Series 31. Richard Worsam Meade, 3rd (1853-1897, 1934)
Scope and Content
The collection is comprised of Admiral Meade's journals kept as a midshipman, including notes and sketches; teaching-related documents from his stint at the US Naval Academy; official correspondence received; letter books and orders from his service aboard various vessels (bound in 1939 by the Naval History Society); clippings and printed materials, including those documenting efforts to erect a commemorative statue to John Paul Jones in Washington, DC; drafts and final versions of his writings on John Paul Jones; other materials related to his administrative duties at the New York and Washington Navy Yards; eight volumes of diaries bound by the Naval History Society; and clippings and ephemera postdating his death that were probably collected by his wife.
The correspondence includes that related to his 1870 negotiation of trading treaties with Tutuila-Samoa, and details of the 1883 outfitting of USS Pinta in preparation for its duty off Alaska. The 1891 copy of "Northwestern Architect" includes a description of the Navy Department's exhibition planned for the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago on page 63. The letterpress copies of 1894-1895 had been disbound from a letterpress book. The John Paul Jones material includes Admiral Meade's lecture presentation to the United Service Club in 1896 and information on his daughter Annie Paulding Meade's presentation on the subject in 1899. The scrapbook materials were found with miscellaneous papers of the Naval History Society and removed to this series.
Many of the materials bear a sticker with the Naval History Society's seal that reads "From the Library of Richard Worsam Meade 4th (1870-1833), son of Richard Worsam Meade (3rd), Rear Admiral U.S.N., presented by Mrs. Richard Worsam Meade (4th), May 3, 1934". Subsequent contributions to the collection are documented through 1937.
Portions of this collection relating to the Civil War have been digitized and are available to on-site researchers and to users affiliated with subscribing institutions via EBSCOhost.
Related Materials at The New-York Historical Society
The Naval History Society's Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection (see Series 52) contains additional correspondence between Admiral Meade and John Sanford Barnes about John Paul Jones.
The "Scrapbook of R.W. Meade, Rear Admiral", 1892-1898, was bound by the Naval History Society in 1939 and included in its library collection (XN E182.M52 oversize).
Biographical Note
1837: Born New York City October 8, son of Clara Meigs and Richard Worsam Meade 2nd (see Series 30)
1853: Serves aboard St. Louis in Mediterranean
1856: Graduates US Naval Academy
1858: Commissioned lieutenant and assigned duty as ordnance instructor in receiving ship USS Ohio at Boston
1862: Promoted to lieutenant commander 1862, in command of USS Louisville on Mississippi River
1863: Commands a naval battalion during the July draft riots in New York City
1865: Marries Rebecca Paulding (daughter of Admiral James Paulding, Secretary of the Navy 1838-1841)
1865-1868: Head of Steamship Department, US Naval Academy
1868: Commissioned commander; prepares Naval Academy's "Manual of the Boat Exercises"
1870: Father Richard Worsam Meade 2nd dies; son Richard Worsam Meade 4th born
1871-1873: Commands USS Narragansett on its cruise through the southwest Pacific islands to Australia; commended for skill in negotiating commercial treaty with Samoan Islands
1883-1887: Commandant, New York Navy Yard
1887-1890: Commandant, Washington Navy Yard
1892: Promoted to commodore
1893: Naval representative, World Columbian Exposition, Chicago
1894: Promoted to rear admiral in command of North Atlantic Squadron
1895: Disagreement with the Navy Department leads to censure of Meade's conduct by President Grover Cleveland, and Meade's premature retirement
1897: Dies Washington DC, May 4; buried Arlington National Cemetery.
Arrangement
The series is arranged chronologically, except for bound diaries: these are housed together in chronological order and listed separately after the other bound materials. Some of the original folders were organized by date and/or subject; those titles have been retained and the materials ordered chronologically.