The court case of Samuel D. Harris and Others v. Jesse D. Elliott was a significant legal dispute that arose from a complex and contentious episode in American naval history. The case centered around the ownership and control of a parcel of land located within the Charlestown Navy Yard in Massachusetts.
The crux of the matter was that the plaintiffs, the heirs of John Harris, claimed ownership of the land in question, while the defendant, Jesse D. Elliott, who was the commandant of the Charlestown Navy Yard, asserted that the land belonged to the United States government. The case was brought before the Circuit Court of the United States in 1833, and the ultimate decision, reached by the Supreme Court in 1836, affirmed the government's ownership of the land. This ruling was a pivotal moment, as it solidified the federal government's authority over the operations and administration of the nation's naval facilities, a matter that had been subject to ongoing debate and controversy.