While the Naval Biography of England and the other great maritime powers has been written by the ablest authors, and published with every aid of embellishment and typographical elegance, that of the United States has hitherto been permitted to remain mostly unwritten; or has only presented itself to public notice in the fugitive form of magazine or newspaper articles. It is not to be denied, however, that some of the lives which have appeared in this form were furnished by the ablest writers in the country, and derive their authority from original documents, letters, and personal narratives. From the materials for an American Naval Biography thus furnished, in addition to other original materials politely furnished by surviving naval officers, or the families of those who are deceased, the following work is composed.

Contents:

Alexander Murray
Charles Stewart
David Porter
Edward Preble
Isaac Hull
Jacob Jones
James Biddle
James Lawrence
John Barry
John Paul Jones
Johnston Blakeley
Joshua Barney
Nicholas Biddle
Oliver H. Perry
Richard Dale
Stephen Decatur
Thomas Macdonough
Thomas Truxtun
William Henry Allen
William Bainbridge