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Confederate States Lighthouse Bureau

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Confederate States Lighthouse Bureau
Agency overview
FormedMarch 6, 1861
Preceding agency
Dissolved1865
Superseding agency
JurisdictionLighthouses and navigational aids within the Confederate States of America
Agency executive
Parent agencyConfederate States of AmericaConfederate States Department of the Treasury
Raphael Semmes

The Confederate States Lighthouse Bureau was an administrative bureau within the Confederate States Department of the Treasury which was responsible for the upkeep of lighthouses and other navigational aids along Confederate shores.[2]

Overview

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The Confederate States Lighthouse Bureau was formed by an act of the Provisional Confederate Congress on March 5, 1861, to oversee the construction and care of all aids to navigation in the Confederate States of America.[2] In the portion of the act establishing the Lighthouse Bureau, the position of Chief of the Lighthouse Bureau was declared to be open only to commissioned officers of the Confederate Navy.[2] Act No. 51 also declared the Lighthouse Bureau was to divide the shores of the Confederate States of America into no more than five separate districts which would be the responsibilities of five lieutenants acting as district superintendents.[2] The act also authorized the President to direct that military engineers construct and maintain lighthouses and navigational aids.[2] The Chief of the Bureau was to report directly to the Secretary of the Treasury on a yearly basis. The Bureau's papers are housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

References

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  1. ^ Warren, Spencer F. (1997). Raphael Semmes: The Philosophical Mariner. University of Alabama Press. p. 104. ISBN 0-8173-0847-4.
  2. ^ a b c d e Acts and Resolutions of the First Session of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States. Enquirer's Book and Job Press. 1861. pp. 71–72. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
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