactics at the Naval War College. Having served nearly 25 years in the Navy at this point, Mahan found a new direction and new purpose in his life at the age of 45. Building on the vision that Luce had laid out for him, Mahan went on to a remarkable career as a naval historian and propagandist, writing more than 20 books, 160 journal articles and 100 newspaper articles. His work was translated into a variety of languages, including Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Dutch. Throughout the world his work had immense influence in the development of navies and in laying the ground work for the development of naval theory and strategy. His works continue to be read and republished today. His first sea power book, The Influence of Sea Power on History, 1660-1783, has appeared in at least 50 editions and has been translated into 6 languages.

Career Outline

1840
Born September 27, 1840, West Point, N.Y.
1856
Entered the U.S. Naval Academy
1859
Graduated for U.S. Naval Academy
1859-1861
USS Congress
1861
Promoted to Lieutenant
1861-1862
USS Pocahontas – South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
1862-1863
U.S. Naval Academy
1863
USS Macedonian
1863-1864
USS Seminole – West Gulf Blockading Squadron
1864-1865
USS James Adger – South Atlantic Squadron
1865
Promoted to Lieutenant Commander
1865-1866
USS Muscoota – Gulf Squadron
1866
Navy Yard, Washington, Ordnance duty
1867-1869
USS Iroquois – Asiatic Squadron
1869
Command of USS
1870-1871
Navy Yard, New York
1871
USS Worcester
1872
Married Ellen Lyle Evans, June 11
Promoted to Commander
Receiving ship at N.Y.
1873
Daughter, Helen Evans Mahan, born
1873-1874
Command of USS Wasp
1875-1876
Navy Yard, Boston
1877
Daughter, Ellen Kuhn Mahan, born
1877-1880
U.S. Naval Academy
1880-1883
Navy Yard, N.Y.
1881
Son, Lyle Evans Mahan, born
1883-1885
Command of USS Wachusett
1885
Promoted to Captain and ordered to duty, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
1886-1889
President, Naval War College
1889
President of Commission to select site for navy yard on northwest coast
1889-1892
Special duty – Bureau of Navigation
1892-1893
President of Naval War College
1893-1895
Command of USS Chicago
1895-1896
Special duty in connection with the Naval War College
1896
Retired after 40 years of service
1898
Member of Naval War Board during war with Spain
1906
Promoted to grade of Rear Admiral on the retired list
Special duty, Navy Department
1908-1912
Special duty, Naval War College
1914
Died in Washington, D.C. on December 1

Extent

2.85 Linear Feet (3 archival boxes, 2 half archival boxes, 1 oversize box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection consists of lectures, letters, and other documents kept by Alfred T. Mahan, naval officer, renowned maritime historian, and past president of the Naval War College.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in alphabetical order by folder title.

Custodial History

These materials were retained by the Mahan family after Mahan’s daughters donated the bulk of his papers to the Naval Historical Foundation Collection in the Library of Congress.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The grandson of Alfred Thayer Mahan, Alfred T. Mahan, II, donated these materials to the Naval War College Foundation in 1971. Since then, this collection has been on indefinite loan to the Naval Historical Collection by the NWCF.

Related Materials

A.T. Mahan papers, MSS31062, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Please search the NHC online catalog for additional materials relating to Alfred T. Mahan.

Separated Materials

This finding aid supersedes the “Register of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Papers, Compiled by John B. Hattendorf, D. Phil. Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History, Manuscript Register Series, No. 15,” 1990.

General

This finding aid supersedes the “Register of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Papers, Compiled by John B. Hattendorf, D. Phil. Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History, Manuscript Register Series, No. 15,” 1990.

Processing Information

This collection was originally processed and described by Dr. John Hattendorf and Evelyn M. Cherpak in 1990. In the time following, portions of the collection were sent to the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) for preservation and conservation treatment. While at NEDCC the collection was microfilmed and parts were cleaned, repaired, and housed into acid free folders and additional archival boxes. Following this work, the 1990 register was not updated.

In 2019, Elizabeth Delmage reprocessed this collection to address the disparities between the 1990 register and the contents of the 8 boxes that comprised the collection. In most cases, the old box and folder numbers from the 1990 register can be found on the reserve side of the folders and in a note in the updated finding aid to assist researchers using superseded citations.

Title
Alfred Thayer Mahan papers
Status
Dacs Finding Aid
Author
Elizabeth Delmage
Date
2019 Sep
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Naval War College Archives Repository

Contact:
US Naval War College
686 Cushing Rd
Newport RI 02841 US