Scope and Content Note
The papers of Edward Preble (1761-1807) consist of fifty-seven volumes and include correspondence, journals and accounts, early signal books, ships' papers and logs, as well as contemporary transcripts of logbooks and account books. The papers span the years 1680-1809, with the bulk of the items concenntrated in the period 1799-1809. Some of the ships' papers and logs relate to such United States vessels as the Argus (Brig), Constitution (Frigate), Essex (Frigate), John Adams (Ship), Pickering (Brig), Ranger (Sloop), and Traveller (Smack). The papers are in English, Arabic, French, and Italian and are organized into the following series: Letters Received, Letterbooks, Diary, Logbooks, Miscellany, and an Addition.
A considerable number of volumes in the collection include Preble's letters to and from superior or subordinate officers or with officials of the Navy Department. Also included is a letter from the officers of the ill-fated Philadelphia (Frigate), absolving Preble of any blame and describing the loss of that ship at Tripoli. In addition to these letters, there are Preble's own journals noting events of the years 1803 and 1804, the fitting out of the Constitution (Frigate) at Portsmouth, and an account of his naval squadron's maneuvers and actions in Mediterranean waters. There are also notes relating to various naval officers and others whom he met during his cruise.
Among Preble's correspondents were John Francis Edward Acton, William Bainbridge, James Barron, James L. Cathcart, Isaac Chauncey, Jacob Crowninshield, George Davis, Stephen Decatur, William Eaton, Charles W. Goldsborough, William Higgens, Isaac Hull, Ralph Izard, Jr., Jacob Jones, Tobias Lear, James Prince, John Rodgers, Robert Smith, and Benjamin Stoddert. A number of notes are from the representative of the Pasha of Tripoli, Yūsuf Bāshā al-Qaramānlī.
The Addition to the Edward Preble Papers spans the years 1779-1912 and contains correspondence, typescripts from a logbook Preble kept of his experiences on the John Adams (Ship), a memorandum book dated 1803-1806, and miscellaneous material relating to Preble's life and career. Principal correspondents include his wife Mary Preble and brothers Ebenezer Preble and Henry Preble.