Collection of materials relating to ships named the USS Concord, 1898-1992
Vault A65, Unit H1
EXTENT: .5 linear feet (one document box).
ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT: Organized in two series. Series I: USS Concord, 1898-1992; Series II: Reduced Minute Man statue created for the USS Concord,1947-1986. Both series are arranged chronologically.
HISTORY: The first USS Concord was a sloop-of-war launched on September 24, 1828 and commissioned on May 7, 1830. She was used in various locations until she ran aground October 2, 1842 off the coast of Mozambique. The second USS Concord was a PG-3 twin screw gunboat launched March 8, 1890, and commissioned February 14, 1891. She served during the Spanish-American War under Admiral Dewey and played a part in the victory at Manila Bay. She was decommissioned and then recommissioned twice before she was permanently decommissioned on November 4, 1909. The third USS Concord was a No. 773 built in 1898, purchased by the Navy on September 22, 1917, and commissioned November 20, 1917. She was renamed the Mendota in 1920 and, in 1932, the Muscotah. The fourth USS Concord, CL-10, was launched December 15, 1921 and commissioned November 3, 1923 with Captain O.G. Murfin in command. During WWII she served in the Pacific in the Kurile Islands and Japan under the command of Rear Admiral Ingram Cecil Sowell. She was decommissioned on December 12, 1945 and sold January 21, 1947. The fifth USS Concord, AFS-5, was a “MARS” class combat stores ship launched December 17, 1966 and decommissioned on October 15, 1992.
Starting with the second USS Concord, there has been a reduced-size Minute Man statue on display on all of the USS Concord ships. This statue derives from the original full-size statue created by sculptor Daniel Chester French for the 1875 commemoration of the centennial of the Concord Fight in 1775. Eight reduced-sized replicas have been made as of 1986. The original reduced-size statue is now held by the Navy Memorial Museum, and new USS Concord vessels are presented with a reduced-size replica for placement. In 1947, the original replica was placed on loan to the Town of Concord until 1968 when it was placed on the fifth USS Concord. The Navy Memorial Museum more recently lent the original to the Concord Free Public Library and the Concord Museum (in succession).
SCOPE AND CONTENT: An artificial collection of materials pertaining to the five USS Concord vessels, dealing primarily with the second, fourth, and fifth vessels. Materials include photos of and artifacts from the vessels themselves, as well as correspondence and information pertaining to the various vessels. There is information on the life of Rear Admiral Ingram Cecil Sowell and also on Manila Bay and the USS Concord’s participation in WWII. The collection also contains correspondence and accounts relating to the reduced-sized Minute Man statue as well as other items on the USS Concord vessels. Correspondence ranges from the 1920s to the 1980s, and includes a letter from Theodore Roosevelt while he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy. There are transcripts from the annual Concord town reports about the gifting and then holding of these statues as well as other gifts given by the town. Most correspondence within the collection are either to or from various members of the “Town of Concord Council.”
NOTES AND COMMENTS: Items in the collection dated and arranged chronologically unless no date is given on the record.
RELATED MATERIALS: The John Shepard Keyes Papers at the CFPL include records of the gunboat Concord.
PROCESSED BY: Camille Dupuis, 23 April 2016
Container List
Series One: USS Concord vessels, 1898-1992:
Folder 1: History of the USS Concord vessels, 1927 &1968
Quick fact sheet on all five USS Concord vessels with their dates of commission and decommission
Facts and history of the USS Concord vessels 1-4, released for Navy Day, October 7, 1927
Detailed history of the USS Concord vessels, mostly about the fifth USS Concord, AFS-5, and the Mission Statement
History of the USS Concord, CL-10
Fact sheet for the USS Concord, AFS-5
Two sheets from Concord town report dealing with the USS Concord, one dated 1968
Folder 2: Battle of Manila, newspaper clippings (USS Concord Gunboat, PG-3), 1898-1938
Typed copy, “In a critical article of the Spanish War so able Strategist as Admiral Luce said”
“To Surprise Camara,” in the event that Camara should arrive before the Monterey
“Synopsis of the part the USS Concord took in the operations in Manila Bay and Adjacent Waters”
Copy of the proclamation issued by General Otis, Manila, P.I., January 4, 1898
Pamphlet, “The Bounding Billow,” about the fall of Manila, Aug-Sept. 1898
Newspaper article, Freedom newspaper, “Great Work of the Concord, Charleston, Monterey and other Vessels – One Man Wounded,” Manila, September 25, 1899
Newspaper article, “The Spanish War,” Thursday, May 9, 1929
Newspaper articles, “Few of Dewey’s Officers remain” and “Destroy the Olympia,” May 10, 1938
Newspaper article, “Dewey’s Great Victory in Manila Bay,” as printed in The Searchlight, undated
Newspaper article, “The Spanish War,” undated
Folder 3: USS Concord Gunboat, PG-3, other, 1890-1963
Pamphlet, “Gunboat Concord,” “Report of the Committee on the Gunboat Concord,” Concord, Mass., 1890
ALS, George Lerch to “Board of Aldermen Town of Concord,” with facts on USS Concord and officers, December 27, 1948
TL, Krist Anderson to George Lerch, January 4, 1949
TLS, Ira Miller (Clatsop County Historical Society) to Florence Brooks, May 10, 1963
Folder 4: Artifacts from USS Concord Gunboat (PG-3), 1890-1963
Piece of flag
Photo of gunboat, 1890
Campaign medals belonging to Captain Asa Walker, 1898
Black and white photo of hatch doors, accompanied by copy of TLS, Ira Miller to Florence Brooks, May 10, 1963
Folder 5: USS Concord, CL-10, 1924
Envelope from letter from Theodore Roosevelt to the Board of Selectmen, Concord, Mass., [1924]
TLS, Theodore Roosevelt to Sam Hoar, September 2, 1924
TLS, O.G. Murfin to Sam Hoar, December 9, 1924
TLS, Sam Hoar to George Weed, December 19, 1924
Folder 6: USS Concord, CL-10, World War II, 1944-1975
Poem on USS Concord by D.J. Brand, undated
Article, “Paramushiro Shelled, Task Force Bombards Jap Island in Daylight,” taken from Attu Morning Sun
Report of the day, June 13, 1944
Plan of the Day, Saturday, August 11, 1945
Plan of the Day, Thursday, August 16, 1945
Plan of the Day, Monday, September 10, 1945
Photographs, black & white, [Japan], with copies
History of Rear Admiral Ingram Cecil Sowell, US Navy, April 29, 1947
Photograph of Ingram Cecil Sowell, black & white
Newspaper article, “WWII’s Last Shot,” V.F.W. Magazine, December 1975
Folder 7: USS Concord, CL-10, Navy Day, Boston, 1945
Pamphlet, Navy Day, Boston, 1945
Pre-Navy Day release for Boston-area newspapers
Four photographs of ship and crew, black &white, with three photos described
Folder 8: USS Concord, AFS-5, commissioning and ceremony, 1968
TLS, Louis J. Collister to Laurence Murray, September 18, 1968
Mission of USS Concord
History of Ships named Concord
TLS, Laurence Murray to Louis J. Collister, September 27, 1968
TLS, Louis J. Collister to Laurence Murray, November 9, 1968
Folders 9-11: Artifacts, USS Concord, AFS-5, 1968-1992
Two pamphlets, commissioning of USS Concord, Long Beach Naval Shipyard, November 27, 1968
1968-1970, USS Concord AFS-5, (book)
Welcome Aboard, by Captain Van F. Westfall
Photograph, color, USS Concord, signed by Westfall, 1980
Welcome Aboard pamphlet, [1980]
Welcome to Replenishment pamphlet, [1980]
Mediterranean Cruise, 1979-1980 (book)
Napkin
Pin
Embroidered Patch, 1992
Welcome Aboard Pamphlet, [1992]
Series Two: Minute Man statue, 1947-1986:
Folder 12: Town of Concord related materials, 1947-1948
Concord town report, photocopy, page 141, undated
Concord town report, photocopy, page 13, 1947
Transcript, remarks by Selectman Egbert S. Newbury Jr., July 4, 1947
Handwritten remarks by Selectman Egbert S. Newbury Jr.
USS Concord trophies, where stored, May 4, 1948 [in the town of Concord]
Folder 13: Minute Man statue, 1964-1986
TLS, carbon copy, David Little to Jason Korell, June 18, 1964
TL, carbon copy, David Little to Board of Selectmen, Concord, June 24, 1964
TL, carbon copy, David Little, to Board of Selectmen, Concord, June 27, 1964
TL, carbon copy, David Little to Herbert Wilkins, July 2, 1964
Motion of the Library Committee, July 10, 1964, copy
TL, carbon copy, David Little to Robert D. Wild, July 3, 1964
Copy of photos of the Minute Man
TL, carbon copy, David Little to Board of Selectmen, Concord, July 9, 1964
TL, carbon copy, David Little to Robert Wild, July 10, 1964
TL, carbon copy, David Little to Alf L. Braconier, July 10, 1964
Memorandum, transfer of Concord Minute Man statue to the US Navy, November 4, 1968
Photograph, black & white, description on back
Photograph, black & white, description on back
ALS, Fred A. Lumb to Mrs. Marcia Moss, May 6, 1986
TL, carbon copy, Adam F. Panarese to Dean C. Allard, May 9, 1986
TLS, B.F. Cavalcante to Commander Adam F. Panarese, May 30, 1986
TLS, Fred A. Lumb to Rose Marie Mitten and Marcia Moss, June 16, 1986
Photocopied memorandum, by Commanding Officer F.E. Perrill on the subject of “Valuable Gifts,” March 29, 1977, with accompanying material about Minute Man statue
Folder 14: Artifact
Spare musket barrel for Minute Man statue
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Mounted 11 June 2016, rev. 29 June 2016. rcwh.