The Navy Department Library
First Naval District
The boundaries of the First Naval District, to be headquartered at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, (and later in Boston) were established on 7 May 1903 in accordance with General Order No. 128, signed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Charles H. Darling. Until late 1915 no personnel were assigned to the district staff. In 1945 the district was headquartered at Boston, Massachusetts, and consisted of the following geographic areas: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island (including Block Island). The First Naval District was disestablished on 7 October 1976 and control passed to the Fourth Naval District.
| 1915-1921 | RADM Albert Gleaves | November 1915 | |
| 1921-1923 | RADM Henry A. Wiley | December 1921 | |
| 1923-1925 | RADM Louis R. de Steiguer | June 1923 | |
| 1925-1930 | RADM Phillip Andrews | October 1925 | |
| 1930-1933 | RADM Louis McCoy Nulton | June 1930 | |
| 1933-1935 | RADM Henry H. Hough | June 1933 | |
| 1935-1938 | RADM Walter R. Gherardi | June 1935 | |
| 1938-1946 | RADM William T. Tarrant | July 1938 | |
| 1946-1949 | RADM Morton L. Deyo | April 1946 | |
| 1949-1952 | RADM Leo H. Thebaud | February 1949 | |
| 1952-1953 | VADM John L. McCrea | February 1952 | |
| 1953-1954 | RADM Charles B. Momsen | July 1953 | |
| 1954-1958 | RADM John A. Snackenberg | August 1954 | |
| 1958-1962 | RADM Carl F. Espe | May 1958 | |
| 1962-1963 | RADM Joseph H. Wellings | April 1962 | |
| 1963-1964 | RADM Wallace M. Beakley | September 1963 | |
| 1964-1967 | RADM William B. Sieglaff | January 1964 | |
| 1967-1968 | RADM Roy Benson | April 1967 | |
| 1968-1972 | RADM Joseph C. Wylie, Jr. | December 1968 | |
| 1972-1976 | RADM Richard E. Rumble | November 1972 |
Notes: RADM = Rear Admiral.
The administrative records of the First Naval District are located in Record Group (RG) 181.2.1 at the National Archives and Records Administration’s Northeast Region, Boston, facility at the Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center, 380 Trapelo Road, Waltham, Massachusetts 02452-6399, telephone 781-663-0130.
An unpublished 9-volume administrative history of the First Naval District during World War II, known as “World War II Naval Administrative History # 109,” is located in the Navy Department Library. It is unavailable for loan and must be consulted in the library. Photocopying of this manuscript is generally prohibited; the use of digital cameras by researchers is encouraged. Permission to photocopy a limited number of pages may be granted by the reference staff, contingent upon the physical state of the item. Any photocopying of this manuscript shall be done under the close supervision of the reference staff. 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 Historical Center Instruction [NAVHISTCENTINST] 5070.1C.). When requesting the administrative history, please specify its number. For example: "I'd like to examine World War Two Admin. History #109."
