Finding Aid for the Daniel Ammen Papers LSC.0811
Finding aid prepared by Dan Luckenbill, December 1974; machine-readable finding aid created by Alight Tsai and Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Online finding aid last updated 2002.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
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Fax Number: 310-206-1864
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Note
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Daniel Ammen papers
Creator:
Ammen, Daniel
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0811
Physical Description:
3.6 linear feet
(4 boxes and 1 oversize box)
Date (inclusive): 1836-1898
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.
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.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
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.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Francis Dupont Ammen, 1963.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9942303183606533
[Identification of item], Daniel Ammen Papers (Collection 811). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processed by Dan Luckenbill, December 1974.
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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.
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.
Arranged in the following series:
- Correspondence and memorabilia (Box 1).
- Papers concerning the Ammen ram (Box 1).
- Papers relating to the Nicaraguan canal route (Box 2-3).
- Admiral Daniel Ammen's dueling pistols (Box 4).
- Plans (blueprints) of Balsa, Portsmouth, NH Naval Yard (Box 5).
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online:
Daniel Ammen papers (2 items).
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
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Nicaragua Canal (Nicaragua).
Ammen, Daniel, 1820-1898--Archives.
United States--Navy--Officers
General Correspondence
box 1, folder 1-30
Arranged alphabetically by correspondents.
- Including letters, etc. relating to Admiral Ammen's personal affairs and to his career in the United States Navy.
- Also included is Ammen memorabilia.
- Some of the letters contain references to the Nicaraguan canal project.
Letters to Joseph Marshall Stoddart . (1845-1921)
Stoddart was editor of
Lippincott's Magazine. These letters (1889-1891) concern the possibility of publishing portions of Admiral Ammen's memoirs in the magazine. Mention
is made of the Nicaragua experiences and letters from General Grant.
Added to Daniel Ammen Papers, Collection 811 (by D. Luckenbill, December 1974).
General Papers
box 6
Contains 22 documents affirming Admiral Ammen's various naval and other appointments, arranged chronologically.
Commission of Daniel Ammen as Commander in the Navy, 1863, February 21
United States military officer, Major General George Cadwalader and horse, , Cabinet card, circa 1879
Papers Concerning the Ammen Rams
box 1, folder 31-41
Letters, photographs, blueprints etc. re the construction and design of the Ammen ram.
box 2, folder 1-21
Papers re the Nicaraguan Canal Route
box 3, folder 1-12
box 5
Miscellaneous