The general administration is divided into departments at the different dock-yards, each department corresponding with a bureau of the central control, and all under the superintendence of a commandant who is an officer of the executive corps having the grade of Commodore. There are no naval maritime districts in the United States, naval authority being limited strictly to the dock-yard government. There are seven dock-yards: Portsmouth (New Hampshire), Charlestown (Massachusetts), Brooklyn (New York), League Island (Pennsylvania), Norfolk (Virginia), Pensacola (Florida), and Mare Island (California). In addition to these there are three subordinate stations for coaling, recruiting, and repairing: New London (Connecticut), Port Royal (South Carolina), and Key West (Florida). The Coast Survey and Lighthouse establishments, although not under the control of the Navy Department, employ naval officers almost exclusively.
ASSIMILATED GRADES OF THE CORPS
OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.
| Executive Corps. | Medical Corps. | Pay Corps. | Engineer Corps. | Constructors’ Corps. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admiral | Honorary | ||||
| Vice-Admiral | |||||
| Rear-Admiral | |||||
| Commodore | Surgeon-General | Paymaster-General | Engineer-in-Chief | Chief Constructor | |
| Captain | Medical Director | Pay Director | Chief Engineer | ||
| Commander | Medical Inspector | Pay Inspector | Naval Constructor | ||
| Lieutenant-Commander | Surgeon | Paymaster | |||
| Lieutenant | Passed Asst. Surgeon | Passed Asst. Paymaster | Passed Asst. Engineer | Assistant Naval Constructor | |
| Master | ””” | ””” | ””” | ||
| Ensign | Assistant Surgeon | Assistant Paymaster | Assistant Engineer | ||
| Midshipman | |||||
| Cadet Midshipman | Cadet Engineer | ||||
| Cadet | Engineer Cadet | ||||
Corps of Chaplains and Professors.
Officers of these corps bear the names of Chaplain and Professor, the grades being from Captain to Lieutenant, except that there is no grade to correspond with Lieut.-Commander.
Officers of the Executive and Engineer Corps are drawn exclusively from graduates of the Naval Academy. The other corps are drawn from civil life. Promotion is strictly by seniority in all grades. All officers except those in the Constructors’ and Professors’ Corps are obliged to pass a rigid examination in being promoted from one grade to another. The course of study at the Naval Academy is four years for both executive and engineer officers; the cadet then passes into the fleet for a period of two years for active service, at the end of which time he is eligible for promotion to the next grade. On reaching the age of 62 years or after 45 years of service, officers are retired from the active list. Officers failing twice in examination for promotion may be retired as mentally unqualified for active service.
In addition to these grades, in the regular line of promotion there are five subordinate; grades of what are called Warrant Officers namely, Boatswain, Gunner, Carpenter, Sailmaker, and Mate.
The cadre of the active list of the navy is 1678 officers, 7500 men, and 700 apprentices.
There is also a corps of Marine Infantry numbering 75 officers and 2500 men.
The method of enlistment is entirely voluntary, for periods of three years, with special inducements for re-enlistment. There is no reserve division of the service, the active cadre representing the entire disposable force. Apprentices are enlisted between the ages of 14 and 18, with obligatory service until they reach the age of 21. They are first put in training-ships, where they remain between two and three years, entering the fleet as soon as they are considered fully instructed. After entering the fleet they are eligible to advancement as seamen and petty officers.