Daniel Ammen papers, 1836-1898

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Summary

Creators:
Ammen, Daniel
Abstract:
Daniel Ammen (1819-1896) served in the U.S. Navy (1836-1868), was in charge of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Bureau of Navigation (1868-78), and served as Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1872-76). He was also an advocate of a Nicaraguan canal route, a representative of the U.S. at the Interoceanic Canal Congress in Paris (1879), and designer the Ammen ram. The collection contains correspondence, papers, documents, photographs, dueling pistols, and blueprints concerning Admiral Ammen's career in the U.S. Navy, his activities as Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1872-1876), as representative from the U.S. to the Interoceanic Canal Congress at Paris in 1879, and his various efforts in support of the Nicaraguan canal route. The collection also contains papers relating to the design and construction of the Ammen ram.
Extent:
3.6 linear feet (4 boxes and 1 oversize box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Daniel Ammen Papers (Collection 811). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection contains correspondence, papers, documents, photographs, dueling pistols, and blueprints concerning Admiral Ammen's career in the U.S. Navy and his activities as Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1872-1876), as representative from the U.S. to the Interoceanic Canal Congress at Paris in 1879, and his various efforts in support of the Nicaraguan canal route. Correspondents include Frederick Douglass, Millard Fillmore, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, William Tecumseh Sherman, Zachary Taylor, and John Tyler, and the Nicaraguan Canal Association. Also contains papers relating to the design and construction of the Ammen ram, a small coast-defense vessel; a prototype, the Katahdin, was completed and accepted for service on January 4, 1896.

Biographical / historical:

Ammen was born on May 16, 1819; was boyhood friend of Ulysses S. Grant; became a midshipman in 1836; undertook long voyages to China and Japan (1845-47), went on expedition up the Paraguay River (1853-54), sailed on Pacific cruise (1857-60); in Civil War, took part in the attack upon Port Royal in the gunboat Seneca and participated in the bombardment of Fort McAllister in the monitor Patapsco; was called from sea duty through President Grant's influence; in charge of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, and the Bureau of Navigation, 1868-78; was named Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1872-76), where he became an advocate of a Nicaraguan canal route; represented the U.S. at the Interoceanic Canal Congress in Paris, 1879; designed the Ammen ram, a small coast-defense vessel, one of which, the Katahdin, was built and accepted for service; wrote several books, including The Old Navy and the New (1891); died at Ammendale, near Washington, D.C., on July 11, 1898.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Francis Dupont Ammen, 1963.
Processing information:

Processed by Dan Luckenbill, December 1974.

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Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Correspondence and memorabilia (Box 1).
  2. Papers concerning the Ammen ram (Box 1).
  3. Papers relating to the Nicaraguan canal route (Box 2-3).
  4. Admiral Daniel Ammen's dueling pistols (Box 4).
  5. Plans (blueprints) of Balsa, Portsmouth, NH Naval Yard (Box 5).

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Names:
United States--Navy--Officers
Ammen, Daniel, 1820-1898--Archives.
Places:
Nicaragua Canal (Nicaragua).
Indexes:

Index

Alcock, Sir Rutherford, 1809-1897. Box 1, folder 1
Bayard, Thomas Francis, 1828-1898. Box 2, folder 18
Beale, Edward Fitzgerald, 1822-1893. Box 2, folder 18
Biddle, James Stokes, 1818-1900. Box 2, folder 17
Billings, Frederick, 1823-1890. Box 3, folder 1
Brooke, James Rutter, 1838-1926. Box 1, folder 3
Buckler, Thomas Hepburn, 1812-1901. Box 3, folder 3
Carzaro, Evaristo (president of Nicaragua). Box 3, folder 8
Cárdenas, Adán, 1836-1916. Box 3, folders 4-6
Childs, George William, 1829-1894. Box 1, folder 6
Conness, John, 1821-1909. Box 3, folder 9
Crowninshield, Arent Schuyler, 1843-1908. Box 2, folder 17
Dickerson, Mahlon, 1770-1853, document signed. Box 6
Douglass, Frederick, 1817-1895. Box 2, folder 18
DuPont, Henry Algernon, 1838-1926. Box 1, folder 7
Edmunds, George Franklin, 1828-1919. Box 2, folder 17
Evarts, Willaim Maxwell, 1818-1901. Box 2, folder 16
Farenholt, Oscar Walter, 1845-1920. Box 1, folder 10
Fillmore, Millard (president of the U.S.), 1800-1874, document signed. Box 6
Gibbons, James (Cardinal), 1834-1921. Box 1, folder 11
Grant, Ulysses Simpson (president of the U.S.), 1822-1885, box 1, folder 11 A and documents signed. Box 6
Griscom, Clement Acton, 1841-1912, document signed. Box 6
Hayes, Rutherford Birchard (president of the U.S.), 1822-1893. Box 1, folder 2 and box 2, folder 1 and Box 6
Hotchkiss, Horace Leslie, 1842-1929. Box 2, folder 2
Hurlbert, William Henry, 1827-1895. Box 2, folder 18
Johnson, Andrew (president of the U.S.), 1808-1875, document signed. Box 6
Jones, John Percival, 1829-1912. Box 1, folder 12
Le Gendre, Charles William, 1830-1899. Box 1, folder 13
Lincoln, Abraham (president of the U.S.), 1809-1865, document signed. Box 6
McAlpine, William Jarvis, 1812-1890. Box 2, folder 17
Mahan, Alfred Thayer, 1840-1914. Box 1, folder 16
Maritime Canal Company of Nicaragua, New York. Box 2, folder 18
Merry, William Lawrence. Box 1, folder 18
Morgan, John Tyler, 1824-1907. Box 2, folder 7
Newton, John, 1823-1895. Box 2, folder 18
Nicaraguan Canal Association, New York. Box 2, folder 8
Paine, Charles Jackson, 1833-1916. Box 1, folder 20
Ramsay, Francis Munroe, 1835-1914. Box 1, folder 21
Robeson, George Maxwell, 1829-1897. Box 1, folder 21 and documents signed. Box 6
Sacasa, Roberto, 1840-1896. Box 2, folder 11
Sherman, William Tecumseh, 1820-1891. Box 1, folder 23
Strother, David Hunter, 1816-1888. Box 1, folder 24
Taylor, Henry Clay, 1845-1904. Box 2, folder 13
Taylor Zachary (president of the U.S.), 1784-1850, document signed. Box 6
Ten Broeck, Richard, 1812-1892. Box 1, folder 25
Tyler, John (president of the U.S.), 1790-1862, document signed. Box 6
Ward, Aaron, 1851-1918. Box 2, folder 18
Watson, James Craig, 1838-1880. Box 1, folder 28
Zelaya, José Santos, 1853-1930. Box 2, folder 15

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Daniel Ammen Papers (Collection 811). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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