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The Charles Hicks letter books contain the letters and accounts of an American merchant operating out of St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1730s and 1740s, as well as notes concerning the estate of the Hicks family of Flushing, New York, between 1800 and 1828.

The Charles Hicks letter books (two volumes, 234 pages and 175 pages) contain the letters and accounts of an American merchant operating out of St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1730s and 1740s. The volumes are comprised of financial accounts, logs, letter drafts, and miscellaneous records, with 112 pages of letters in English (approximately 60 items), and 98 pages written in Spanish. The volumes were created concurrently, and entries are often undated and lack clear chronological organization. In addition to the mercantile records are notes concerning the estate of the Hicks family between 1800 and 1828, found at the beginning and end of each book.

Charles Hicks' business dealings were primarily with Spanish merchants in Florida and Cuba, and with British colonial merchants in New York and Charleston, South Carolina. Hicks discussed the trade conditions in Florida and Havana, and occasionally referenced the strained political relations between Spain and England. Entries contain references to trading enslaved Africans, whom Hicks sold on various Caribbean islands. He also described the activities of the slaves he owned, one of whom was named Caesar (volume 1: pages 39, 82, 196-109, and 133). Also of interest are a copied article and a recipe on how to cure "hydrophobia," to be used when bitten by a rabid dog (volume 1, page 29). Letter contributors and recipients include captains Samuel Bradstreet and Othniel Beale; Florida merchants Juan de Acosta, Joaquin Blanco, and Dr. Pedro A. Estrada; and New York merchants Samuel Franklin, Nicholas Gouverneur, Isaac Gouverneur, Jacob Walton, William Walton, Anthony White, and Nicholas Wycoff.

In addition to the Charles Hicks material are accounts, inventories, and notes regarding the Hicks family of Flushing, New York, recorded at the beginning and end of each volume (1800-1828). Family members mentioned include Hick's children Charles, Eliza, Ann, Scott, Caroline, Philip (a resident of the island of Antigua), and son-in-law Willet Bowne (volume 1: pages 19 and 29). Also present is an inventory for the personal estate of Charles Hicks of Flushing (grandson of the merchant Charles Hicks), who died in 1824 (volume 1: pages 76-79).

These letter books contain orders and letters that Captain John Brand Umfreville of the Royal Navy wrote and received while commanding the HMS Childers in the Caribbean and along the English coast during and just after the War of 1812.

These 2 letter books (8" x 13") contain orders and letters that Captain John Brand Umfreville of the Royal Navy wrote and received while commanding the HMS Childers, an 18-gun brig-sloop, in the Caribbean and along the English coast during and just after the War of 1812. Each volume is comprised of 2 sections, beginning from the front and back covers, and the contents are copied in several hands. The titles written on the four covers are "Letters Written," "Letters Received," "Orders Given," and "Orders Received."

The "Letters Written" section (41 pages) contains outgoing letters that Umfreville and his lieutenants wrote from May 1814-February 1817. Most of the correspondence concerns provisions and personnel during the ship's service at Nassau, Bahamas; Pensacola, Florida; Havana, Cuba; and Spithead, England. Two supplementary tables provide lists of men onboard the Childers who had served in the Royal Navy since 1804 and who claimed the right to be discharged because of their foreign citizenship (pp. 26-27). Later letters relate to a sailor who claimed to be of Danish origin and to Portuguese officials' accusation that the commanders of the Childers had insulted them near the Azores.

John Brand Umfreville's incoming letters (August 1814-February 1817, 16 pages) pertain to administrative issues onboard the Childers. His subordinate officers provided information about the ship's provisions and his commanding officers discussed American prisoners of war, ship arrivals, and ship movements. A letter of January 14, 1817, requests Umfreville's account of the alleged incident with the Portuguese in the Azores.

The third section, "Orders Issued," dates from May 1814-June 1815 (23 pages). Umfreville most frequently ordered his purser and lieutenants to conduct surveys of clothing, food, tobacco, and other supplies onboard the Childers and to procure extra supplies when necessary.

Incoming orders (April 1814-June 1815, 13 pages) relate to the ship's movements and to changes in the Royal Navy hierarchy. In July 1814, Umfreville was ordered to sail to the mouth of the Mississippi River to conduct a blockade of American ports. A letter of July 20, 1814, reported news of American atrocities against British citizens in Upper Canada and ordered the Childers to respond by destroying towns along the southern coast of the United States. Other orders reflect the ship's movements around the Caribbean and its return to England in June 1815.

The US Frigate Potomac collection is made up of a letter book and logbook concerning the ship's service along the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean in the mid-1840s. The letter book contains correspondence between Captain John Gwinn and various navy officials from 1844-1847, and the log chronicles daily incidents onboard the Potomac from 1844-1845.

The US Frigate Potomac collection is made up of a letter book and log book concerning the ship's service along the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean in the mid-1840s.

The Letter Book contains 107 pages of copied outgoing letters that John Gwinn wrote to various United States Navy personnel, such as Secretaries of the Navy John Y. Mason and George Bancroft, from October 11, 1844-December 29, 1847 (primarily in 1844 and 1845). The first letter is a copy of the Navy Department's official order for Gwinn to assume command of the Potomac, and the remaining letters pertain to the ship's service along the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean. Gwinn discussed the ship's movements, personnel, and maintenance. Many letters concern a leak sustained by the Potomac and its repair, and another group of letters addresses Gwinn's concern about possible cases of yellow fever on another ship. Gwinn wrote far less frequently after the Potomac's arrival at the Gosport Shipyard in December 1846, and his later correspondence includes a lengthy letter from Philadelphia with his opinions regarding possible improvements to the Pensacola Navy Yard (February 2, 1846). A letter by Gwinn dated July 3, 1847, is laid into the volume's back pages, alongside a transcription written directly into the book.

The Potomac's Journal (198 pages) is a log of the ship's movements and incidents onboard, with daily entries covering October 16, 1844-December 17, 1845. Entries written while the Potomac was at sea include charts with hourly records of the ship's course and wind direction, and every entry has prose remarks, often concerning weather conditions. The remarks also address issues such as activities at various ports, encounters with other ships, rations and cargo, and crew discipline and deaths. This log was compiled while the Potomac visited ports such as Norfolk, Pensacola, Port Royal, Port-au-Prince, Havana, and Veracruz. The final entry was written as the ship entered dry dock at the Gosport Shipyard. Two sheets of blotting paper are laid into the volume.