Board of Navy Commissioners

The Board of Naval Commissioners was created February 7, 1815, as part of an expansion of the Navy Department, but its authority was generally confined to procuring stores and materials and to constructing, arming, and equipping vessels of war. The Secretary of the Navy remained in control of many operational aspects of the Navy.

An Act of Congress in August 31, 1842 abolished the Board of Naval Commissioners and established the bureau system in the Department of the Navy.