(35) Manuscript Letters from Alexander Hamilton Hopkinson (1804 - 1827), his account on the USS Franklin, folded stampless letters, wax seals, some marked 'SHIP'. Locations include Gibraltar, New York, Rio de Jainero, Valparaiso, Edgartown, stamped Norfolk, Annaps MD, Boston, Baltimore, Wash City. Letters date from 1821 - 1827, with the final being marked "my dear sons last letter" July 29 1827 off Malta. This final letter begins that "You have often told me that a single line was better than nothing...." The USS Franklin was the first ship ever laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1815. It served as the flagship of the Pacific Squadron from 1821 to 1824. His later letters are then written from the USS Lexington and the Frigate United States (USS United States) one of the 6 original ships authorized by the Naval Act of 1794 and has a long and storied history of combat. From the Francis Hopkinson Family Archives