Captain Alexander B. Bates, USN
(25 November 1842 - 19 February 1917)
An Inventory of His Collection
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
Biographical Note
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Detailed Description of the Collection
Restrictions
Index Terms
Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Captain Alexander B. Bates, USN (1842-1917)
Alexander B. Bates was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 25 November 1842. He entered the United States Navy on 16 January 1863 as a third assistant engineer and served on the ironclad steamer Sagamore.
During the Spanish-American War Bates served on the battleship Texas as chief engineer. His ship was engaged several times with forts at Santiago and Guantanamo, Cuba. He was in the engagement with Admiral Cherver's fleet at the Battle of Santiago, for which he was advanced three numbers. It will be recalled that the Texas outdid herself in speed in the pursuit of the Spanish ships which, of course, was due to the energy and spirit of the engineering department of which Bates was the chief, and thus she was able to place herself to such advantage that she scored a high percentage of hits as compared with the other ships of the fleet.
Later he served as fleet engineer of a Pacific station and was engaged in the affairs of Samoa. He was appointed commander on 3 March 1899, and was ordered to steel inspection service. Afterward he was on duty at League Island. He received three stars for conspicuous service at the Battle of Santiago, Cuba. He was promoted to captain, and retired under the law as a rear admiral on 13 July 1903 after forty years of service.
He died in Binghamton, New York, on 19 February 1917.
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Scope and Contents
The bulk of this collection consists of personal correspondence and obituaries written at the time of Bates' death.
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Arrangement
The collection is arranged by subject into four archival envelopes housed in a single folder.
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Detailed Description of the Collection
Biographical Data and Obituaries
Commissions
Personal Correspondence (1861, 1893-95, 1897-1899)
Brochure on the "Dinner and Reception at the Engineers Club in New York on 1 September 1898 for Engineering Officers Onboard Ships at the Battle of Santiago, Cuba."
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Restrictions
Restrictions on Use
Manuscripts are unavailable for loan and must be consulted in the library. Photocopying of manuscripts is generally prohibited, though the use of digital cameras by researchers to reproduce non-copyrighted materials is permitted. Permission to photocopy a limited number of pages may be granted by the reference staff, contingent upon the physical state of items. All photocopying of materials shall be done by the reference staff, or under their close supervision. The use of personal scanners by non-library staff personnel must be approved by the reference staff on a document-by-document basis (Reference: Naval History and Heritage Command Instruction [NAVHISTCENTINST] 5070.1C.).
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Index Terms
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Personal name:
Bates, Alexander B.
Subject:
Sailors--History--19th Century
Santiago, Battle Of, Santiago De Cuba 1898
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Cite as: Historical Manuscripts, Navy Department Library, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington DC, Alexander B. Bates Collection.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Thomas Wildenberg in August 2006.
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