Collection Summary
Colby Mitchell Chester
Papers
1913-1928
(bulk 1913-1917)
1913-1928
(bulk 1913-1917)
MSS78410
Chester, Colby Mitchell,
1844-1932
300 items
1 container
0.4 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Naval officer.
Correspondence, research notes, and unpublished manuscripts relating to
Chester's study of Commodore Dudley Saltonstall and the Penobscot Bay
Expedition in 1779.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Chester, Colby Mitchell, 1844-1932.
Saltonstall, Dudley, 1738-1796.
Subjects
Penobscot Expedition, 1779.
Places
Maine--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.
Penobscot Bay (Me.)--History.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Campaigns.
Occupations
Naval officers.
Provenance
The papers of Colby Mitchell Chester, naval officer, were deposited in
the Library of Congress in 1964 by the Naval Historical Foundation and
converted to a gift in 1998.
Processing History
The papers of Colby Chester Mitchell were arranged and described in
1973. The finding aid was revised in 2010.
Additional Guides
The Colby Mitchell Chester Papers are described in
Colby Mitchell Chester, William Freeland Fullam, Samuel McGowan,
Henry Croskey Mustin: A Register of Their Papers in the Library of
Congress
. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1973.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Colby Mitchell
Chester is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Colby Mitchell Chester are open to research. Researchers
are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Colby Mitchell Chester Papers, Naval
Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1844, Feb. 29
Born, New London, Conn.
1863
Graduated, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
1864
Duty in Richmond (steam sloop of
war), West Gulf Blockading Squadron
1865
Duty in Kickapoo
(monitor)
1869
1873
Duty in Alaska (screw sloop of
war), Pacific Squadron
1873
Married Melancia Antoinette Tremaine
1874
1877
Duty at United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
1885
1888
Commanded Galena
(steamer)
1889
Served on Naval Board to select naval site on the Pacific
coast, Puget Sound Navy Yard, Wash.
1891
1894
Commandant of midshipmen at United States Naval Academy,
Annapolis, Md.
1896
Commanded Richmond (steam sloop
of war)
1897
1898
Commander in chief, South Atlantic Squadron
1900
Duty in Constantinople to support an American damage
claim
1902
1906
Superintendent, United States Naval Observatory, Washington,
D.C.
1903
Promoted to rear admiral
1908
Authorized by President Theodore Roosevelt and the State
Department to aid in the establishment of American trade in western
Asia
1908
1909
Delegate to the Ninth International Congress of Geography,
Geneva, Switzerland
1917
Commandant of the Naval Unit, Yale University, New Haven,
Conn.
1932, May 4
Died, Rye, N.Y.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Colby Mitchell Chester (1844-1932) span the years
1913-1928, with the bulk of the material dating from 1913 to 1917. The papers
are arranged in two series:
[Correspondence](corr) and
[Book
File](book).
The collection is devoted primarily to research, correspondence, and
unpublished manuscripts concerning Dudley Saltonstall (1738-1796) and the
Penobscot Bay Expedition. Saltonstall was the American naval commodore who led
an ill-fated attempt to recapture Bagaduce (now Castine) in Penobscot Bay from
the British in 1779. Commanding nineteen vessels outfitted by the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, Saltonstall failed to move against the three British sloops
of war in the bay while he still outnumbered them, and, upon the arrival of the
British fleet, fled the area. After two of his ships were captured and the
others were destroyed to prevent capture, Saltonstall was dismissed from the
navy. In preparing the manuscripts, Chester was writing a critical analysis of
the expedition and a defense of Saltonstall.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged in two series:
-
[Correspondence,
1913-1928](corr)
-
[Book File,
1917](book)
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Correspondence,
1913-1928
1913-1928
Primarily incoming letters to Chester.
Arranged chronologically.
1
1913
1913
1
25 June , Gardner Weld Allen to
Chester
25 June
1
27 June , Richard M. Saltonstall to
Chester
27 June
1
24 Aug. , Charles W. Noyes to
Chester
24 Aug.
1
29 Aug. , Charles W. Stewart to
Chester
29 Aug.
1
12 Sept. , Magnus S. Thompson to
Chester
12 Sept.
1
1914
1914
1
20 Nov. , Otto H. Tittmann to
Chester
20 Nov.
1
30 Nov. , Otto H. Tittmann to
Chester
30 Nov.
1
1928
1928
1
8 May , Chester to Dudley W. Knox
8 May
1
Book File,
1917
1917
Typescripts and notes.
Arranged chronologically.
1
“Commodore Dudley Saltonstall,
the Continental Navy, and the Defeat of the Penobscot Bay Expedition in 1779”
1
Unpublished typescript with a
chart of Penobscot Bay,
1917
1917
1
Unpublished typescript with a
chart of Penobscot Bay,
undated
undated
1
Carbon copy of typescript with
illustrations of Penobscot Bay,
undated
undated
1
Notes relating to Saltonstall and
the Penobscot Bay expedition,
undated
undated