Scope and Content Note
The papers of Charles Stillman Sperry (1847-1911) span the years 1862-1912, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1900-1911. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, orders, memoranda, and reports, supplemented by journals, letterbooks, letterpress books, printed matter, and miscellaneous material. The papers are organized by type of material with oversize filed at the end.
The journals and letterbooks chiefly relate to official naval business. The journal contains notes of Sperry’s voyages and ports of call, as well as several crew lists. Letterbooks and letterpress volumes deal with personnel problems and current events of concern to the navy, among other topics.
Family correspondence, 1862 to 1912, covers the span dates of the collection. The earliest letters, written by Sperry as a midshipman, are addressed to a brother, a sister, and cousin. Letters to his wife Edith and son Charles make up most of the family correspondence. Personal and social activities as well as occasional current events and official matters are discussed in letters to his wife. Many of Sperry’s letters to his son reflect his views on current events. For example, he foresaw trouble in the Far East prior to the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. The world cruise of the American Battle Fleet, 1907-1909, commanded by Sperry, highlights the correspondence of 1908 and early 1909.
Letters in the general correspondence are concerned chiefly with official naval business such as requests and grants for leaves of absence, letters of commendation, and reports of vessel’s activities and maneuvers. The letters, chronologically arranged, span the years 1863-1911.
The subject file, alphabetically arranged, documents significant events in Sperry’s life. His role as a delegate to the Geneva Convention in 1906 and the Hague Conference in 1907 is covered by correspondence, orders, memoranda, and reports, heavily supplemented by printed matter, much of it annotated. The printed matter, practically all of it in French, refers to proceedings, committee reports, and resolutions. The Ludlow case pertains to a controversy between Sperry and Commander Nicoll Ludlow over the former’s fitness for duty and higher office.
Naval orders, 1865-1910, and naval promotions, 1868-1907, document Sperry’s duty assignments and promotions. The Spanish-American War file, 1898-1900, deals exclusively with Sperry’s activities in the Philippines. Of particular interest are the accounts of the capture of his landing party by Emilio Aguinaldo’s forces. Concluding the subject file is a small amount of material on the world cruise of the American Battle Fleet. It consists of correspondence including four letters from Theodore Roosevelt, speeches, reports, and printed matter.
The speech, article, and lecture file covers some of the major events in Sperry’s life. Topics include the Hague Conventions; the role of navy diplomacy; the railways in China, Manchuria, and Korea, complete with maps; and the world cruise. Most of the materials are drafts and at least one is incomplete.
The bulk of the miscellany is printed matter, including naval books and certificates and Hague Conference material.