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This volume contains ships' logs pertaining to George M. Ransom's service on the United States Navy ships Erie (January 1843-September 1844), Kineo (February 1862-February 1863), Mercedita (April 1863-August 1863), Grand Gulf (September 1863-November 1864), and Muscoota (January 1865-May 1865). Ransom served on the Erie during its voyage from the East Coast to the South Pacific and commanded the remaining vessels in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River, and Caribbean Sea. The logs recount naval battles and the capture of several blockade runners during the Civil War.

This volume (463 pages) contains ships' logs pertaining to George M. Ransom's service on the United States Navy ships Erie (pp. 2-101), Kineo (pp.105-283), Mercedita (pp. 286-339), Grand Gulf (pp. 340-441), and Muscoota (pp. 442-463) in the early 1840s and early 1860s. The logs were written in several hands, and each contains standard information about winds, the ship's course, and the ship's location.

The log of the sloop Erie (January 16, 1843-September 19, 1844) concerns the ship's journey from the Charlestown Navy Yard to Cape Verde, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Hawaii, Tahiti, and back to Norfolk, Virginia. Entries contain detailed notes regarding the use of sails and unusual occurrences such as encounters with other ships at sea and in port, changes in personnel, and attempts to avoid shoals and other dangerous areas. The final entry concerns the transfer of prisoners and mutineers from a whaling vessel.

Material regarding the gunboat Kineo includes 17 pages of "Articles for the Internal Regulations of the U. S. Steam Gun Boat Kineo" (undated) and log entries (February 8, 1862-February 20, 1863). The regulations pertain to aspects of sailors' and officers' personal behavior and official duties. The ship's log entries concern the Kineo's Civil War service between the Mississippi River Delta and Vicksburg, Mississippi; the Kineo was primarily stationed at New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and Warrenton and Grand Gulf, Mississippi. Many entries refer to and provide details about military activities, including the ship's participation in the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, encounters and engagements with Confederate ships and shore batteries, and the capture of hostile vessels (including one carrying a large number of cattle intended for Confederate use, early October 1862). The log also refers to other Union vessels, the progress of the land war, ship maintenance, and issues related to the Kineo's crew. Two entries contain copies of a letter of thanks from Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells (July 8, 1862) and a U.S. House of Representatives resolution praising Admiral David Farragut (August 18, 1862).

The log of the steamer Mercedita (April 18, 1863-August 18, 1863) largely relates to the ship's service in the Caribbean, where it visited ports in Haiti, the Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. Many of the entries report on other ships in the area, including foreign vessels, and on activities such as target practice and ship maintenance. The entry of May 26, 1863, concerns two crewmembers' imprisonment by the United States consul in Haiti following their encounter with the captain of a French merchant vessel. The entries of July 30 and 31, 1863, pertain to the death and funeral of Master's Mate Granville W. Fogg.

The third log concerns the steamer Grand Gulf, particularly its activities as part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off of the North Carolina coast and along the Cape Fear River (September 28, 1863-November 25, 1864). The first entries concern the intake of officers and final preparations for the ship's launch from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Grand Gulf was stationed primarily near Wilmington and Beaufort, North Carolina, though many entries are dated "at sea." The log reports on the ship's encounters with other blockading vessels and its chase and capture of several blockade runners, including the British ship Mary Ann (March 6, 1864), the Banshee, and the Young Republic (May 6, 1864); these and similar entries list apprehended cargo. Other topics include crew discipline and ship maintenance.

The final section concerns the steamer Muscoota (June 5, 1865-May 17, 1865). Under Ransom's command, the ship was stationed in and around the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Norfolk Navy Yard. Log entries pertain to the ship's officers and incoming personnel, maintenance issues, and collisions with other vessels in port. The final pages of the volume include notes on navy personnel (May 1, 1843-June 27, 1844) and a quote from the Iliad.

This log book covers the journey of the English 50-gun frigate HMS Glasgow under the command of Captain Henry Duncan between February 1, 1815, and August 28, 1815. The log records daily information on weather, longitude and latitude, distance, and incidents onboard.

This volume, entitled "Log of The Proceedings of H.M.S. Glasgow" (73 pages) chronicles the ship's travels around the Bay of Biscay between February 1 and August 28, 1815. Midshipman James Williamson recorded daily information about the weather, the ship's course, and incidents onboard. The first 3 pages contain a chart of the ship's course, position, and bearings, maintained daily between February 1 and August 5, 1815; the dates April 1-May 24 are not included. Each day of the week is represented by an astrological symbol in a repeating pattern used throughout the entire volume. The longer log entries commence on February 1, 1815, and cover the ship's course, winds, and remarks about events on the ship, such as the arrival and departure of visitors, discipline of sailors, maintenance work, ships encountered, change of course, weather, and other daily occurrences. The Glasgow moored in Plymouth Sound and "Hamoau" between April 1 and May 25, at Plymouth between June 5 and June 9, and at Sheerness and Chatham, England, between August 8 and August 28. A color-coded map showing the progress of the Glasgow between southwest England and the Bay of Biscay is pasted into the volume between the pages covering May 6 through May 24.

Elements of Navigation, a manuscript adaptation of John Robertson’s work of the same name, provides instruction and practical exercises in arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, geography, astronomy, and navigational principles (781 pages). The volume is heavily illustrated with mathematical diagrams. It also contains a 1785 copy of a ship log for a 1772 voyage from England to Madeira, (21 pages).

"Elements of Navigation," a manuscript adaptation of John Robertson’s work of the same name, provides instruction and practical exercises in arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, geography, astronomy, and navigational principles (781 pages). The volume is illustrated with mathematical diagrams. It also contains a 1785 copy of a ship's log for a 1772 voyage from England to Madeira (21 pages). The book is divided into 14 primary chapters, 11 of them preceded by an ink or watercolor illustration of buildings, ships, and places, such as the watercolor drawings "The Desire in a Storm" and "A west View of Islington, old Church." (See below for complete list.) Several chapters are further divided into sections, and most chapters or sections are followed by problems, questions, case studies, answers, and explanations. Please see the box and folder listing below for a table of contents.

The volume begins with explanations of basic mathematical principles, including arithmetic operations, decimals and fractions, roots and powers, notation, and "Tables of English Money, Weights, and Measures" (pp. 9 verso-10 verso). This chapter is followed by theorems and problems of geometry and trigonometry. The subsequent section on geography contains prose explanations of the discipline's foundations, such as the shape of the Earth, the concept of latitude and longitude, and the currently known world. Remarks on the continents are accompanied by tables showing major countries, principal cities, rivers, and mountains. The tables for North and South America are split, and individual states within the United States are identified as "countries," as are California, New Mexico, Old Mexico, Louisiana, Canada, New Britain, New Wales, and others. Introductory geographic material also includes content on winds, tides, and bodies of water. A segment on "chronology" introduces several scales for measuring time, and explains the reasoning behind concepts such as the leap year and the "Golden Number" (pp. 147-147 verso).

The remainder of the work focuses on the art of maritime navigation. Several topics include: the calculation of compound courses, oblique and windward sailing, sailing in currents, and globular sailing. The sections devoted to each topic are comprised primarily of rules or theorems, exercises, and illustrations of practical applicability. A chapter on "spherics" introduces spherical geometry and trigonometry. Two chapters on astronomy explain concepts in "star astronomy," "terrestrial astronomy," and "spherical astronomy," such as the composition of the Solar System, planetary movements, and mathematical applications. The final 80 pages contain information on the art of sailing and expand on principles previously discussed. These pages include instructions on how to calculate the location of a ship at sea, make necessary observations, and correct a ship's course, among other similar topics.

The final 21 pages consist of a log from an unknown ship traveling from England to Madeira in 1772, transcribed by James West in 1785. Between July 2 and July 11, the log contains notes on the weather, wind direction, and general remarks of occurrences on board as the ship prepared for its journey at Deptford, London. On one occasion, the author mentioned a sailor being disciplined for drunkenness (July 3). Between July 12 and July 28, the log documents the weather, wind direction, ship's location, use of various sails, and other information compiled throughout the course of each day. The ship arrived at Madeira on July 28. The log is followed by a brief note by James West concerning the location of Funchal, Madeira.

The non-mathematical illustrations separating the book's chapters are done in ink or watercolor, and depict rural scenes and sailing ships.

• [View of a village, with a man fishing in a river], p. 2
• [View of a river, with a cylindrical building in the foreground and a church in the background], p. 76
• [View of an arched gateway, with attached buildings and bridge], p. 114
• [View of a stone building with a high-peaked roof, alongside a body of water], p. 138
• "The Victor in a calm sea," p. 187
• [Oval-framed view of two persons sitting beside a river, with a ship and fortifications in the background], p. 202
• "The Desire in a Storm," p. 223
• [Oval-framed view of a small sailing vessel on shore beside a stone building], p. 241
• "A west View of Islington, Old Church," p. 267
• "Teneirs House," p. 319
• "At Abingdon 1782," p. 349

The royal coat of arms of the British monarch is imprinted on the volume's front and back covers.

This log book pertains to the voyage of the bark Neptune from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Mauritius and back to Philadelphia between May 1789 and August 1790, as well as multiple voyages of the schooner Federal between Pennsylvania and the Caribbean between March 1791 and November 1791.

This log book (around 200 pages) pertains to the voyages of the bark Neptune from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Isle of France (present-day Mauritius) and back to Philadelphia from 1789-1790 and voyages of the schooner Federal between Pennsylvania and the Caribbean in 1791. The log entries are written in a pre-printed The Seamen's Journal Book (London, 1785), with sections for each day's measurements and remarks.

The log entries from the voyages of the Neptune (which comprise the bulk of the volume) and the Federal are typically notes on the wind direction, ships' courses, and ships' positions. Additional prose remarks concern weather conditions, the sighting of land, encounters with other ships, and anchorage at a port or harbor. The log has gaps during the Neptune's stay at the Isle of France and during the Federal's time in Caribbean and United States ports.

The first page of the volume, preceding the printed title page, has calculations involving an epact. The book's final pages contain entries from one of the Federal's voyages and additional notes about the Neptune's time at the Isle of France in December 1789 (particularly regarding a thunderstorm). A sheet of paper laid into the book contains notes about an unknown vessel's anchorage at Saint Helena in May and December 1783.

The Zaccheus Brown notebook contains information compiled between 1782 and 1783 on arithmetic, sailing and navigation, and surveying, as well as a log of the Phoenix's voyage from New Jersey to the Virgin Islands in 1789. Mathematical and navigational problems are often illustrated with diagrams, and the volume also contains an example of a Mercator chart of the Caribbean.

The Zaccheus Brown notebook (175 pages) contains information on arithmetic, sailing and navigation, and surveying, as well as a log of the Phoenix's voyage from New Jersey to the Virgin Islands in 1789.

The first 112 pages, compiled from 1782-1783, are comprised of information about mathematics and sailing and contain a brief ship's log. Mathematical subjects include square and cube roots, geometry, and plane trigonometry; Brown copied and solved mathematical problems, which are often illustrated with diagrams. Instructions for aiming cannons appear in the section about trigonometry. Brown also described sailing methods such as plane, traverse, oblique, Mercator, parallel, middle latitude, and current sailing, as well writing instructions for turning a ship windward and for determining location. The parts of the volume concerning sailing also contain problems, diagrams, and an example of a "Plane Chart" and "Mercator's Chart." The Mercator's chart shows the locations of islands in the northern Caribbean Sea. The notebook's other subjects include the compass, calculating the phases of the Moon, and the Gregorian calendar. A final section pertains to surveying.

Zaccheus Brown's notebook also contains logs concerning the voyage of the Endeavour (9 pages) and the schooner Phoenix (58 pages). The Endeavour log, attributed to "L. H," notes the ship's journey "from the Cape" in late June and early July 1783. The Phoenix log details Brown's voyage from June 17, 1789-September 1, 1789 from Salem, New Jersey, to the Virgin Islands and back to Virginia. Some of Brown's daily entries about his voyage on the Phoenix include charts recording the ship's course and position, along with additional remarks on wind speed and direction. Brown occasionally discussed other aspects of his voyage, such as the pidgin language spoken by the ship's Dutch crew and his premonitions after bad weather and delays. He also described the port and the island of Saint Thomas, a Dutch colony (currently part of the United States Virgin Islands).

The volume contains illustrations of a man in the sun, a compass rose, and a fish and man; the latter drawings are flourishes on the heading for the section of the book on cube roots. The back endpaper includes a table of angles related to navigation.