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Department of Veterans Affairs
Bureau of Yards and Docks
Office of the Chief of Engineers
Office of the Quartermaster General
Office of the Surgeon General (Army)
Office of the Judge Advocate General (Navy)
Office of the Chief of Ordnance
Naval Districts and Shore Establishment
Headquarters United States Air Force

RG 15 - Department of Veterans Affairs

Administers programs to benefit veterans and members of their families, including compensation payments for military service-related disabilities or death, rehabilitation, medical care, burial, pensions, education, and home loan guarenty.

Mountain Branch Home in Johnson City, Tennessee

This series consists of sample case files for veterans treated at the Mountain Branch Home in Johnson City, Tennessee. The case files may contain applications for admission, personal property inventories, correspondence, and transfer information to and from other veteran's hospitals. The service dates of the veterans sampled range from the Civil War to World War I.
This series consists of 100 case files relating to the veterans temporarily living at the National Home for the Disabled Soldiers in Johnson City, Tennessee. The case files may contain applications for admission, transfers from other veteran's hospitals, service histories, pension information and correspondence. The service dates of the veterans extend from the Civil War to World War I.

RG 77 - Office of the Chief of Engineers

Assesses and collects customs fees and penalties. Intercepts and seizes contraband, including narcotics and illegal drugs. Processes persons, carriers, cargo, and mail into and out of the United States. Administers navigation laws. Detects and apprehends violators of customs laws. Enforces export control laws. Cooperates with other federal agencies and foreign governments in suppressing illegal traffic in narcotics and pornography. Collects international trade statistics. Historical functions of the Customs Service included administration of navigation aids and lighthouses, transferred to Lighthouse Board by act of August 31, 1852 (10 Stat. 119); and functions relating to the protection of seamen, and to revenue cutters, transferred to Revenue Marine Division (later Revenue Cutter Service) in 1871. The Bureau of Customs assumed responsibility for vessel documentation by EO 9083, February 28, 1942, which abolished the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation.

General Administrative Files

This finding aid consists of general administrative files that include letters, reports, forms, memoranda, circulars, orders, regulations, and various plans concerning the district's administration of civil works projects and military construction projects during the years 1951 to 1955.
River surveys

This series consists of maps and charts used in the 1911-1914 Ohio River Survey and the 1902-1903 Wabash River Survey projects.

RG 92 - Office of the Quartermaster General

Provided general supply, mortuary affairs, subsistence, petroleum and water, field services, and material and distribution management support for the U.S. Army.

Cemetery and interment records

Information contained in the Reports of Death vary greatly from hastily written notes on scraps of paper to well thought-out biographies containing the decedent's name; rank; unit; when, where, and how he died. In some instances, the soldier's residency, next-of-kin, former occupation, and previous battles are also included. Most reports contain the burial plot location in the Chattanooga National Cemetery. The General Correspondence contains letters and other records related to the cemetery.
General Records

This series consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, orders, schedules, bulletins, surveys, operating procedures and histories. The records include general orders, conference files, organization and supply manuals, operating programs and procedures, training operations, and unit history files.
Special Orders

This series consists of special orders issued by the Atlanta Quartermaster Depot. The orders relate to a variety of topics including: notification of the appointment of military personnel to specific duties; notification of officer reassignment and change of duty stations; granting of leave; and provisions to supervise the sales of surplus property.

RG 112 - Office of The Surgeon General (Army)

Administers the Army Medical Department. Provides advice and assistance on medical matters to the Secretary of the Army, the Chief of Staff, and other elements of the Department of the Army. Exercises general oversight and control of all aspects of army health services.

Medical inspections and Records

This series consists of reports from the army hospital at the Augusta Arsenal in Augusta, GA. The reports include information about sanitary conditions and sick personnel. Some of the reports list births, marriages, and deaths at the Arsenal.

RG 125 - Office of The Judge Advocate General (Navy)

Administers military justice and a legal assistance program, enforces court-martial sentences, initiates corrective legal actions, handles matters relating to international and admiralty law and claims against the navy, and drafts departmental legislation. Between 1908 and 1921, civil legal functions were handled by a separate Office of the Solicitor of the Navy.

General Administrative Files

This series consists of records documenting the administration and operation of the Naval Disciplinary Barracks at Port Royal, South Carolina. Included are general correspondence, copies of general court-martial sentences, copies of weekly reports of detentioners and probationers, copies of enlisted men's service records, miscellaneous papers that include statements of accounts, charges for government property, copies of summary court-martial proceedings, single-transfer accounts, reports of deposits, reports of details, copies of proceedings in deck courts, receipts for transfer papers, payroll vouchers, reports of Marine command, papers referring to furloughs, punishments, drills, instructions, indebtedness, and dispositions.

RG 156 - Office of the chief of Ordnance

Developed, tested, maintained, repaired, procured, and distributed army ordnance and ordnance equipment.

Alabama Ordnance Works (Sylacauga, Alabama)

This series consists of office orders, photographs, and historical records of the Alabama Ordnance Works in Sylacauga, Alabama. The photographs depict aerial views of the installation as well as the construction projects.
Anniston Ordnance Depot (Anniston, Alabama)

This series consists of organization charts, position descriptions, historical reports, orders, bulletins, and memoranda from the Anniston Ordnance Depot in Anniston, Alabama. There are several office divisions that are described in the records: the medical department, the surveillance division, the inspection division, the box crating dunnage branch, the heavy equipment branch, the blacksmith branch, the labor and equipment pool, the fund control and fiscal branch, the time and payroll branch, the storage division, the receiving station, the shipping station, the safety and security branch, the motor pool branch, the repairs and utilities division, the plumbers and steamfitters branch, the carpenters and painters branch, the electrical branch, the janitors branch, the stock control branch, the combat vehicle branch, the paint shop branch, the artillery branch, the shop supply branch, the returned material branch, the administrative branch, the employment section, the employee relations section, the training section, the wage and salary section, the historical branch, military personnel branch, control division, statistics and progress branch, signal division, stock the control division, the major items branch, the inventory control branch, the incoming property branch, the stock accounting branch, the outgoing property branch, the commercial traffic branch, the transportation division, the internal rail branch, the operations office, the commanding officer's office, the communication and records branch, the depot property branch, and the maintenance division.
Atlanta Ordnance Depot (Atlanta, Georgia)

This series consists of formerly classified general orders, regulations, memoranda, correspondence, standard operating procedures, daily activity reports, and command histories. Records in this series concern subjects related to training, safety, administrative activities, personnel, German and Italian prisoners of war, and racial discrimination. Included in this series are investigations into alleged employee racial discrimination and transcripts of interviews with African American employees. Also included is a plan to employ Italian prisoners of war, called the Italian Soldiers Unit (ISU), in automotive repair work at the depot in 1944.
Augusta Ordnance Depot (Augusta, Georgia)

This series consists of assorted files from the Augusta Arsenal 1940-1953. There are several types of files that describe daily operations at the Arsenal: general orders, field service orders, general circulars, standard operating procedure circulars, interoffice memoranda, incoming memoranda, field service bulletins, and physical security surveys.
  • RG 156 - Assorted Records - Augusta Ordnance Depot[Download PDF]

    • This series contains assorted records from the Augusta Arsenal in Augusta, Georgia: general orders, regulations, standard operating procedures, newsletters, memoranda, weekly directives, circulars, organization manuals, technical instructions, plans, journals, operational diaries, historical records, photographs, maps, charts, death and interment records, staff meeting notes, and newspaper clippings. Records in this series concern subjects related to administration, personnel, ordnance production, World War II, air raid planning, weapons stock and supply, and buildings on the installation. The photographs in this series concern subjects related to women workers, African American workers, medal ceremonies for soldiers, ordnance manufacture, baseball games, the Arsenal bowling team, rifle range practice, buildings, mess halls and cafeterias, and weapons manufacture.

  • RG 156 - Assorted Records - Augusta Ordnance Depot[Download PDF]

    • This series consists of formerly classified correspondence files from the Augusta Arsenal between 1944 to 1955. Most of the files contain plans for mobilization and defense: Augusta Arsenal Operations Plan for the Defense of the Third Army Area, dated April 22, 1953; Emergency Plan White, dated April 2, 1951; Air Raid Warning Plan, dated August 20, 1953; Chemical, Biological and Radiological Plan, dated August 20, 1953; Directory and Station List of the U.S. Army, dated December 15, 1954; Joint Chiefs of Staff Army-Navy Joint Routing Indicator Book, dated November 30, 1954; master planning for emergency installation expansion; ammunition and equipment lists, dated February and April 1953; Standing Operating Procedures for Intelligence, dated October 6, 1952; Third Army Plan for Control of Electromagnetic Radiation, dated January 11, 1954; and the U.S. Army Safety Program publication, dated 1954. The correspondence related to Third Army was distributed by Third Army Headquarters at Fort McPherson, Georgia.

  • RG 156 - Correspondence - Augusta Ordnance Depot[Download PDF]
Birmingham Ordnance District (Birmingham, Alabama)

This series consists of formerly classified files for monthly meetings of the contract awards board for the Birmingham Ordnance District. Each monthly file consists of similar information: contractor evaluations, contract pricing information, product specifications and descriptions, and meeting notes.
  • RG 156 - Awards Board Files - Birmingham Ordnance District[Download PDF]

    • This series consists of formerly classified general orders, historical files, administrative files, reports, and correspondence of the Birmingham Ordnance District. Records in this series concern subjects related to contracts, production, the legal division, the adjutant's office, the fiscal division, the production division, the inspection division, ammunition, artillery, the tank and automotive section, research and development, security, and policies and procedures.

  • RG 156 - Assorted Records - Birmingham Ordnance District[Download PDF]

    • This series consists of formerly classified memoranda, reports, correspondence and plans of the Birmingham Ordnance District. Records in this series concern subjects related to contract investigations and terminations, production of the 75 millimeter high explosive shell, the Ordnance Department Guided Missiles Program, intelligence, personnel, the War Department Affiliation Plan, industrial mobilization planning, and small arms incendiary ammunition. Also included in this series is a report of a fraud investigation regarding Higgins Industries.

  • RG 156 - Memoranda and Reports - Birmingham Ordnance District[Download PDF]

    • This series consists of formerly classified memoranda from the Birmingham Ordnance District. Records in this series concern subjects related to the demilitarization of military equipment, budget estimates, industrial mobilization planning, programs and policies, ordnance installations and activities, and manpower requirements.

  • RG 156 - Memoranda - Birmingham Ordnance District[Download PDF]
Blue Grass Ordnance Depot (Lexington, Kentucky)

This series consists of general orders, correspondence, reports, manuals, plans, historical files, and standard operating procedures of the Blue Grass Ordnance Depot in Lexington, Kentucky. Records in this series concern subjects related to ordnance manufacture and products, demilitarization of ammunition, barracks, buildings and grounds, budgets, organizational structures, and conferences.
Blue Grass Ordnance Depot (Richmond, Kentucky)

This series consists of general orders, memoranda, and office bulletins of the Blue Grass Ordnance Depot in Richmond, Kentucky. Records in this series concern subjects related to personnel assignments, depot reorganization, safety, administrative activities, inspections, publications, mail, and training. Also included in this series is a diary which details depot activities in 1950.
Charleston Ordnance Depot (Charleston, South CArolina)

This series consists of bulletins, memoranda, general orders, historical reports, newspaper clippings, organization charts, manuals, standard operating procedures, reports, and maps from the Charleston Ordnance Depot in Charleston, South Carolina. Records in this series concern subjects related to depot activities, administrative actions, ordnance demilitarization and destruction, hand grenades, explosive ammunition, and explosive chemicals.
East Tennessee Ordnance Works (Copperhill, Tennessee)

This series consists of historical records of the East Tennessee Ordnance Works in Copperhill. Records in this series concern subjects related to ordnance administration, contractor administration, personnel, production, statistical data, shipments, and budget estimates.
Gadsden Ordnance Plant (Gadsden, Alabama)

This series consists of a narrative history of the Gadsden Ordnance Plant in Gadsden, Alabama. Records in this series concern subjects related to contracts, production, employment, security, transportation, utilities, forge and machine shop procedures, and administrative actions. Also included in this series are orders, memoranda, and photographs. The photographs depict personnel and equipment.
Holston Ordnance Works (Kingsport, Tennessee)

This series contains reports, contracts, and surveys from the Holston Ordnance Works in Kingsport, Tennessee. Records in this series concern subjects related to registered mail, disqualified contract bidders, subversive activities, funds, civilian and military personnel, conferences, installation security, supplies, vehicles, buildings and grounds, and visits of foreign nationals.
  • RG 156 - Decimal Files - Holston Ordnance Works[Download PDF]

    • This series consists of formerly classified historical reports from the Holston Ordnance Works in Kingsport, Tennessee. Records in this series concern subjects related to engineering and construction, procurement, and production. Included in some of the reports are photographs of installation activities and personnel and detailed production statistics.

  • RG 156 - Historical Reports - Holston Ordnance Works[Download PDF]

    • This series consists of formerly classified subject files from the Holston Ordnance Works in Kingsport, Tennessee. The files contain manuals, memoranda, orders, reports, meeting minutes, and correspondence. Records in this series concern subjects related to health hazards and research, reclassification of weapons and ordnance, personnel and administrative actions, conferences, redeployment movements, and security investigations. Included in the series is a report from September 1944 by the National Defense Research Committee titled “Hazards to the Health of Individuals Working with RDX(B).” The report includes photos of test animals and humans.

  • RG 156 - Subject Files - Holston Ordnance Works[Download PDF]

    • This series consists of daily resumes of activities of the Holston Ordnance Works in Kingsport, Tennessee. Each resume contains reports from various installation departments and other information: electrical department; car loading and shipping; automotive repairs; carpenters, painters, and laborers; miscellaneous activities; explosive handling; fire department; guard department; stores; first aid; surveillance section; buildings and equipment; ammunition; visitors; and weather.

  • RG 156 - Resumes of Daily Activities - Holston Ordnance Works[Download PDF]
Milan Arsenal (Milan, Tennessee)

This series consists of circular letters, general orders, office memoranda, plans, and historical reports of the Milan Arsenal in Milan, Tennessee. Records in this series concern subjects related to civilian contractors, war fraud, embezzlement, budgets, military and civilian personnel, intelligence, security, subversive publications, procurement planning, criminal conduct, communist activities, housing, production, operations, construction, and administrative activities at the arsenal. Also in this series are photographs depicting workers at the arsenal, including African American men and women.
Mississippi Ordnance Plant (Flora, Mississippi)

This series consists of formerly classified historical reports, general orders, memoranda, and staff bulletins of the Mississippi Ordnance Plant in Flora, Mississippi. Each historical report contains information from various offices and divisions at the plant: public relations, the adjutant division, the legal division, the personnel division, the security and intelligence division, the supply division, the maintenance division, the military personnel division, the military training division, the military supply coordinator, and the military training groups.
Ohio River Ordnance Works (Henderson, Kentucky)

This series consists of general orders, memoranda, and reports from the Ohio River Ordnance Works in Henderson, Kentucky. The general orders concern subjects related to additional duty assignments for officers, installation closures, assumptions of command, and administrative procedures. The memoranda concern subjects related to records administration, security of classified documents, organizational charts, job descriptions, plant security, physical fitness, and other administrative subjects. The reports contain monthly reports of installation activities regarding subjects such as visitors, production statistics, shipping, and training programs.
Volunteer Ordnance Works (Chattanooga, Tennessee)

This series consists of bulletins, memoranda, general orders, historical reports, newspaper clippings, organization charts, manuals, standard operating procedures, reports, and maps from the Charleston Ordnance Depot in Charleston, South Carolina. Records in this series concern subjects related to depot activities, administrative actions, ordnance demilitarization and destruction, hand grenades, explosive ammunition, and explosive chemicals.

RG 181 - Naval Districts and shore Establishments

Maintained navy yards, naval stations, naval bases, naval air installations, and other types of shore establishments that performed services for the fleet.

Aide's Subject Files

This series contains correspondence, rosters, reports, orders, and memoranda from the office of the Commandant's Aide at the Charleston Navy Shipyard. Records in this series concern subjects related to personnel, shipyard operations, fishing passes, movement of vessels, and supply.
Assorted Records

This series consists of formerly classified correspondence, reports, logs, memoranda, letters, and operations bulletins of the Sixth Naval District Intelligence Office in Charleston, SC. Records in this series concern subjects related to communications, identification symbols, mail, conferences, investigations, publications, convoys, anti-submarine warfare, German submarines, operational intelligence, blockades, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration Bureau, the Judge Advocate General, the intercoastal waterway, enemy activity, interpreters, sabotage, and personnel. Also included in this series are operations summaries containing information regarding Communist Party activities in the United States and Europe.
Confidential War Diaries

This series consists of daily operational journals (commonly referred to as war diaries) created by various naval commands, shore installations, ships and other activities throughout the Sixth Naval District, as well as some British ships. Most war diaries provided a day-to-day record of operational activities and sometimes administrative activities as well. War diaries were submitted by most units in the Navy. The quality of the diaries varied widely, with some providing detailed accounts, while other diaries contain only cursory information. Generally, higher level commands submitted the most detailed war diaries. War diaries of smaller units and ships often provide less information. For most of the 1942-1945 period, war diaries were typed on standard sized paper and varied considerably in the number of days and information that might appear on any one page. Most war diaries were discontinued by August 1946.
  • RG 181 - Confidential War Diaries - 6th Naval District at Charleston, South Carolina[Download PDF]

    • This series consists of daily operational journals (commonly referred to as war diaries) created by various naval commands, shore installations, scout squadrons, blimp squadrons, ships, and other activities throughout the Seventh Naval District. Most war diaries provided a day-to-day record of operational activities and sometimes administrative activities as well. War diaries were submitted by most units in the Navy. The quality of the diaries varied widely, with some providing detailed accounts, while other diaries contain only cursory information. Generally, higher level commands submitted the most detailed war diaries. War diaries of smaller units and ships often provide less information. For most of the 1942-1945 period, war diaries were typed on standard sized paper and varied considerably in the number of days and information that might appear on any one page. Most war diaries were discontinued by August 1946.

  • RG 181 - Confidential War Diaries - 7th Naval District at Miami, Florida[Download PDF]
General Correspondence

This series consists of formerly classified general correspondence from the Sixth Naval District Headquarters in Charleston, SC. Records in this series concern subjects related to the status of vessels and aircraft, the status of shore stations, ship and aircraft movements, gun exercises, communications, codes and signals, mail, censorship, publications, intelligence systems, the collection of information, espionage, security methods, German submarines, commercial shipping, convoy operations, warfare operations, appropriations, and training operations.
  • RG 181 - General Correspondence - 6th Naval District at Charleston, South Carolina[Download Excel Spreadsheet]

    • This series consists of formerly classified correspondence from the Headquarters of the Seventh Naval District in Jacksonville, Florida. Records in this series concern many subjects: plans, projects, and policies; building programs; ordnance; permits and licenses; management; forms; status of vessels and aircraft; gun exercises; communications, radio operations; codes and signals; incoming and outgoing mail; censorship; publications; conferences; motion pictures; security investigations; intelligence; espionage; information collection; statistics; historical matters; foreign affairs; convoys; honors and ceremonies; national defense; warfare operations; law and justice; aviation; appropriations; and organization and operations. Included in the intelligence files of this series are investigation reports of suspicious individuals, objects, and businesses. Some of the individuals were investigated for alleged signaling or aiding German submarines in the waters off the Florida coast.

  • RG 181 - General Correspondence - 7th Naval District at Jacksonville, Florida[Download Excel Spreadsheet]
Intelligence Files

This series provides a partial record intelligence and investigative activities of suspected German sympathizers, pro-labor agitators and others suspected of Anti-American activities during World War One. The series also documents investigations into the activities of Naval Personnel assigned to the Sixth Naval District and workers in defense industries and warehouses. Also included are details of ship movements, examinations of ships, and photographs of various ships in camouflage paint schemes.
Investigation Files

This series consists of reports of investigations conducted by the Intelligence Office, 6th Naval District from 1940 to 1945. The files primarily contain investigation reports. Each report includes similar information: subject of the investigation, creator of the report, location of the report, time period of the incident, origin of the case, and a synopsis of the findings. Some of the subjects described in the investigation reports are confidential information regarding potential and current employees of the Charleston Naval Yard, marriages of sailors to prostitutes, censorship regulations, possible cases of sabotage, and suspected codes contained in "Life" magazine advertisements. The reports of potential and current employees consist of Labor Board Stops and Labor Board Employment lists. The Labor Board Stops identify individuals about whom the Intelligence Office maintained confidential information that would negatively impact their application for employment at the Charleston Naval Yard. The Labor Board Employment lists identify the names, job classifications, birth dates, and pay rates of personnel employed by the Charleston Naval Yard.
Ship Commissioning Files

This series consists of correspondence, invitations, and instructions relating to the commissioning of naval vessels at the Charleston Navy Yard during the World War, 1939-1945.
Subject Files

This series contains files related to the administrative and operational activities of the Sixth Naval District during World War Two. Included in the files are reports, logs, dispatches, correspondence, and regulations. Most of the files describe suspected or actual visual, physical or radar contact with German submarines along the east coast of the United States. The shore locations of submarine sightings include Jacksonville, Florida; Amelia Island, Florida; Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; Flager Beach, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; New York Harbor, New York; Holden Beach, North Carolina; Cherry Point, North Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Isle of Palms, South Carolina; Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Port Royal Sound, South Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Sullivan's Island, South Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia.
U.S. Army Hospital Ship Repair Files

This series of records includes United States Army Hospital Ship repair requests, inspections, and repair reports. The repair request was generally a detailed listing of needed ship repairs provided by the commander of the Hospital Ship to the Charleston Navy Yard.

RG 341 - Headquarters U.S. Air Force (Air Staff)

Provides advice and assistance to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force on all aspects of air defense and offense.

Correspondence Files

This series contains site plans, correspondence, directives and planning files related to the construction of Air Force bases throughout the South Atlantic Division.

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