"Admiral Du Pont left an extraordinary record of his long and distinguished career through the detailed and frank letters he wrote home almost daily while at sea, telling of his travels, his shipmates, his commanding officers , his frustrations, his opinions of naval government policies. This record also accurately mirrors the history of the United States Navy from 1815 to 1865. Du Pont joined the navy at age fourteen. He was on the famed Constitution and other ships that "showed the flag" in the Mediterranean; he served with distinction during the Mexican War; he helped establish the Naval Academy; and he led a diplomatic mission to China. He lived through the greatest of all naval revolutions, the change from sail to steam, from wood to iron, from paddlewheels to propellers."--Publisher's description.