| United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 |
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| 1838 in the united states | |
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SOME MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION TWO ENGRAVERS & ILLUSTRATORS
SCIENTISTS
http://siarchives.si.edu/findingaids/FARU7186.htm
http://siarchives.si.edu/findingaids/FARU7186.htm
PREPARATIONS In May, 1828, the United States Congress , after prodding by President John Quincy Adams , voted to send an Expedition round the world, it was with the understanding that the country would derive great benefit. It was to promote commerce and to offer protection to the heavy investment in the Whaling and Seal Hunting industries, chiefly in the Pacific Ocean . Congress also agreed that a ''public ship'' or ships should be used. At the time, the only ships owned by the government capable of such a Circumnavigation were those of the U.S. Navy . So, in fact, Congress had decided that a naval Expedition be authorized. There were to be many unforeseen impediments and it was not until May 18 , 1836 , that an act was passed, which authorized funding. Even with the burden of finance lifted, there were another two years of alteration of formation and command before six oddly-assorted ships sailed from Hampton Roads on August 10 , 1838 . Command had finally been vested in U.S. Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes . Several more senior officers had either resigned from or indicated their unwillingness to accept command of the Expedition . The three duties laid down were daunting to officers trained only in fighting ships. In addition to exploration, the naval squadron was tasked with the duties to survey both the newly found areas and survey other areas previously discovered, but about which there was insufficient knowledge. As well, a scientific corps, comprised of all civilians, was to be included an additional command responsibility. There were few officers in the U.S. Navy at that time with any surveying experience and none with a background of working alongside scientists. The '' United States Coast Survey '', where most of the surveyors were employed and learned their trade, was a civilian organization. Wilkes , who had largely trained himself in Surveying work, cut the excessively large number of scientists down to nine. He then reserved for himself and other naval officers, some of the scientific duties, including all those connected with Surveying and Cartography . Personnel included Naturalist s, Botanist s, a Mineralogist , Taxidermist s and a Philologist , and was carried by the Sloops-of-war ''Vincennes'' (780 tons) and ''Peacock'' (650 tons), the Brig ''Porpoise'' (230 tons), the store-ship ''Relief'' , and two tenders, ''Sea Gull'' (110 tons) and ''Flying Fish'' (96 tons). ROUTE OF THE EXPEDITION Leaving Hampton Roads on Saturday, August 18 , 1838 , the expedition stopped at the Madeira Islands and Rio De Janeiro ; visited Tierra Del Fuego , Chile and Peru . The ''Sea Gull'' and its crew of fifteen were lost during a South American coastal storm in May, 1839. From South America the expedition visited the Tuamotu Archipelago, Samoa and New South Wales . In December, 1839 the expedition sailed from Sydney into the Antarctic Ocean and reported the discovery "of an Antarctic Continent west of the Balleny Islands ". Following this, the expedition visited Fiji . In July, 1840, two sailors, including Wilkes' nephew, Midshipman Wilkes Henry, were slaughtered while bartering for food in western Fiji 's Malolo Island . After Fiji, the expedition sailed to the Hawaiian Islands . In 1841, the expedition explored the west coast of the United States, including the Strait Of Juan De Fuca , Puget Sound , and the Columbia River . Like his predecessor, British explorer George Vancouver , Lt. Charles Wilkes spent a good deal of time near Bainbridge Island . He noted the bird-like shape of the harbor at Winslow and named it Eagle Harbor. Continuing his fascination with bird names, he named Bill Point and Wing Point. Port Madison and Points Monroe and Jefferson named in honor of former U.S. presidents. Port Ludlow was assigned to honor Lt. Augustus Ludlow, who lost his life in an 1813 sea battle. The ''Peacock'' was lost in July of 1841 on the Columbia River , though with no loss of life, thanks to a canoe rescue by John Dean, an African American servant of the ''Vincennes'' purser, and a group of Chinook Indians. Dean also rescued the expedition's artist, Alfred Agate , along with his paintings and drawings. Upon learning that the Peacock had foundered on the Columbia River bar, Wilkes interrupted his work in the San Juan Islands and sailed south. He never returned to Puget Sound . From the northwest, the expedition proceeded to San Francisco Bay , the Siskiyou Trail , the Sacramento River , and Wake Island , in 1841, and returned by way of the Philippines , the Sulu Archipelago , Borneo , Singapore , Polynesia and the Cape Of Good Hope , reaching New York on June 10 , 1842 . Wilkes was Court-martial led on his return, but was acquitted on all charges except that of illegally punishing men in his squadron. THE PUBLICATION PROGRAM For a short time Wilkes was attached to the Coast Survey, but from 1844 to 1861 he was chiefly engaged in preparing the report of the expedition. Twenty-eight volumes were planned but only nineteen were published. Of these Wilkes wrote the ''Narrative'' (1845) and the volumes '' Hydrography '' and '' Meteorology '' (1851). The ''Narrative'' contains much interesting material concerning the manners and customs and political and economic conditions in many places then little known. Other valuable contributions were the three reports of James Dwight Dana on '' Zoophyte s'' (1846), '' Geology '' (1849) and '' Crustacea '' (1852-1854). In addition to many shorter articles and reports, Wilkes published the major scientific works ''Western America, including California and Oregon'' (1849) and ''Theory of the Winds'' (1856). SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EXPEDITION The Wilkes Expedition played a major role in development of 19th-century science, particularly in the growth of the U.S. scientific establishment. Many of the species and other items found by the expedition helped formed the basis of collections at the new Smithsonian Institution . With the help of the expedition's scientists, derisively called "clam diggers" and "bug catchers" by navy crewmembers, 280 islands (mostly in the Pacific Ocean ) were explored, and over 800 miles of Oregon were mapped. Of no less importance, over 60,000 plant and bird specimens were collected. A staggering amount of data and specimens were collected during the expedition, including the seeds of 648 species, which were later traded, planted, and sent throughout the country. Dried specimens were sent to the National Herbarium , now a part of the Smithsonian Institution . There were also 254 live plants, which mostly came from the home stretch of the journey, that were placed in a newly constructed greenhouse in 1850, which later became the United States Botanic Garden . EXTERNAL LINKS
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