Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to Naval District Commandant
Copy
10 Oct, 1916.
Commandants First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth Naval Districts.1
Sigcode Navy Department desires exercises special vigilance to prevent violation our neutrality period Co-operate with Treasury Department in obtaining any information relative possible efforts supply belligerent vessels from our coast Acknowledge 13010
/a/ Daniels Josephus Daniels.
Source Note: Cy, DNA, RG 45, Entry 517B. In the top right hand corner is “MDH,” presumably the initials of the typist. In the top right-hand corner of the message are the identifying numbers “Op-13” and “N-2577.” In the top left-hand corner is: “TRANSLATION” which means that this message was in code and decoded. Below the signature is the designation “Class 2.”
Footnote 1: The First Naval District covered northern New England and was headquartered at Boston Navy Yard. The commandant in 1916 was Capt. William R. Rush. The Second Naval District, headquartered in Newport, covered Rhode Island and adjacent waters. Its commandant was RAdm. Austin M. Knight. The Third Naval District, headquartered in New York City, included Connecticut, New York, northern New Jersey, and Puerto Rico. The Commandant was RAdm. Nathaniel R. Usher. The Fourth Naval District, headquartered at League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia, included southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The commandant was Capt. Robert L. Russell. The Fifth Naval District, headquartered at Norfolk Navy Yard, Norfolk, VA, included parts of Maryland, West Virginia, most of Virginia, and northern North Carolina. The commandant was RAdm. Walter McLean. Sixth Naval District, headquartered at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, SC, and included southern North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and two counties in Florida. The commandant was Capt. Benjamin C. Bryan. The Seventh Naval District was headquartered in Key West, FL, and included Florida waters. The commandant was Cmdr. Warren J. Terhune. The Eighth Naval District was headquartered in New Orleans, included the Gulf Coast, and was commanded by Cmdr. Marbury Johnston.
