14 August 1777

Hancock, John, 1737-1793

Document signed

Title: [Appointment of Samuel Nicholson as Commander of Frigate Deane]

Signed by Hancock as President of the Countersigned by Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress.

GLC01450.001

December 24, 1779

Jay, John, 1745-1829

Document signed

Title: [Appointment of John Wheelwright as Commander of the privateer ship The Neptune]

Countersigned by Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, and John Avery.

GLC01450.002

19 July 1776 - circa 1830

Marshall, Thomas, fl. 1776

Autograph manuscript signed

Title: [Castle Island orderly book]

Entries also written by Gamaliel Bradford as Lieutenant Colonel, and Jonathan Carver. Reports on daily orders for the Boston Regiment of Militia stationed at Castle Island, in the Boston Harbor, commanded by Colonel Marshall. Mentions everyday life in the camp. 7 November 1776 entry contains instructions on monitoring ships passing the island. After serving the allotted time guarding Boston on the island, the troops prepared to leave 26 November according to orders from Headquarters in Boston. Daily orders entries end 27 November 1776 (p. 50). The second half of the book is an account…

GLC01450.005.01

December 24, 1864

Peixoto, Augustus, fl. 1864

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Consular note of protest against the Confederate privateer "Shenandoah"]

Consular documents from Bahia, Brazil: 2-page "Marine Note of protest" and 10-page "Public Instrument of Declaration and protest." Clerical signature of Henry Libbey, master of the ship "Kate Prince" on page 2. Two clerical signatures for Peixoto on pages 2 and 11. Peixoto's signature is also on page 2 and 12. Document says Libbey was in command of the "Kate Prince," a ship based out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that was captured by the Confederate privateer "Shenandoah" on 12 November 1864. He was released after signing a $40,000 bond. This document is a copy of the protest of that bond.…

GLC01843

circa 1815

Lee, John T., fl. 1815

Print

Title: View of... the... action between HMS Shannon and USF Chesapeake

Hand-colored aquatint published by G. Webster. The battle was fought near Boston. (Title is abbreviated here.)

GLC01853

December 10, 1777

Henry, Patrick, 1736-1799

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Thomas Johnson

Henry, Governor of Virginia, encloses a piece of paper (not included) informing Johnson, Governor of Maryland, that the inhabitants residing near the Potomac River are in danger. Reports that several British warships are sailing upriver, and that he has ordered galleys to the meet the enemies' ships. Requests that Johnson send vessels to assist in defending the Potomac.

GLC01890

1864

Header Record

Title: [Four manuscripts on the Confederate Navy] [decimalized .01-.04]

Dated October 1864-December 1864.

GLC01920

31 October 1864

Beardslee, Lester Anthony, 1836-1903

Letter

Title: to Napoleon Collins

Copy of letter written by Lieutenant Commander Beardslee to Commander Collins. Beardslee's signature is in a clerical hand. Is disappointed to learn that Collins thinks poorly of his conduct while in charge of the captured Confederate ship "Florida." The ship was captured on 7 October 1864 and was steaming north. Says he has given the ship undivided attention since the arrival of the "Florida" in Bahia, Brazil. Says they are undermanned because of the many prisoners on board. Says he has been on such vigilance that he has not even taken off his clothes, except to bathe. Collins was angry that…

GLC01920.02

7 November 1864

Barclay, Charles J., fl. 1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lester A. Beardslee

Written by Acting Ensign Barclay to Lieutenant Commander Beardslee. Both were serving on the recently captured ship "Florida." As requested, Barclay is submitting his version of events from the night of 29 October, which have caused accusations of dereliction of duty from Beardslee's superior Commander Napoleon Collins. Says he was officer on deck that night and gives description of the sails that night. Says he noticed the "Florida" was drifting from the "Wachusett," where Collins was, but that it was nothing out of the ordinary. Describes how the "Wachusett" caught up to the "Florida."…

GLC01920.03

December 10, 1862

Foote, Andrew H. (Andrew Hull), 1806-1863

Letter signed

Title: to James Wilson Grimes

Written by Rear Admiral Foote from the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting to Senator James Grimes of Iowa (Grimes served in the U.S. Senate 1859-1869). Grimes was a member of the Committee on Naval Affairs when this letter was written. References a letter he sent to Grimes the day before. Says he did not stress the qualifications of the ship builder John Lenthall as he should have. Praises Lenthall: "As far as I know and believe, Mr. Lenthall is incomparably beyond any of our Naval Constructors in making the profound calculations indispensable to ensure good results in the construction of a…

GLC01952

16 March 1791

Russell, Benjamin, 1761-1845

Newspaper

Title: Columbian centinel. [Vol. 15, no. 729 (16 March 1791)]

Reprints "An act to incorporate the subscribers of the Bank of the United States." References the establishment of the National Bank. Other news includes congressional news, local news, ship arrivals, postings, and advertisements. Handwritten note in pen in upper right hand corner reads "Bank Act".

GLC02060

21 June 1865

Lee, Samuel Phillips, 1812-1897

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Mercer Brooke

Written by Acting Rear Admiral Lee as Commander of the Mississippi Squadron to Brooke, a former Confederate naval officer seeking amnesty. References that the preceding page of this letter was a copy of the letter he sent to the president on his behalf. Says he would have lauded his abilities as a seaman, navigator, and hydrographer, but thought to dwell too much on them would be a cause of complaint against him. Claims that "I have felt that if I had not been sent out of the country in the fall of 1860 that I might have helped to save some of my honest Navy friends who were so cruelly misled…

GLC02029.02

20 July 1792

Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804

Document signed

Title: [Circular letter to port collectors]

Printed circular letter signed by Hamilton as Secretary of Treasury. Points out common errors in customs collection.

GLC02052

28 April 1808

Gallatin, Albert, 1761-1849

Letter signed

Title: to Joseph Wilson

Returns an application for permission to dispatch a vessel in ballast (not present). Explains rules for customs regarding tonnage on vessels. Wilson was Customs Collector for Marblehead, Massachusetts.

GLC02049

9 May 1805

Bainbridge, William, 1774-1833

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Rodgers

Commodore Bainbridge, imprisoned after his ship went aground on the Tunisian Coast on 29 December 1803, writes to Rogers, Commodore of the Mediterranean Squadron. States that he and other prisoners "feel confident that no exertions will be wanting in our brother officers to retain us, we only regret that we cannot share the honor and danger with them."

GLC02352

22 September 1792

Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804

Document signed

Title: [Remitting fine and property to Marshall Jenkins].

Signed as secretary of the treasury. Remittance of the Brig "Betsy" and a cask of alcohol to the petitioner, Marshall Jenkins, after it had been forfeited.

GLC02355

6 April 1861

Bragg, Braxton, 1817-1876

Autograph letter signed

Title: [General Bragg discusses military matters in the Pensacola area]

Bragg (Confederate) states "Our truce remains in force, 'They are not to reinforce, We are not to attack.' It is being carried out by both parties so far. All kinds of supplies ... were being furnished the enemy when I got here. I have stopped that process after much trouble, and now only allow officers stores." Reports that Andrew Barry Moore, the Governor of Alabama, and Colonel Hardee (possibly William Joseph Hardee) "have given permission for a continuance of this trade from Mobile, but my orders are to scuttle all vessels captured in it, and my volunteers will do it. There is no law…

GLC02409

1849-1856

Histed, William, fl. 1849

Autograph manuscript signed

Title: Journal of a whaling voyage on board ship Cortes of New Bedford, [Massachusetts]

Includes five separate pages of watercolors that were possibly previously bound in the log. Includes daily entries of the whaling voyage and numerous miscellaneous newspaper clippings, poems, and songs. Many entries are accompanied by an ink stamp in the shape of a whale. Watercolors cover the inside front and back covers. Including Ship "Orrigon," showing pirate flag, ship "Washington" on verso.

GLC02212

1862-1865

Renshaw, Richard T., 1822-1879

Header Record

Title: Papers from Battle of Roanoke Island to end of war re: torpedoes [decimalized .01-.39]

This collection is composed of 39 items, including correspondence, general orders, legal documents, and a handwritten manual of arms and drilling. These items are largely associated with R.T. Renshaw, a Union sailor from North Carolina, and document many of the activities of the U.S. Navy in the area off the North Carolina coast, including Albemarle Sound, the Neuse River, Pamlico Sound, and Hatteras Inlet. Renshaw himself authored only a handful of the items gathered here, including two letters (one incomplete) home to his wife Ella (#25 and #38), and a miniature manual of arms (#37). The…

GLC02254

circa 1797-1800

Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804

Autograph manuscript

Title: [Trial notes in a case involving nonpayment of an indemnity for a ship seized by the French]

Written by Alexander Hamilton as counsel to the ship master, answering the underwriter's attempt to avoid payment. An armed American ship carrying unspecified contraband was seized by the French, and the ship's Master attempted to take back the vessel. Argues that the ship was legally armed "with intent to resist privateers" and that the Master's attempt to retake the ship was legal. Uses testimony to show the Mate and crew supported the Master and did not act belligerently against the French boarding party. Docket title reads: Autograph brief of Genl Hamilton.

GLC02377

7 March 1799

Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Joseph Pitcairn

Written by Pickering as Secretary of State to Pitcairn as American Consul in Hamburg. Based on previous information from Pitcairn, Pickering says dispatches sealed in false bottoms of tubs owned by three mulattoes, one white man, and one white woman have been seized. Pickering forwarded the information to South Carolina Governor Edward Rutledge, who had the dispatches seized from the ship Minerva in Charleston. They are being examined by General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Encloses a report and two copies of Elbridge Gerry's correspondence, which are not included.

GLC02381

7 November 1883

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Discusses what he calls a travesty of justice regarding a Court of Inquiry held in the case of Lieutenant Ernest Albert Garlington. Garlington led the Greely Relief Expedition expedition in the Arctic. The expedition failed, and in the process the ship Proteus was destroyed after Garlington sailed into Smith Sound, Newfoundland. Hunt's son was a member of another one of the Greely Relief Expeditions. Written at Fort Laramie.

GLC02382.050

27 June 1775

Clarke, James, fl. 1775

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Nicholas Cooke

Also signed by James Clarke. Apologizes for their delay in providing Governor of Rhode Island Cooke with accurate records of recent imports and exports that they are compiling. Thinks a more extended accounting would be more useful, and if Cooke and the legislature agree, Ellery and Clarke "will readily undertake the business and hope we shall be able to exhibit an account to August sessions." A Member of the Continental Congress from 1776 until 1785, William Ellery was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Cooke was Governor of Rhode Island from 1775 until 1778.

GLC02105

12 November 1861

Ericsson, John, 1803-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Munn & Company

Written by Ericsson, the Swedish immigrant inventor responsible for building the first Union ironclad ship, to the Munn & Company as proprietors of the magazine "Scientific American." Writes that he is returning their article "on the subject of my battery, with some few typographical errors corrected." Pleased that they are putting the matter before their readers entirely on its own merits. File also has 2 pages torn from a bound volume of "Harper's Weekly." One is dated from January 1862 and the other from 29 March 1862 and both have articles on Ericsson. The January 1862 article has a…

GLC02106

16 September 1797

Bradford, William, 1729-1808

Document signed

Title: [Instrument of protest]

Signed by Bradford as notary public. James Bowers, Master of the Brigantine Flora from New York, had been seized and all his goods confiscated by a Royal Navy Schooner of War, the George and Ophelia. The protest notes that "perfect Peace and Amity existed between Great Britain and the... United States" at that time.

GLC02108