James Russell Soley (1 October 1850 – 11 September 1911) was alawyer and navalhistorian, and served as anAssistant Secretary of the Navy for the United States military.
Born inRoxbury, Massachusetts, Soley graduated fromHarvard College in 1870. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Ethics and English at theUnited States Naval Academy on 1 October 1871. Only two years later, he became Head of the Department of English Studies, History, and Law. In 1875 he married Mary Woolsey Howland.[1]
On 9 June 1882, Soley was assigned to theBureau of Navigation. He served as Superintendent of the naval war records office and he headed the Navy Department Library:Office of Naval Records and Library. During this duty, Soley began the collection of the naval documents of theAmerican Civil War and started the editorial work which culminated in the publication of the 31-volume collection, TheOfficial Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. These years also saw the publication of several of Soley's books and articles on American naval history.
In 1884, CommodoreStephen B. Luce appointed Soley instructor in International Law at the newly establishedUnited States Naval War College, thereby becoming that institution's first civilian faculty member.
While serving inWashington, D.C., Soley studied law at Columbian University (now calledGeorge Washington University) and received his law degree in 1890. On 18 July 1890 he resigned his commission to become anAssistant Secretary of the Navy, dealing with administration of labor in naval shore establishments. He served in this position until March 1893.
After his service with the Navy Soley moved toNew York City to practice law, working with his former naval chief,Benjamin F. Tracy, who had been Secretary of the Navy from 1889 to March 1893. Soley specialized in international law. He served as counsel forVenezuela during the arbitration atParis in 1899, which stemmed from a boundary dispute with theUnited Kingdom which had resulted in theVenezuela Crisis of 1895.
Soley died of pneumonia in New York City on 11 September 1911.[2]
USS Soley (DD-707) was named for him.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNaval History and Heritage Command.
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| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of the Navy July 18, 1890 – March 19, 1893 | Succeeded by |
