832.30/47: Telegram
The Ambassador in Brazil (Morgan) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5 p.m.]
21. Public announcement is now made by the Brazilian Government that it will contract for a foreign naval mission, the nationality of which is not yet settled. Only an American or a British mission, however, is contemplated. This naval mission will hold the same relation to the Navy that the French military mission now holds to the Army. The head of the French mission enjoys a considerable degree of authority and receives suitable remuneration.
President Pessoa desires that Captain C. T. Vogelgesang,1 with whom he is well acquainted, have the mission under his direction, and wishes him to visit Brazil to formulate plans and give advice, the selection of assistants being deferred. …
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I respectfully recommend that authorization be granted me to inform President Pessoa confidentially that Captain Vogelgesang will be detailed to advise and organize the mission, if the President of Brazil so requests. The naval attaché and all naval officers detailed here approve this telegram.
- Capt. Carl T. Vogelgesang, U. S. N., chief of the naval mission to Brazil, Jan.–Nov. 1918.↩