Bureaus

The business of the Navy Department is divided under eight heads, called Bureaus, each one being presided over by an officer of the navy, who, if below the rank of rear admiral, is given that rank, or, in the case of a staff officer, the relative rank of rear admiral. The eight bureaus are as follows: Ordnance, Equipment and Recruiting, Navigation, Yards and Docks, Medicine and Surgery, Provisions and Clothing, Steam Engineering, Construction and Repair.