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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 4.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3600 items) |
| Abstract | Aaron Stanton Merrill of Natchez, Miss., became a U.S. Navy officer in 1912 and retired as vice admiral in 1947. The collection contains official and personal papers of Merrill particularly concerning his career in naval intelligence. The collection includes a diary and other papers related to his activities as an intelligence officer in Asia Minor, 1920-1921; papers in China, 1925-1927; diary in Santiago, Chile, 1936-1938; World War II dispatches and battle orders; log book as commandant of the 8th Naval District, 1946-1947; other diaries; personal files, 1939-1947; and various other items. |
| Creator | Merrill, Aaron Stanton, 1890-1961. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Jill Snider, August 1992
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Aaron Stanton Merrill of Natchez, Miss., became a U.S. Navy officer in 1912 and retired as vice admiral in 1947.
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Scope and Content
The collection contains official and personal papers of Aaron Stanton Merrill particularly concerning his career in naval intelligence. The collection includes a diary and other papers related to his activities as an intelligence officer in Asia Minor, 1920-1921; papers in China, 1925-1927; diary in Santiago, Chile, 1936-1938; World War II dispatches and battle orders; log book as commandant of the 8th Naval District, 1946-1947; other diaries; personal files, 1939-1947; and various other items.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Family and Personal Papers, 1912-1943.
Series 1 contains a brief sketch of Merrill's career through 1932, an "Officer's Record of Fitness," documenting his activities and performance between 1912-1946, family letters from Merrill to his mother in Natchez between 1913 1921, his senior paper and thesis done at the Naval War College in 1939, articles he wrote on fishing and hunting, and miscellaneous personal correspondence for 1923, 1929, and 1943.
| Folder 1 |
Biographical information, 1912-1946 |
| Folder 2 |
Correspondence, 1913, 1920-1921 |
| Folder 3 |
Correspondence, 1923; 1929 |
Folder 4-6
Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6 |
Correspondence, 1943 |
| Folder 7 |
Miscellaneous personal papers, 1911-1921 |
Folder 8-9
Folder 8Folder 9 |
Writings: Senior paper, Naval War College, 1939 |
| Folder 10 |
Writings: "Duck Fishing in Chile," 1939 |
| Folder 11 |
Articles on California and Wild Guinea Fowl in Haiti, undated |
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Series 2. Naval Papers
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Subseries 2.1. General Files, 1921-1950.
Arrangement: chronological.
General files are arranged chronologically, and contain primarily correspondence and memoranda, with scattered orders, reports, and other items interfiled. These files cover the years 1921-1950, with the bulk in 1946-1947.
| Folder 12 |
1921-1941 |
| Folder 13 |
1939-1940 |
| Folder 14 |
1939-1941 |
| Folder 15 |
1942-1943 |
| Folder 16 |
1942 |
| Folder 17 |
1943-1945 |
| Folder 18 |
1944 |
| Folder 19 |
1943-1946 |
| Folder 20 |
1946 January-February |
| Folder 21 |
1946 March-April |
| Folder 22 |
1946 May |
| Folder 23 |
1946 June |
| Folder 24 |
1946 July |
| Folder 25 |
1946 August |
| Folder 26 |
1946 September |
| Folder 27 |
1946 October |
| Folder 28 |
1946 November |
| Folder 29 |
1946 December |
| Folder 30 |
1947 January |
| Folder 31 |
1947 February |
| Folder 32 |
1947 March |
| Folder 33 |
1947 April |
| Folder 34 |
1947 May |
| Folder 35 |
1947 June |
| Folder 36 |
1947 July |
| Folder 37 |
1947 August |
| Folder 38 |
1947 September-October |
| Folder 39 |
1947 November |
| Folder 40 |
1947 December; 1948-1950 and undated |
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Subseries 2.2. Intelligence Reports, Ship's Logs, and Other Items, 1936-1947.
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
Items include intelligence reports, background files, and other information on Germany, 1919; Turkey and Greece, especially the treatment of Russian Refugees by the Turks, 1919-1923; China, 1925-1928; and the Solomon Islands, 1943-1946. Other items are ship's logs for the U.S.S. Williamson (1931) and the U.S.S. Barry (1935); orders; World War II dispatches and bombardment reports; speeches by Merrill; and reports of the activities of the U.S.S. Montpelier during World War II. Merrill's log as commandant of the 8th Naval District appears in 1946-1947.
| Folder 41 |
Bombardments, 1936-1944 |
Folder 42-43
Folder 42Folder 43 |
Commandant's log, 8th Naval District, January 1946-September 1947 |
| Folder 44 |
Dispatches, 1943-1944 |
| Folder 45 |
Intelligence reports: Solomon Islands, 1943-1946 |
Folder 46-53
Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53 |
Intelligence reports: Turkey and Greece, 1919-1923 |
Folder 54-56
Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56 |
Miscellaneous papers on China |
| Folder 57 |
Miscellaneous papers on Germany |
| Folder 58 |
Orders and appointments, 1912-1944 |
| Folder 59 |
Ship's logs |
| Folder 60 |
Speeches, 1944-1945 |
| Folder 61 |
U.S.S. Montpelier, 1943-1945 |
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Series 3. Diaries, 1917-1938.
Arrangement: chronological.
Diary kept by Merrill in 1917 while on duty near Ireland; between 1921-1922, while an intelligence officer in Asia Minor and travelling on leave in Western Europe; in 1930, while aboard the U.S.S. Williamson; and between 1936-1938, while in Santiago, Chile.
| Folder 62 |
Diary, 1917 |
| Folder 63 |
Diary, August-September 1921 |
| Folder 64 |
Diary, October 1921 |
| Folder 65 |
Diary, 1922 |
| Folder 66 |
Diary, September 1922 |
| Folder 67 |
Diary, 1930 |
| Folder 68 |
Diary, 1936-1938 |
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Series 4. Clippings and Printed Materials, 1917-1950.
Newspaper clippings, 1917-1950, mostly about Merrill's career; his retirement activities in and around Natchez, Miss.; and his marriage to Louise Witherbee in 1922. A few clippings also appear on Louise's social activities. Included is a scrapbook of clippings, 1938, concerning Merrill's service in Chile.
Printed materials are mainly Navy publications, including a war diary of the U.S.S. Montpelier, 1942-1945; combat narratives for the Solomon Islands, 1943; and the Navy's official story of the Second Battle of the Philippines, 1945.
| Folder 69 |
Newspaper clippings, 1917-1938 |
Folder 70-76
Folder 70Folder 71Folder 72Folder 73Folder 74Folder 75Folder 76 |
Newspaper clippings, 1945-1947 |
| Folder 77 |
Newspaper clippings, 1948-1950 |
| Folder 78 |
Other printed materials: War diary of the U.S.S. Montpelier |
| Folder 79 |
Other printed materials: Combat narratives |
| Folder 80 |
Other printed materials: Battle of the Philippines |
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Series 5. Pictures, 1912-1947.
Photographs pertain mostly to Merrill's naval service and include portraits in uniform as a young officer and pictures of Merrill with other officers.
Image P-1592/1-3
P-1592/1P-1592/2P-1592/3 |
Merrill in uniform, ca. 1912-1947 |
| Image P-1592/4 |
Unidentified man and woman with a moose, undated |
Image P-1592/5-11
P-1592/5P-1592/6P-1592/7P-1592/8P-1592/9P-1592/10P-1592/11 |
Merrill with other officers and civilians, 1946 |
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Items Separated