This collection documents much of George Washington Storer's long career in the United States Navy as captain, lieutenant, and commander-in-chief of the Brazil Squadron. It also offers a wide-ranging look at American naval operations in South America in the mid-19th century and, in particular, the role of the United States Navy, primarily during the 1830s and 1840s, as a peacekeeper and a deterrent to the trade in enslaved Africans.

Materials documenting Storer's naval service as a lieutenant and captain from 1817 to 1845 consist of correspondence, ship information, and records pertaining to his service. Similar materials from 1847 to 1851 document Storer's duties as commander-in-chief of the Brazil Squadron and its role in suppressing the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the South Atlantic. Additional orders, court martials, correspondence, and records pertain to Storer's service as Governor of the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia and President of Court of Inquiry #3 from 1852 to 1858 during the later years of his naval career. There is also a small amount of personal and family papers of George W. Storer, Jacob J. Storer, Robert Storer, and Samuel Storer, which provide insights into the domestic aspects of Storer's life.