"The Magic Touch of Reform": Samuel Francis Du Pont and the Efficiency Board of 1855

By the mid-nineteenth century the United States Navy's personnel system based entirely on seniority had created an officer corps filled with many old, infirm, and incompetent men, while blocking the promotion of many deserving officers. Commander Samuel Francis Du Pont, along with several other political and military leaders, was instrumental in achieving significant personnel reform that temporarily broke the promotion logjam by removing much of the deadwood from the naval officer corps. This article draws upon previously neglected material to provide a fresh look at Du Pont's role in the work of the United States Navy's Efficiency Board of 1855.