Captain John R. Bartlett to Rear Admiral Arent S. Crowninshield, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation
Navy Department,
OFFICE OF THE COAST SIGNAL SERVICE,
WASHINGTON,
August 13, 1898.
Sir:
Under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy,1 I have abandoned all the Coast Signal Stations, with the exception of Cape Henry, Virginia. This Coast Signal Station was kept open at the request of Commodore Farquhar2 of the Norfolk Navy Yard, and as the war has practically come to an end, and there appears to be no further necessity for the existence of the Coast Signal Service, I respectfully request authority to abandon the Station at Cape Henry, Virginia, and to close up the affairs of the Coast Signal Service.3
Very respectfully,
Capt. USN
Superintendent.
Source Note: CbCyS, DNA, RG 24, Entry 428. Addressed below close: “Bureau of Navigation,/Navy Department.” Handwritten notation on the bottom: “Approved/A.S.Crowninshield/Chief of Bureau Nav.” Document on “Navy Department,/OFFICE OF THE COAST SIGNAL SERVICE,” stationary.
Footnote 1: Secretary of the Navy John D. Long.
Footnote 2: Commo. Norman H. Farquhar, Commandant, Norfolk Navy Yard.
Footnote 3: For a description of the mission of the Coast Signal Service with a list of signal stations, see: William T. Sampson, North Atlantic Fleet Memorandum Number 14, 5 May 1898.
Footnote 4: Bartlett was recalled from retirement to serve as head of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Coast Signal Service. As of 9 July he commanded the Auxiliary Naval Force as well.
