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This collection holds official letters, letterbooks, and documents of the American naval commander Isaac Chauncey, who served during the Franco-American War, the War of 1812, and both Barbary Wars. The material largely concerns naval administration during Chauncey's command of the American navy in Lake Ontario and naval operations in the Mediterranean during the Second Barbary War.

This collection holds 41 official letters, 3 letterbooks (1199 pages), and 7 documents of the American naval commander Isaac Chauncey, who served during the Franco-American War, the War of 1812, and both Barbary Wars. The material largely concerns naval administration during Chauncey's command of the American Navy on Lake Ontario and Erie during the War of 1812, and naval operations in the Mediterranean during the Second Barbary War.

The Correspondence series (41 items) contains letters related to Chauncey's naval career primarily during the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War. The collection contains 11 secretarial copies of letters and 5 English translations of letters from the Dey of Algiers and the Spanish Diplomat Luis de Onís. The rest of the items are original including a letter from James Monroe and one from Stephen Decatur.

Five of the early letters are from Robert Smith, Secretary of the Navy in the Jefferson Administration, regarding Chauncey's placement as a lieutenant on the President, ordering Chauncey not to assist ships carrying contraband; one letter informed him of his appointment as Captain (April 24, 1806). Other early items include a letter from Chauncey to Stephen Decatur, reassuring him that he had no deserters or private sailors on board the John Adams (April 3, 1805) and a friendly letter from Decatur to Chauncey that mentions the possibility of their being sent to the Mediterranean (May 11, 1809).

Items related to the War of 1812 include three letters to Roger Hale Sheaffe, one congratulating him on becoming a baron and another placing a British officer into his service in Upper Canada. The collection also holds two Chauncey letters from 1813, including a letter from James Wilkinson about the positioning of Chauncey's squadron, and a letter from the Mayor of Savannah celebrating Chauncey’s and Commodore Perry's victories against the British.

Several letters concern the political situation in the Mediterranean Sea during the Second Barbary War. One is an 8-page extract from Tobias Lear, consul general to Algiers, describing the political situation there. Another is a translation of a letter from the Dey of Algiers to President Madison on continuing terms of peace. Four letters are from Chevalier Luis de Onis, Spanish foreign minister to the United States, addressed to Secretary of State James Monroe. The letters discuss Chauncey's capture of one of the Deys' brigantines, an act of aggression which violated the American-Algerian peace agreement and lead to threats from the Dey. Other letters are from Stephen Decatur to James Monroe and William Shaler, United States consul general to Algiers, and between Secretary of the Navy Benjamin William Crowninshield and Chauncey.

The Letterbooks series contains 3 volumes of incoming and outgoing letters and orders during the War of 1812 and from 1815-1817, while Chauncey served as captain and diplomat in the Second Barbary War. These volumes provide an excellent account of the highest level of decision making for the Great Lakes in the War of 1812, and document Chauncey's part in America's Mediterranean naval operations between 1815-1817. Entries consist primarily of outgoing letters (many marked private and confidential), but also include some incoming letters, general orders, circulars, charges of disobedience, records of courts martial, and tables of naval expenses. The entries are largely ordered by date, though occasionally Chauncey's reply was copied before the incoming letter was entered, and, in a few instances, letters were misplaced and copied at a later date.

The first volume dates from September 3, 1812, to March 30, 1813 (320 pages). Over this period Chauncey mainly corresponds with high-level naval and military leaders, such as Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton, Major General Henry Dearborn, Navy Agent John Bullus, Naval Commander of the forces on Lake Erie Jesse Duncan Elliott, Brigadier General John Chandler, and Commander Melancthon Taylor Woolsey. Of note are letters written on November 17, 1812, to New York Governor Daniel D. Tompkins and American General Dearborn, stating that Chauncey has "complete command of this Lake, and that we can transport Troops and Stores to any part of it with safety" (volume 1, p.102 and p.105). Along with communications between Chauncey and high-ranking officers, the volume also contains official correspondence with captains and lower-ranking service members throughout the great lakes region. For example, a letter from January 27, 1813, grants leave to mid-shipman William Bunnell, so that he can visit his dying father (volume 1, p.214). During most of this time period, Chauncey is stationed at Sackets harbor, except for September 3-26, 1812, when he was managing the New York Navy Yard (volume 1, p.1-36); October 21-October 24, 1812, when he was on a trip to Oswego (volume 1, p.56-62); December 25- January 9, 1813, when he was at Black Rock, Connecticut (volume 1,,p.176-200); and February 10-28, 1813,when he was on a trip to Albany and New York (volume 1, p.239-257).

The second volume, April 1-August 25, 1813, is a continuation of the first (561 pages and 11 blank pages). The bulk of this volume are letters to Washington D.C., with many addressed to the Secretary of the Navy, Williams Jones. Like the previous volume, these communications document the navy's ship-building operations and military decisions. Chauncey was away from Sackets Harbor on three occasions: he was at the capture of York on the U.S. Ship Madison, April 27-May 8, 1813 (volume 2, 85-100); he stopped near Niagara, May 9, 1813 (volume 2, 101-103); and he visited Niagara again from August 3-6, 1813 (volume 2, 277-288). Of note are a report of the killed and wounded in the attack on Fort George, May 27, 1813 (volume 2, p.134), and an account of 195 vouchers for Navy Department expenses from September 1812-July 1813 (volume 2, 250-269). Another interesting item reveals Chauncey's attitude toward racial prejudice in the navy. He wrote to Oliver H. Perry, "I regret that you are not pleased with the men sent by Mssrs. Champlin & Forrest, for to my knowledge a part of them are not surpassed by any seamen we have in the Fleet, and I have yet to learn that the colour of the skin or cut and trimmings of the Coat can effect a man’s qualifications or usefulness. I have nearly 50 blacks on board of this Ship and many of them are amongst my best Men..." (volume 2, p.275).

The third volume dates from March 17, 1815-March 25, 1817 (318 pages and 4 blank pages). It documents Chauncey’s final months at Sackets Harbor, between March-June 1815 (volume 3, 1-108), a short stay in New York from July 19-August 18 (volume 3, 109-121), and three months on Board the U.S. Ship Washington stationed first in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, August 27-November 25 (volume 3, 122-178), and then in Boston and New York, December 5-May 8, 1816 (volume 3, 178-231), and finally just off Annapolis, May 10-June 8 (volume 3, 231-241). The early part of the 3rd volume contains many letters to and from Secretary of the Navy B.W. Crowninshield and other contacts in Washington during the close of the war with Britain. Of note is a detailed report on building ships on Lake Ontario during the war years (volume 3, 115-120).

The remainder of the volume contains Chauncey's letters from the US Ship Washington as it travelled through the Mediterranean Sea. The ship visited Gibraltar; Malaga Bay, Spain; Port Mahon, Spain; Naples Bay, Italy; Messina, Italy; Tunis, Tunisia; and Algiers Bay. He maintained contact with several US captains in the Mediterranean and with American diplomat William Pinkney in Naples. A considerable portion of the volume consists of copies of letters, accounts of events, and transcriptions of the hearings of various courts marital during the war. Chauncey was in close contact with Captain John Shaw, president of the courts martial on board the Constellation. One particularly well-documented trial was for Captain John Orde Creighton of the Java, for beating a fellow crew member with a stick. The charges are on pages 282-284, but numerous copies of documents from the trial continue to page 328.

• An item documenting the court inquiry of Captain James Barron who, in 1807, surrendered the Chesapeake to a British war ship off the coast of Virginia, without properly attempting to defend it.
• A copy of a deed of land transfer from the New York State government to the United States government, for use as a navy yard along the East River (April 3, 1810).
• A general order from Commissioner Steward to Naval Commissioner Isaac Chauncey, discussing disciplinary duties of naval officers and commending Chauncey for his skill in this field (February 4, 1818).
• A parole and receipt for British prisoners taken after the siege of York, signed by Lieutenant Clemworth of the 3rd Regiment Militia and 37 British officers (April 28, 1813).
• A copy of Colonel Tobias Lear's observations concerning the Barbary affairs addressed to the United States government (17 pages). The document reports the political role of Algiers in the Mediterranean Sea and its relationship with various European nations in 1812. This document is intended to give American policymakers and military leaders background on the Algerian situation.
• Extracts from general accounts of losses sustained by the Mohawks during the War of 1812, with a note at the bottom stating that one claim had been paid to Joseph Brant by Mohawk Chief Isaac Hill.
• A memorandum on the defense of Kingston, Ontario (undated).

The Turner-Harlan family papers are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, photographs, scrapbooks, genealogical information, and other materials spanning multiple generations of the Turner and Harlan families of Newport, Rhode Island, and Maryland. The collection particularly regards US Navy Surgeon Dr. William Turner (1775-1837), Commodore Peter Turner (1803-1871), Hettie Foster Harlan née Turner (1850-1937), and their relations.

Collection Scope and Content Note:

The Turner-Harlan family papers are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, photographs, scrapbooks, genealogical information, and other materials spanning multiple generations of the Turner and Harlan families of Newport, Rhode Island, and Maryland. The collection particularly regards US Navy Surgeon Dr. William Turner (1775-1837), Commodore Peter Turner (1803-1871), Hettie Foster Harlan née Turner (1850-1937), and their relations. The papers are arranged into five series: Turner Family Papers, Harlan Family Papers, Photographs, Printed Materials, and Turner-Harlan genealogical papers

The Turner Family Papers seriesconsists of 112 letters to and from members of the Turner family and their associates, five log books, and assorted ephemera, with most items dating between 1790 and 1860.

The Turner family Correspondence and Documents subseries contains 112 incoming and outgoing letters and documents of members of the Turner family between 1749 and 1871 (bulk 1799-1840s).

The largest coherent groups within this subseries are 40 letters and documents of Dr. William Turner (1775-1837), revolving largely around his military and medical careers between 1799 and 1837; and 49 letters and documents of Peter Turner (1803-1871), most of them letters to his parents while in naval training and service, 1820-1844. Selected examples from William Turner's manuscripts include:

• August 2 and 13, 1752, letter by William Turner (1712/13-1754) to his father, written with mirrored lettering. He discussed his fears of small pox in Newark; the tremor in his right hand, which forces him to write with his left; and a 30-pound debt.
• Christopher R. Perry's appointment of William Turner (1775-1837) as chief surgeon of the frigate General Greene, August 31, 1799.
• An October 10, 1799, letter by Dr. William Turner from Cap François, Saint-Domingue, in which he relates Captain Perry's description of Toussaint Louverture.
• A September 20, 1800, letter by Dr. Turner defending his assessment and actions relating to a yellow fever outbreak originating from the General Greene on its arrival in Newport, Rhode Island.
• Oliver Hazard Perry ALS to his mother, ca. 1807-1808, informing her of the death of Benjamin Turner, who was killed in a duel over an argument about Shakespeare's plays.
• A letter from Henry Fry respecting the personal effects of Dr. Peter Turner, who died of wounds sustained at Plattsburgh (October 17, 1813).
• Three letters to Hettie Foster Turner from siblings Lillie and George Turner relate information about the health of family members in E. Greenwich, Rhode Island. One of these letters is dated October 18, 1813, the others are undated.
• William Turner's December 23, 1814, letter to General Thomas Cushing, explaining that one condition of his current appointment must be permission to continue his private practice while also tending to garrison duty.
• Three manuscript Portsmouth Marine Barracks countersign-watchword documents from August 22 and 24, and October 31, 1849. The August 24, 1849, countersign "Revolution" matched watchword "Cuba."
• Family letters of Henry E. Turner, William C. Turner, George Turner, and others

The 49 letters and documents of Peter Turner are largely comprised of correspondence with his parents. Turner wrote as a midshipman aboard vessels in the West Indian and Mediterranean squadrons during the 1820s. He sent his most robust letters from Rio de Janeiro on July 10, 1826, and aboard the US Ship Falmouth on a voyage to Vera Cruz in 1828. Turner met the Erie at Vera Cruz, expecting to find his brother William C. Turner aboard, but the sibling had been left at Pensacola for unspecified reasons. Peter Turner received the disconcerting news of the death of a family member and wrote about his distress at not being able to return home. He updated his parents as he traveled to Pensacola and then the Navy Yard at Charleston, South Carolina. Later in 1828, he joined the US Ship Hornet on a voyage to Brooklyn; yellow fever took the lives of three midshipmen on the trip (November 19, 1828).

From 1828 to 1829, Peter Turner wrote from Brooklyn, where he became an officer in March 1829. The remainder of Peter Turner's correspondence and documents are scattered, including for example:

• A May 4, 1828, letter respecting the estate of Dr. William Turner of Newport, Rhode Island.
• A May 11, 1844, letter by Peter Turner from Rio de Janeiro on stationery bearing an engraved view of the "Praca do Commercio" [Praça do Comércio] by Friedrich Pustkow.
• A letter to Turner respecting a check for $25, which was bequeathed to Turner from commodore Uriah P. Levy, December 1862.
• Three letters and documents respecting the transfer of ownership for pew 83 in Trinity Church, Newport, Rhode Island, in January 1862.
• Two documents regarding $1,387 owed to the estate of William Mathews by the US Naval Asylum in June 1863.

The Turner family Logbooks subseries includes five log books from three different United States Navy vessels:

• US Schooner Nonsuch, August 8, 1821-May 19, 1823. Daniel Turner commanded this vessel on its voyage from the New York Navy Yard to Port Mahon [Minorca] and subsequent service in the Mediterranean. The volume includes five watercolor coastal profiles or views (Corsica, Cape St. Vincent, Milo, and Corvo).
• US Schooner Nonsuch, September 9, 1824-December 14, 1824. Daniel Turner, commanded this ship from Palermo Bay, south along the African coastline, past the Canary Islands, and to the Navy Yard at New York.
• US Schooner Nonsuch, November 1, 1824-December 3, 1824; December 11, 1826-December 31, 1826. The remainder of the volume contains illustrated mathematical propositions related to conic sections and spherical geometry.
• US Schooner Shark, August 5, 1827-October 24, 1827. Isaac McKeever served as commander of the Shark during this voyage from the coast of Nova Scotia to the United States Naval Seminary at the New York Navy Yard. The remainder of the book, beginning at the opposite cover, is comprised of question and answer format essays on aspects of seamanship. The author was an unidentified individual at the Naval Seminary. The essays are followed by a celestial map.
• US Ship Southampton, December 15, 1850-October 31, 1851. Lieutenant Peter Turner commanded the Southampton during the ship's December 30, 1850-October 31, 1851, voyage. The ship set sail from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, traveled around Cape Horn, and arrived at San Francisco harbor.

The remainder of the Turner family series includes miscellaneous writings and cards. The three pieces of writing include a recipe for "Dr. King's Diarrhoea Mixture" (undated); a note from "Daughter" to her mother, secretly pleading with her to change the daughter's teacher (undated), and "Lines on the Death of Miss Martha Turner" (September 17, 1870). Five calling and visiting cards date from the 1850s to the late 19th century.

The Harlan Family Papers series includes approximately 250 items relating to the lives of the Harlan family. The series includes correspondence, legal and financial papers, and scrapbooks.

The Harlan family Correspondence subseries contains 45 letters to and from members of the Harlan family, 1846-1925, with the bulk of the materials falling between the 1880s and the 1910s. A majority concerns the everyday lives of the Henry and Hettie (Turner) Harlan family, including their siblings and children. The most prevalent writers and recipients include Hettie's brother James Turner Harlan of Philadelphia; William H. Harlan of the law firm of Harlan & Webster in Bel Air, Maryland; and Hettie's aunt Ada H. Turner.

One item of particular interest is a letter from "David" [Harlan?] to Henry Harlan, dated August 12-14, [1846], and written aboard the US Steamship Princeton (during the US-Mexico War). David summarized and speculated about current political matters, including tensions relating to the ousting of President Salinas, the assumption of the presidency by Paredes, and the anticipation of the return of Santa Anna. He also provided a lengthy anecdote about the laborious process of loading sheep and cattle from the shores of Sacrificios onto the Princeton.

The Harlan family Legal and Financial documents subseries contains 165 items, dating primarily between 1815 and 1924, and consisting of land deeds and contracts, estate-related materials, and assorted receipts, accounts, checks, and other financial materials. The bulk of the real property referred to in the documentation was in Harford County, Maryland.

One bundle of 21 telegrams, manuscript notes, and newspaper clippings trace the April 1902 Disappearance and Suicide of James V. P. Turner, a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and son of Commodore Peter Turner.

A group of 12 miscellaneous Writings, Cards, and Invitations date from the 1870s to the 20th century. These include 1877 New Year's resolutions by Hettie F. Turner; an 1886 "Journal of Jimmie & Pansie Harlan's Doings and sayings" [By Hettie Foster Turner Harlan?]; a handwritten program for Darlington Academy commencement entertainments, June 18, 1897; and a typed graduation speech titled "We Launch To-night! Where Shall We Anchor?" ([James T. Harlan?], Darlington Academy, class of 1899).

The Photographs series includes six cyanotypes, three cartes-de-visite, four snapshots and paper prints, and three negatives depicting members of the Turner and Harlan families. The CDVs are portraits of Commodore Peter Turner (unidentified photographer), a 16 year-old Henry Harlan (by Richard Walzl of Baltimore), and Hettie Foster Turner Harlan in secondary mourning attire (by Philadelphia photographers Broadbent & Phillips). The cyanotypes, prints, and negatives include 1890s-1910s images of the family's Strawberry Hill estate, Henry and Hettie Harlan, "Pansy" (Hettie F. Harlan), and other family members.

The Scrapbook subseries is comprised of six scrapbooks relating to different elements of the Harlan family.

• "Old Harlan Papers" scrapbook, 1750-late 19th century, bulk 1810s-1840s. Includes 19th century copies of 18th century land documents. Land documents, property maps, and other legal documentation largely respecting Harford County, Maryland, lands. The real property includes "Durbin's Chance," "Betty's Lot," "Stump's Chance," and other properties. The original and copied manuscripts are pasted or laid into a picture cut-out scrapbook belonging to Peter Smith, ca. 1960s (Smith may or may not have been the compiler of the "Old Harlan Papers").
• Harlan Family scrapbook, March 21, 1793-[20th century]. This volume includes land deeds, contracts, documents, letters, printed items, and genealogical materials related to multiple generations of the Harlan family, particularly in Maryland. Of note is a March 6, 1835, legal agreement respecting the sale of Emory, a 17-year old slave, by Anne Page to Dr. David Harlan, Kent County, Maryland.
• Harlan Family scrapbook, "Furniture References," 1860s-1960s, bulk 1890s-1920s. This volume contains interior and exterior photographs of the Harlans' "Strawberry Hill" farm near Stafford, Maryland. Some of these photographs include notes about the furniture depicted in them. Other significant materials include approximately 15 letters by Hettie F. Harlan, James V. P. Harlan, and others, 1898-1902.; and an 1864 "Great Central Fair" committee ticket for Hettie F. Turner (a "Lady's Ticket"), accompanied by a tintype portrait of two women.
• James T. Harlan, "Photographs" album, 1906-1913, 1948-1949. Harford and Baltimore County, Maryland. Interiors and Exteriors of Harlan and Stump family homes; travel photos to Perry Point (Perryville), Maryland, in 1910. 1909/1910 motorcycles, 1906, 1909, and 1910 snapshots from the Baltimore Automobile Show; a 1911 trip to Newport, Rhode Island; ca. 1905-1907 trip to Druid Hill Park; snapshots of James T. Harlan's Baltimore office, National Surety Company of New York.
• Cleveland Commission for the celebration of the Centennial of Perry's Victory on Lake Erie (Perry Centennial Committee of Cleveland, Ohio) scrapbook, 1913. Newspaper clippings, correspondence, real photo and picture postcards, a printed program "The Progress of Woman" (September 16, 1913); printed invitation card for a reception held by the "Committee on Women's Organizations of the Cleveland Commission Perry's Victory Centennial" September 15, 1913); mounted paper portrait photograph of William G. Turner, 1902.
• Handmade album titled "Harford" by an unidentified compiler. Through pasted-in postcards, snapshots, verses from newspaper clippings, and plant matter, the unidentified compiler documented their sentimental attachment for scenes and people in Harford County, Maryland (particularly Stafford and Darlington).

The Printed Materials series includes:

• Approximately 20 newspaper clippings (19th-early 20th century) and a single copy of the newspaper Public Ledger (v. 1, no. 1; Philadelphia, Friday Morning, March 25, 1836).
• In Memory of Elizabeth Dale, Widow of Admiral George C. Read, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia, 1863).
• Henry E. Turner, M.D., Greenes of Warwick in Colonial History. Read Before the Rhode Island Historical Society, February 27, 1877 (Newport, RI, 1877).
• [The Quaker Calendar], Westtown 1907 (Philadelphia: Printed by Leeds & Biddle Co. [incomplete]).
• University of Maryland Annual Commencement. Academy of Music. Monday Afternoon, May Thirty-First at Four O'Clock (1909)
• William Jarboe Grove, Carrollton Manor Frederick Country Maryland. By William Jarboe Grove, Lime Kiln, Maryland., March 29th, 1921 (198 pages [incomplete]).
• Charles D. Holland, Some Landmarks of Colonial History in Harford County, Maryland (Baltimore, 1933).
• "Commodores Belt of Blue Cloth and Gold Embroidery." Addressed to Commodore Peter Turner from the Navy Department. One page, showing design for a commodore's belt and sword sling, and including a manuscript notation "This is correct" (undated).
• One page "prayer."

The Turner-Harlan Genealogy series consists of a wide array of materials relating to genealogical research of the Turner-Harlan families. Items include handwritten family trees, familial biographies, and professionally-produced genealogical items. Also included are 20th century Harlan family newsletters.