The papers of Daniel Todd Patterson (1786-1839) span the years 1772-1927, with the bulk of the material dated between 1825 and 1835. The collection consists of correspondence, journals, a letterbook, notebooks, reports, photographs, and printed matter. An addition to the papers in 1995 includes correspondence, a list of officers, photographs and a portrait drawing, and wills. The collection primarily concerns Patterson's duties in the Mediterranean Squadron, as fleet captain and commander of the Constitution (frigate), 1824-1828, and as commander of the squadron, 1832-1836.

The letterbook and journals document various aspects of Patterson's squadron's strategic and diplomatic mission in the Mediterranean. The letterbook contains copies of letters concerning piracy from Joseph Pulis, American consul in Malta, and David Offley, United States consul in Smyrna, Turkey. While commander of the squadron from 1832 to 1836, Patterson received letters from David Porter, United States chargé d'affaires in Turkey, and from Edward Livingston, United States minister to France. Livingston's letters document his negotiation with the French Chamber of Deputies for the payment of claims by American citizens for losses during the Napoleonic wars.

The letterbook, journals, and correspondence reveal much about the routines and daily problems of squadron command. Included among the correspondence are orders dated 13 October 1826 prescribing the observance of funeral honors for Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Two volumes listing offenses and punishments on board the Constitution and a significant portion of the correspondence in the Addition pertain to disciplinary problems and provide glimpses into the experience of ordinary seamen in naval service during this period.

Material predating Patterson's Mediterranean service includes three letters from Patterson to his brother-in-law, Robert E. Griffin, two written while Patterson was serving on the Constellation (frigate) in 1802 and in 1803 and the third while Patterson was a prisoner in Tripoli during the Tripolitan War in 1803.

Prominent among Patterson's correspondents are William W. Bleecker, Landon N. Carter, William M. Crane, Charles H. Jackson, John H. Jarvis, George Minor, Charles Morris, Joseph J. Nicholson, John B. Nicolson, Hiram Paulding, Matthew C. Perry, Richard S. Pinckney, George C. Read, John Rodgers, Samuel L. Southard, and Richard Thomas.