Naval History and Heritage Command

Finding aid (PDF)

Biographical Note

Captain Tracy Barrett Kittredge was born on May 5, 1891, in Baker, Oregon. He received a bachelor's degree in History from the University of California, a master's degree from the University of California, and a second bachelor's degree in Political Science from Oxford University. Captain Kittredge was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, University of California, in 1912 and served on the staff of the US naval commander in Europe in both World War I and World War II.

During World War I he served as a representative on the Commission for Relief Belgium (1916 -1917), at the headquarters of the US Naval Forces operating in European waters (1917- 1919), and as a member of the staff of the Supreme Economic Council at the Paris Peace Conference (1919).

Throughout the interwar years, Captain Kittredge belonged to a number of charitable international organizations. He served as director, and later secretary-general, of the League of Red Cross Societies in Paris and as a member of the League of Nations International Labor Organization Commission.

Captain Kittredge joined the staff of Admiral Harold R. Stark in London in 1942 and following the war, served as a senior member of the historical section of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was the author of "Certain Naval Lessons of the Great War" and "US British Naval Cooperation, 1900-1945." He retired from the naval service in 1955 and died on December 22, 1957.

For his service, Captain Kittredge was awarded the Victory Medal for overseas service, a Bronze Star, a Letter of Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy, the French Recognition Medal, the Belgian Order of the Crown, the Polish Order of Polcmia Reconstituta, and additional medals and orders from Greece, Jugoslavia, Spain, Sweden, Chile, and Brazil.

Scope and Content Note

This collection is dominated by Captain Kittredge's monograph "US-British Naval Cooperation," including his writings and notes on United States naval actions and relations during the Second World War. Also included in the collection are the administrative histories of COMNAVEU; personal correspondence from World War II; documents on US-French Relations, 1942-1944, and planning the war in the Pacific; his writings on war aims and peace objectives and foreign and military policies and strategy; interviews with Captain Kittredge; and materials related to the Commission for Relief Belgium and various United Nations Conferences.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as Papers of Tracy B. Kittredge, Archives Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, DC.

Subject Headings (LCSH)

United States--Foreign Relations--20th century.
United States. Naval Forces, Europe.
United States--History--20th century.
United States--Military Policy.
United States--Military Relations--Great Britain.

Extent

5 cubic feet