The members of this board were Captains William B. Shubrick, Matthew C. Perry, Charles S. McCauley, C. K. Stribling, and Abraham Bigelow; Commanders G. J. Pendergrast, Franklin Buchanan, Samuel F. Du Pont, and Andrew H. Foote; and Lieutenants John S. Missroon, Richard L. Page, Sylvanus W. Godon, William L. Maury, and James S. Biddle. The board met on the 20th of June, and continued its sessions daily, except for Sundays and the 4th of July, until it finished its work on July 25, and the following day it reported the results of its deliberations. Its judgment was that seventy-one officers should be placed on the “reserved on leave of absence pay” list, and eighty-one on the “reserved on furlough pay” list; while forty-nine were recommended to be “dropped from the navy”. Official announcement of these results was not made until some weeks later, and Maury did not receive notice from the Secretary of the Navy until September 17, 1855 that his name had been placed on the “reserved on leave of absence pay” list. The Secretary’s letter, however, informed him that he was not detached from the Naval Observatory, but was to continue on his present duty. To this letter Maury at once replied, “This announcement has taken me by surprise. I have been in the navy upwards of thirty years. During this time I have aimed in every station to which I have been called to serve my country truly and well, with what success the Department and the public can judge better than I. Suffice it to say, that I am not aware that any charges or accusations or even any complaint of duty neglected or badly performed during this long period has ever reached the Department against me. Nevertheless in the judgment of the Board I should be and have been placed under official disgrace. This is a severe blow and I feel it as a grievous wrong. May I not therefore be permitted to know what is the accusation against me and who my accusers were before the Board?” The Secretary answered that the Board in accordance with the law simply gave names and ranks, and did not assign reasons for its decisions.