Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet 379-packet.md (6 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-commodore-ix7-pkt-379-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Commodore III (IX-7) entry: 'The third Commodore (IX-7) was built in 1875 at Cleveland, Ohio; purchased by the Navy at Chicago, Ill., 1 September 1918; and stationed at Chicago under command of Captain E. A. Evers, USNRF. Until 30 April 1919 she served as a receiving ship and thereafter as a Naval Reserve Armory. No longer required for this duty following completion of the new Chicago Naval Reserve Armory in 1930, Commodore was decommissioned 10 March 1930. Her hulk was dismantled and demolished by Naval Reservists by January 1931.' Spec block: dp. 2,200; l. 265'5"; b. 42'2"; dr. 15'5"; a. 1 x 4". [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Commodore' section III entry + IX-7 spec block (hazegray transcription, transcribed 15 Oct 1998)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy biography of this hull: built 1875 at Cleveland, Ohio; purchased by the Navy at Chicago 1 September 1918; receiving ship at Chicago until 30 April 1919, then Naval Reserve Armory; decommissioned 10 March 1930 after completion of the new Chicago Naval Reserve Armory; hulk dismantled and demolished by Naval Reservists by January 1931. DANFS spec block: 2,200 tons displacement, 265'5" x 42'2", draft 15'5", armament one 4-inch gun.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1875-1931
- Population
- Navy receiving-ship/armory personnel, Chicago, 1918-1930 (complement undocumented)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity and milestones only - no materials or asbestos content. Cited via the hazegray transcription mirror (losthistory.net); the canonical NHHC URL (history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/commodore-iii.html) serves 404 - the standing NHHC link-rot noted in BATCH-01. The DANFS spec-block draft (15'5") conflicts with NavSource (16'5") - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-commodore-ix7-01
-
[3]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) compiled register entry, USS Commodore (IX-7) - class notes reconstructed from Navy correspondence, Ships Data Book, and Navy Register actions; plus photographs page IX007-p (NH 55303; NH 105078 nameboard photo at the new Navy Pier armory, 8 Aug 1931) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/IX3/IX007.html - class data block, construction/disposition tables, class notes (all paragraphs), ship note 'COMMODORE'; IX007-p.html photo captions (NH 55303; NH 105078)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled official-record detail for this hull: 1875 Quayle & Sons (Cleveland) wooden screw freighter COMMODORE, 2,082 gross tons, 900 NHP (later 700 IHP), built for Western Transit Co. of Buffalo, N.Y.; 'at the time of her completion she was said to be the largest vessel on fresh water'; package freight Buffalo-Chicago-Duluth through the late 1890s. 1906: War Department reserved a Lake Michigan site at Chicago for the Illinois Naval Militia armory; the old freighter was moved onto it as the armory while privately owned; merchant home port shifted Buffalo to Chicago c. 1911-12. 1916: bulkhead built around the hull and interior filled - 'planting the COMMODORE in a mud dock'; dropped from the merchant vessel register. Navy acquisition ~1 Sep 1918 from the Edward A. Evers Syndicate for $20,000 (per CO report of 16 Sep 1922). 1921: lakefront fill east of the retaining wall put the hull wholly in park territory. Feb-Apr 1922: BuC&R recommended district-craft status; Ships Data Book action 2 Mar 1922; Navy Register 24 Apr 1922; Navy Filing Manual assigned symbol IX-7 in 1922, 'used solely for filing paperwork and not as a designator for the ship.' Feb 1929: armory served nine fleet divisions and two headquarters divisions of the Chicago Naval Reserve; housed-over hull held a 150' x 40' drill hall, eight locker rooms in the hold, offices, club rooms, shooting gallery; leaking excessively through inaccessible below-grade seams. 16 Nov 1929 placed on sale list; decommissioned 10 Mar 1930; struck 11 Mar 1930; no sale bids (est. removal ~$3,500); 23 Oct 1930 BuNav authorized nine enlisted reservists on 60 days' training duty to remove and dispose of the hulk; the hole offered to contractors for excavation fill; officially listed demolished January 1931. Register spec: 'Machinery: None'; armament 1-4"/50 + 2-3pdr (by 1924), 1-4"/50 + 1-3pdr (by 1929).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1875-1931
- Population
- Merchant crew 1875-c.1906; Illinois Naval Militia 1906-1918; Navy/Naval Reserve armory users 1918-1930 (nine fleet + two HQ divisions by Feb 1929); nine reservists on removal detail Oct-Dec 1930
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (Roberts) summarizing official files - not itself an official publication, and it contains no materials or asbestos content. Its documented IX-7 symbol assignment (1922 filing manual) conflicts with NavSource's 'designated IX-7 in 1920'; its strike date (11 Mar 1930) conflicts with NavSource's 'unknown'; both conflicts carried in gaps rather than silently reconciled. The 'Machinery: None' register entry documents the Navy-era stationary hulk; the date the merchant-era propulsion plant was removed is not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-commodore-ix7-02
-
[4]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Commodore (III) (IX-7) page - building/operational summary, spec block, photo index [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/09/46/46007.htm - service summary + specifications block + photo captions (094600701/702/703)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled record for this hull: built 1875 at Cleveland, OH; purchased by the Navy at Chicago 1 September 1918; 'Commissioned, USS Commodore in September 1918, CAPT. E. A. Evers USNRF in command'; receiving ship at Chicago until 30 April 1919, thereafter Naval Reserve Armory; 'Designated (IX-7) in 1920'; decommissioned 10 March 1930; struck from the Naval Register 'date unknown'; 'dismantled and demolished by Naval Reservists by January 1931'; World War I Victory Medal; 1913 international radio call sign NLE. Specs: displacement 2,200 t., length 265', beam 42'2", draft 16'5", complement unknown, armament one 4" gun, 'Propulsion none'. Photo record includes Library of Congress det.4a08137 (Detroit Publishing Co., 1900) showing the merchant SS Commodore tied up on the South Branch of the Chicago River at 14th Street, and NHHC photo NH 55303 showing the housed-over hulk 'planted' in the lakefront mud dock circa the 1920s.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1875-1931
- Population
- Navy/Naval Reserve personnel, Chicago, 1918-1930
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary source - corroborates the official record and supplies the photo index; no materials or asbestos content. 'Designated (IX-7) in 1920' conflicts with Shipscribe's documented 1922 Navy Filing Manual assignment; draft 16'5" conflicts with DANFS 15'5"; strike 'unknown' conflicts with Shipscribe's 11 Mar 1930 - all carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-commodore-ix7-03
-
[5]Chicago Public Library institutional history blog, 'History of Grant Park, 1915-1930' (1 Dec 2014) - Chicago lakefront/Grant Park development record [other_primary]
- Locator
- chipublib.org 'History of Grant Park, 1915-1930' - paragraphs on the Monroe Street military reservation, the 1918 Commodore emplacement, and the 1930 armory
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Site identification for the demolished hull: 'In 1918, the military occupied another small sliver of their reservation north of Monroe. The Navy bought an old steamer, renamed her the USS Commodore, and dragged her ashore. The Commodore would serve as the immobile flagship of the Illinois Naval Reserve until 1930.' The reservation was the triangular parcel between the Illinois Central tracks, Monroe Street, and the lake (present Grant Park/Monroe Harbor area); it became a parking lot in 1921. The replacement 'Naval Reserve armory was completed in 1930' on a new 100 x 500-foot pier built by the Park Commissioners. The same reservation hosted USS Wilmette (the salvaged excursion steamer Eastland) - the companion stationary Navy training hulk at Chicago.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1906-1931
- Population
- Illinois Naval Militia / Naval Reserve users of the armory site, 1906-1930
- Limitations
- Institutional local-history source (secondary) - establishes the parcel and land-use sequence, not hull fabric or materials; contains no asbestos content. Exact hull position within the reservation is unsurveyed - coordinates carried for this record are approximate (Monroe Street lakefront vicinity).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-commodore-ix7-04
-
[6]VA adjudication framework as quoted in Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions: M21-1MR Part IV.ii.2.C.9 (materials that may contain asbestos; WWII shipyard/Navy exposure) and DVB Circular 21-88-8, 'Asbestos-Related Diseases' (11 May 1988) [other_primary]
- Locator
- va.gov/vetapp10/files3/1020918.txt (BVA decision quoting M21-1MR IV.ii.2.C.9 verbatim); DVB Circular 21-88-8 text quoted at va.gov/vetapp22/Files2/22007010.txt
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Era baseline used to bound inference for this hull: VA materials recite that 'common materials that may contain asbestos include steam pipes for heating units and boilers, ceiling tiles, roofing shingles, wallboard, fire-proofing materials, and thermal insulation' (M21-1MR IV.ii.2.C.9.a) and that 'during WWII, several million people employed in U.S. shipyards and U.S. Navy veterans were exposed to asbestos fibers because they were used extensively in military ship construction' (M21-1MR IV.ii.2.C.9.g). The documented era of extensive asbestos use in military ship construction is WWII-forward; this hull was built in 1875 and demolished in 1930-31 - it predates the era the federal adjudication materials describe, and its Navy service was as a machinery-free stationary armory.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- WWII era (baseline); this hull's service 1875-1931 predates it
- Population
- Program-level: WWII shipyard workers and Navy veterans (context baseline only)
- Limitations
- Adjudication-manual generalizations only - they describe an era baseline for WWII-era construction and say nothing about any specific hull, and nothing about 19th-century Great Lakes merchant steam plants. Used solely to bound the era framing; does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-commodore-ix7-05
-
[7]NARA leads: RG 24 deck logs (commissioned ship, Chicago, 1918-1930); RG 19 Bureau of Construction & Repair and Bureau of Navigation/Bureau of Supplies & Accounts correspondence (the CO report of 16 Sep 1922, the Feb-Apr 1922 district-craft actions, the 16 Nov 1929 sale-list action, BuS&A 17 Jul 1930 no-bids report, BuNav 23 Oct 1930 removal authorization quoted in the Shipscribe compilation); Illinois Naval Militia/War Department armory-site files (1906 reservation); Chicago Park District lakefront-fill and hulk-removal records (1916/1921 fill; 1930-31 demolition fill contract) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 (deck logs), RG 19 (BuC&R), BuNav/BuS&A general correspondence; Chicago Park District records
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not yet retrieved: the Shipscribe class notes quote dated official correspondence (CO reports, BuC&R, BuS&A, BuNav actions) for this hull, indicating a surviving Navy correspondence file; NARA RG 24 holds deck logs for commissioned vessels of this period (Commodore was in commission with a named CO 1918-1930); Park District records would document the 1916 mud-dock fill, the 1921 park-territory fill, and the 1930-31 hulk removal and site fill. Any material schedule for the 1906 armory conversion or the merchant-era lagging specification would be in these files, if anywhere.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Lead only - no retrieval performed this batch. Whether any of these files contains material/composition information for this hull is unconfirmed; none is digitized to the record's knowledge.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-commodore-ix7-06
-
[8]Search-ledger result (this record, sl-uss-commodore-ix7-01 through -13) including verified name-collision analysis for Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, 586 U.S. ___ (2019), No. 17-1104 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-commodore-ix7-01..-13; DeVries opinion Part I (law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/17-1104)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation, ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or product identification naming this hull was located in the sources searched. CourtListener API v4 (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py, 2026-09-29) opinion searches returned count: 0 for both '"USS Commodore" asbestos' and '"Commodore" "IX-7"'. Verified name collision: the Supreme Court's opinion in DeVries (Kavanaugh, J., Part I) records that respondent Kenneth McAfee 'worked on the U.S.S. Wanamassa from 1977 to 1980 and then on the U.S.S. Commodore from 1982 to 1986' - service more than fifty years after this hull's January 1931 demolition and matching none of the four Navy vessels named Commodore on service dates (1863 side-wheel steamer; SP-1425 motorboat, 1917-19; IX-7; 401B landlocked trainer at NTC Bainbridge, dismantled 1970s). The DeVries 'Commodore' is therefore a name collision for this record; the hull it refers to is unresolved in the opinion. 'Commodore' is additionally a flag rank appearing throughout admiralty case text - a high-collision name. No BVA decision naming this hull surfaced on web sweep.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29 (search date)
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not evidence asbestos was absent - though here it coincides with structural facts (1875 wooden hull, no machinery in Navy service, demolished 1930-31 pre-regulation) that make ship-specific asbestos documentation inherently unlikely. The sweep is INCOMPLETE at docket level: the 'USS Commodore' type=r docket query was blocked by the shared fleet pacing budget at time of writing - logged as blocked in the search_ledger, not as a negative result. Opinion-level sweeps are complete (two authenticated queries, both count 0). State-court and unindexed docket text are not reached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-commodore-ix7-07