Series III. Naval Records is divided into two subseries.

Subseries A. Ships' Papers is comprised of ships' official records from watch stations; instructions to pursers; order and letter books; and the personal notebook of Henry Test aboard U.S.S. Catskill.

Subseries B. Correspondence and Personal Papers includes correspondence sent home from sailors; official correspondence between officers and the Navy Department; the diary of an unknown sailor aboard the U.S.S. Midnight; and testimonies regarding the rank restoration of Captain George Henry Preble following his dismissal from the Navy, after a Confederate ship, the CSS Florida, reached safe harbor in Mobile, Alabama during an 1862 blockade.