Ahoy there! - It’s National Maritime Day
Created by Congress in 1933, National Maritime Day honors and celebrates the United States Merchant Marine. The date was chosen to celebrate the first transoceanic voyage under steam power by the American steamship Savannah, undertaken 200 years ago on May 22, 1819. In the past few years, the celebration has expanded to include the entire maritime industry and domestic waterborne commerce.
Here in southern California, Merchant Mariners might not be your first thought when pondering seafaring records in the National Archives, but the men and women serving aboard Merchant Marine ships can be found in many record series in our holdings.
To honor those brave mariners that work to get the U.S. imports and exports where they need to go, we’ve pulled together a few examples of our records documenting their work.
Click for more information on National Maritime Day.
Series: Merchant Marine Applications for Licenses of Officers, 1900-1937. RG 26, Records of the U.S. Coast Guard. (National Archives Identifier 7591749). Note: Many of these records have been digitized and are available on Ancestry.com.
Series: Applications for Seaman’s Certificate of American Citizenship or Intention Papers, 1918-1922. RG 36, Records of the U.S. Customs Service. (National Archives Identifier 55135441).
