Last updated: September 8, 2026
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The Boston Navy Yard in the First World War: The People and the Places
Naval History and Heritage Command, S-539-C.
The US Congress, at the request of President Woodrow Wilson, declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. The workers at the Boston Navy Yard had been preparing for this moment. That same month, the Navy Yard sent its first ships to help Great Britain.
An Early Start
By 1916, Europe had been at war for two years already. At this time, some Americans began to worry that the US Navy might not be prepared if drawn into the war. The US Congress responded to this concern by passing the Naval Act of 1916. Through this act, Congress requested the US Navy build and repair ships and expand the size of navy yards. As one of the first navy yards in the country, the Boston Navy Yard (BNY)—also known as the Charlestown Navy Yard—responded to this call for action.
With this funding, workers built 36 new buildings at BNY from 1916-1919. Most of these buildings were small and used for storage. Building 149, a massive 10-story storehouse, stood as an exception. This storehouse held various supplies for the new or refurbished ships being built. These supplies included: weapons, ammunition, equipment, food, clothing, medicines, and more.
Officials at the BNY supervised the building of a Marine Railway with funds from the 1916 Naval Act as well. A Marine Railway was a mechanical device that helped shipbuilders pull moderate-sized ships from the water onto a dry platform. Here, workers could make repairs. The Navy did not complete the construction of the Marine Railway until after the war. Instead, World War I (WWI) workers at the BNY used Shipways 1 (built in 1915) and the yard's two dry docks to build and repair ships.
Boston National Historical Park, BOSTC BOST 8962-5046.
In addition to expanding the navy yard, the Navy requested BNY to build new ships. With 1916 Naval Act funding, shipbuilders at BNY constructed three fuel ships. The Navy also hired the Fore River Shipyard, a private shipyard, to build destroyers. This shipyard worked under the guidance of BNY officials.
With the construction of these facilities and ships underway at the Boston Navy Yard and other shipyards, the US prepared for war.
War Declared
After it declared war on Germany in 1917, the US Congress approved additional money to further expand the US Navy. At the time, the Navy had about 197 vessels and around 65,000 sailors. By the end of WWI, the US Navy had over 2,000 commissioned ships[1] and more than 500,000 sailors.[2]
The number of employees at BNY nearly doubled over the 19 months that the US was at war. The yard employed 12,844 workers by the end of the war. The navy yard had never employed this many workers before. About 125 naval officers supervised the work of the yard.
Photo by Charles H. Bruce. Courtesy Northeastern University Archives.
The civilian and military employees at BNY built, repaired, or converted about 450 vessels in WWI. This number includes numerous ships built at private shipyards. These ships then moved to BNY for finishing or commissioning. This was about one quarter of the total vessels the Navy deployed during the war. According to historian Frederick Black, workers at BNY had never before completed work at this rate in the history of the yard.
During WWI, vessels from BNY took part in a variety of actions in European waters. They escorted convoys of ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean to supply Great Britain and France. Staff at BNY provided both troop transport ships and the ships that protected these transports on their way to Europe. BNY vessels also fought against German U-boat submarines and helped the British Royal Navy lay mines in the North Sea. Learn more about the ships built at BNY during World War I.
The Boston Navy Yard in WWI
The Ships and the BoatsCensorship and Badges
During the war, navy yards like the Boston Navy Yard increased security. The Navy previously fully enclosed the yard in the mid-1800s with stone walls and iron fences. Military personnel also guarded the entrance gates. The main threat in the early years of the yard was the theft of shipbuilding materials.
Now, in wartime, the US Navy introduced a heightened level of security. The Navy banned the public from the yard. Employees were issued metal identification badges that they presented at the entrance gates on their way to work.
The Navy not only wanted to control access to BNY, but it also wanted to control information about activity in the yard. Captain William Rush, the Commandant of BNY, asked the local press not to print anything about BNY unless he approved the story. The Boston newspapers, and the yard newspaper, The Salvo, mostly complied. It’s likely that Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and US President Woodrow Wilson feared Germany could learn about US Navy war plans by spying on its shipyards.
Labor Relations
Despite the intense security measures, the yard provided job opportunities during the war. The relationship between BNY Navy managers and their employees was mostly harmonious during WWI. The Navy offered its workers at BNY the same wage as similar jobs in the Boston area. Yard workers also had 30 vacation days with pay that private sector jobs didn’t always offer. Many yard managers encouraged overtime. With this overtime, some workers earned salaries that were the highest in the yard’s history.
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Captain William Rush, the BNY commandant, oversaw most labor relations in BNY. According to BNY historian Frederick Black, Rush may have been too critical of the work performance of his employees. However, Rush may have felt pressured to achieve production goals.
Workers at BNY demonstrated additional dedication to their workplace and their country. In 1918, the civilian and military employees at BNY in WWI bought the highest number of Liberty Bonds than any other shipyard, over $1 million ($26 million today). All employees participated. A Liberty Bond was money loaned to the federal government from US citizens to help fight the war.
Due to the importance of their work, many shipyard workers were exempt from the military draft. This helped BNY managers keep some male workers on the job. However, the yard still had a shortage of workers that needed to be addressed.
Yeoman (F) and Ropemakers
To support the increase in shipbuilding, the US Navy required more workers. The Naval Act of 1916 addressed this need by opening the door for women to serve in the US Naval Reserve. This opportunity marked the first time women could enlist in any of the US armed forces in a non-nursing job. The Navy enlisted about 1,000 women to serve at the Boston Navy Yard as Yeoman (F). Some commentators referred to them as Yeowomen. These women signed on to four-year enlistments.
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Yeomen (F) worked as radio operators, stenographers, messengers, chauffeurs, and other jobs. Some worked directly for the Boston Navy Yard.
The Navy hired others to work for the First Naval District, which had its headquarters at BNY. The US Navy organized itself into 15 Naval Districts in the WWI years. An administrative staff at the district headquarters managed all vessels, personnel and property, including navy yards, of that district. The First Naval District covered the coastal areas from Maine to Rhode Island in WWI.
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Several Yeomen (F) distinguished themselves at BNY. Elizabeth Ingalls Burt served as editor of The Salvo, the BNY newspaper. Burt had previously worked as a reporter for the Boston Post newspaper before enlisting. Marie George led the BNY Jazz Band.
When the war ended, the US Navy started reducing its staff, including the Yeoman (F) jobs. By July 1919, the Navy released all the Yeoman (F) from active duty. Some completed their enlistments in inactive reserve status, with modest pay.
While Yeomen (F) served in the military, Boston Navy Yard managers also hired about 150 civilian women. These women worked at the Ropewalk to help handle the increased workload during WWI. The ropemaking women operated the same machinery as the men. This act marked the first time BNY hired women to do manual work. Women were not hired for any other mechanical jobs at BNY during the war. Like the Yeoman (F) of the Naval Reserve, the Navy began discharging female ropemakers when the war ended.
The Sailors' Life
During WWI, thousands of sailors had a relationship with the Boston Navy Yard. Some sailors had jobs in BNY. Other sailors stayed here while waiting for their ships to be repaired or waiting to be assigned to a new ship. Some sailors attended trainings here as well.
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Military officials at BNY managed several barracks around Boston. There were barracks at Commonwealth Pier, a few miles south of BNY. Bumpkin Island in Boston Harbor also had barracks. Here, sailors found a place to sleep and eat.
BNY managers also coordinated with Harvard University to train sailors. They learned both Morse code and radio technology for ship communications. The Harvard Radio School trained most of the Navy's radio operators in WWI.
"Navy Yard Hockey Team Will Tackle Arena Seven Again Tomorrow Night in League Game." Boston Globe, February 26, 1918.
Private organizations around Boston supported the morale and the health of sailors. For example, the YMCA and Red Cross offered sailors opportunities for recreation, meals, housing, entertainment, religious services, and more. The Naval Relief Society helped sailors and their families with financial support. Civilian and military personnel at BNY regularly organized fundraisers for the Society.
Sailors could join many of the sports teams at BNY. These teams included baseball, football, basketball, hockey and track teams. Navy teams played against civilian teams around Boston. The Boston newspapers regularly reported on these competitions. If not interested in sports, a sailor could join the Boston Navy Yard Jazz band.
War Ends
Despite the war ending in November 1918, workers at the Boston Navy Yard remained busy. The yard had its highest number of employees hired during the war in February 1919 when it had 12,844 workers. The pressure of war was over, but a lot of tasks needed completion. It took about a year after the armistice for BNY workers to complete projects began during the war.
Boston National Historical Park.
Over 2 million soldiers who had fought in France had to be brought home by ship. Workers at BNY converted three former minelayers into troop transports to help bring these men home.
Workers at BNY had two other post-war jobs. They had to commission some ships and decommission others. Some destroyers built at the Fore River Shipyard during the war were completed after the war ended. Workers at BNY commissioned these ships and put them into service.
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Other ships had to be decommissioned or taken out of service. Most ships that left BNY and served in the war returned to the BNY safe and sound. Decommissioning involved the removal of sensitive electronic and mechanical equipment. Workers also removed guns and munitions from these ships.
By December 1919, the work of WWI at BNY had mostly been completed. At this time, the yard employment had decreased to 7,844 workers.
The Top Yard
The actions taken by the employees of BNY helped the US Navy fulfill its mission in World War I. The Navy Yard adopted new security measures to protect the essential wartime work. The military and civilian employees of BNY supplied, built, converted, and repaired a huge diversity and volume of vessels. The Navy Yard welcomed women workers for the first time to achieve this need. The Navy also provided ways to support the welfare of both civilian employees and sailors.
The Navy awarded Commandant Rush the Navy Cross, a high honor, for managing the BNY in WWI. When Commandant Rush died in 1940, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt reflected on Rush’s contributions during the war. As Assistant Secretary of the Navy in WWI, FDR knew of Rush's work. He stated:
The Boston Navy Yard, under Capt. Rush, has given the office of assistant secretary of the Navy less worry and less cause for dissatisfaction than any other Navy Yard in the country.[3]
While Commandant Rush may have received this recognition, the efforts of the workers made the Navy Yard successful. By tackling the challenges of WWI, BNY workers helped the Allied forces win the war.
Footnotes
[1] Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, 1913 to 1921. Our Navy at War (Washington DC: Pictorial Bureau, 1922), 299.
[2] Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, 1913 to 1921. Our Navy at War (Washington DC: Pictorial Bureau, 1922), 311.
[3] FDR quoted in the obituary of Captain Rush in the Boston Globe, September 27, 1940, 23.
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