Description
Collection of letters from the Charleston Navy Yard, including a signed appointment by Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Includes a total of eleven letters to Robert F. Ilderton, Master Boilermaker at the Charleston Navy Yard.
Letters are correspondence and letters of recommendation for promotion from the following notable figures: Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rear Admiral John R. Edwards, Senator Benjamin B. Tillman (South Carolina), and Senator Richard S. Whaley (South Carolina). The correspondence is from Robert F. Ilderton (1882-1920), who served in the United States Navy at the Charleston Navy Yard. He died as a result of injuries he suffered during a railway accident in 1919.
Franklin D. Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1920. Working under Secretary Josephus Daniels, he handled personnel, operations, contracting, and inspections. He also helped direct the Navy’s rapid expansion during World War I. Roosevelt made several trips to Charleston and later recalled his efforts to strengthen the Charleston Navy Yard.
