The Collection of United States Naval Papers is an artificial collection that was created by combining a number of materials relating to the United States Navy. This collection has been divided into six series.

Series I. Correspondence contains personal and official letters from a number of individuals. Included in this series is an 1800 letter from Joseph Hunt, armourer on board the frigate Congress at Portsmouth, Virginia; an 1809 letter from a 22-year-old man on board the English ship Narcissus seeking protection and back wages from Captain George Dutch, master of the ship Betsy of Salem; an 1813 letter from Captain Nathaniel Spooner of Plymouth to his son Nathaniel Spooner, Jr. concerning the capture of the frigate Chesapeake; original and transcript copies of correspondence relating to an attack, massacre, and arrest on board the US frigate Macedonian in 1820; an 1842 letter announcing the death of Captain Vanderford on the U.S.S. Vincennes; an 1851 circular letter seeking views of the effects produced on the Naval Service by the abolishment of flogging in the Navy; a memorial order for past President John Quincy Adams signed by President James K. Polk in 1848; and a memorial order for Secretary of State Daniel Webster signed by Secretary of the Navy John P. Kennedy in 1852, among others.

Series II. Manuscripts include an undated paper on the history of the universe by an unknown soldier, and an undated essay with comprehensive instructions for visiting Egypt.

Series III. Legislative Papers contain court documents related to Naval activities, including correspondence related to a French spoliation claim by master Jonathan Glover for the schooner Success; paperwork related to faulty accounting of expenses on the Columbus in 1844; definitions of cruising grounds permitted for squadrons in 1847; the court opinion in the case of the United States vs. Joseph White in 1851; an extract of recommendations and settlement of the differences between Nicaragua and Costa Rica in 1852; a sentence for John Hartley Strickland in 1851; documentation to support putting a prisoner on bread and water; a plea for Navy reform in 1853 and proposals to achieve it; regulations for apprentice boys in 1855; manner of proceeding during a court martial; and various acts related to Naval activities.

Series IV. Administrative Papers contain financial and other documentation related to Naval activities, including instructions for officers working in Mexican customs in 1847; a list of the ships active in the United States Navy in 1849; furniture allowances in government houses in 1848; an 1849 list of Naval surgeons incapacitated from going to sea due to advanced age or infirmity; advertising guidelines for the Naval Department in 1843; receipts from Captain Robert Knox of Charlestown; and general orders and reports issued by the Secretary of the Navy.

Series V. Ship Papers contain documents related to specific ships. Included in this series are war claims for the Confederate steamer Alabama; the muster rolls by Captain Wharton for the US Frigate Philadelphia between 1802 and 1804; copies of the specifications and dimensions of the Sloop of War Wasp in 1807; a map of the Caribbean dated 1831-32; a list of active vessels in 1851; a Naval handbook that includes specifications and costs for vessels on active duty in 1853; and a list of the crew sizes on active vessels in 1853.

Series VI. Books contain two naval tonnage logs; a list of deceased seamen; a lesson book and Naval Commonplace book; and several accounting logbooks.