Scope and Content Note
The papers of Nathan Sargent (1849-1907) span the years 1866-1957, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1880-1905. The collection includes journals, private diaries, orders to duty, correspondence, printed matter, scrapbooks, photographs, and memorabilia. The papers are organized by type of material.
The collection relates to Sargent’s career at the United States Naval Academy; early cruises in the USS Alaska and USS Lancaster; service as a naval attaché in Europe; duty in the USS Petrel; service in the Spanish-American War; command of the USS Scorpion and USS Machias for the purpose of transporting an expedition to the coast of the Isthmus of Darien; command of the USS Baltimore; and duty as a member of the General Board.
Prominent correspondents include John Burns, Mortimer E. Cooley, George Dewey, Mildred McLean Hazen Dewey, William H. Emory, David Jayne Hill, Cyrus E. Lothrop, Sidney Augustus Staunton, and John Grimes Walker.