"A comprehensive overview of the U.S. Navy's 19th-century institutional and operational history. The first two reports contain disparate communications from the Navy Department to Congress: correspondence; lists of personnel, naval stations, and captured West Indies pirate vessels; appropriations; expenditures; etc. From late 1823 forward appear summaries of activities, correspondence from naval officers, lists of deceased officers, widows and pensioners. After 1824 the reports are more uniform and are excellent source documents for the navy's increasing involvement in commercial and technological developments. Topics included are: summaries of courts martial and courts of inquiry; development of the Naval Academy, Naval Observatory, and Naval War College; squadron reports; Mexican War and Civil War operations; demobilization with reduction of personnel and the fleet after 1866; gradual build-up from 1884; and the transition from sail to steam"--The Library of Congress Guide to the Microform Collections in the Humanities and Social Sciences Division, online version.