Established on March 13, 1900, as the successor to the Naval War Board, a temporary organization created during the Spanish-American War (1898) to advise the Secretary of the Navy on naval strategy and to assist him in coordinating intelligence and strategic planning as well as the conduct of naval operations. The General Board consisted of nine officers, including the chief of the Bureau of Navigation, the chief naval intelligence officer, the president of the Naval War College, and the Admiral of the Navy, and was charged with making plans for the effective preparation of the U.S. fleet for wartime service and coordination of various Navy activities. In effect a naval general staff, the General Board lost most of its usefullness with the establishment of the position of Chief of Naval Operations in August 1916.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
