Newspaper Delivery to George W. Storer

Collection

Identifier: MSS-4787

No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of two newspapers and one of its original mailing wrappers, delivered to George W. Storer of the U.S. Navy, on the flagship U.S.S. Brandywine , in the weeks prior to his deployment to South America with the Brazil Squadron.

The unwrapped newspaper is The New Hampshire Gazette and Republican Union printed August 3, 1847. The title of the wrapped newspaper is The Portsmouth Journal of Literature and Politics printed August 7, 1847. The mailing wrapper is addressed to "Commg. Geo. W. Storer/U.S. Ship Brandywine/Portsmouth/Virginia." Upon arrival, the newspaper was forwarded across the harbor to Norfolk where the frigate U.S.S. Brandywine, the flagship of the Brazil Squadron, lay at anchor, ready to set sail for South America on September 13, 1847. The wrapper bears an indistinct Portsmouth, New Hampshire postmark and "PAID" handstamp, both in red. The unwrapped newspaper is annotated "to be preserved," presumably by Storer, in the top margin of its first page.

Dates

Creation: 1847

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.

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Biographical / Historical

George Washington Storer (1789–1864) was a career officer in the United States Navy who served as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Brazil Squadron from 1847 to 1851. The Brazil Squadron was established to protect American interests in the South Atlantic and was later tasked with suppressing the transatlantic slave trade between Africa and South America, particularly Brazil, where slavery remained legal until 1888.

In 1847, Storer received orders from the Secretary of the Navy explicitly instructing him to use the full authority of the squadron to repress the illegal slave trade and ensure the American flag was not misused to facilitate such commerce. Under his command, the squadron seized four ships engaged in transporting enslaved Africans to Brazil. Storer's leadership during this period reflected growing U.S. naval efforts to enforce anti-slavery policies on the high seas, even as slavery remained entrenched in much of the Western Hemisphere.

These items were likely sent as personal or informational reading materials shortly before the squadron set sail on September 13, 1847.