Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842

Nathaniel Philbrick does an outstanding job retelling the exploits and trials of the little known U.S. Exploring Expedition. Wilkes accomplished great things though at great cost to himself and his officers. As a former enlisted person, my blood boils at the treatment of the expedition's sailors and marines. A very good and worthwhile read.

The annals of maritime exploration are filled with great names. Magellan! Columbus! Cook! Um...some...other people who I can't recall. They were probably pretty awesome, though. And then there was Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy.Possibly a surveying expedition that at least partially owed its establishment to then-popular crackpot "hollow Earth" theories was always going to be doomed to have a clouded history. And the fact that few, if any, of the naval officers of the day could stir themselves to be interested in serving with the expedition could have been a sign of trouble. "Fortunately", the glory-hungry Wilkes was at hand, and when more competent and experienced officers passed up the chance as being beneath them, everyone shrugged and said, "Eh, why not send him? Maybe it will SHUT HIM UP."This was not necessarily the best of decisions, seeing as, at heart, Wilkes hated the seafaring life and would have had a hard time commanding a toy boat in his own bathtub. His primary motivation was to achieve fame, social standing, and babes. Sadly, besides his undeniable skill as a surveyor, he had one undeniable talent: the ability to drive everyone around him insane with rage and a vindictive burning desire for utmost revenge. Consequently, his own navy decided not to give him his coveted promotion to acting captain, and he was sent off in charge of a six-ship squadron as a mere lieutenant in charge of other junior lieutenants and midshipmen. Complications naturally ensued.In this book, we discover the amazing exploits of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, which charted the heretofore uncharted (resulting in maps that would be used as late as WWII), established the continental nature of Antarctica, piled up tons of science stuff that would help in the establishment of the Smithsonian, surveyed the Pacific Northwest coast, and squabbled with the Fijians. Pretty much no voyage to the South Sea would be complete without a murderous brush with the "natives" and the U.S. Ex.Ex. was no exception to this rule.Along the way, Wilkes more or less fired every talented officer with a spine, promoted himself to commodore, regularly flogged anyone who looked cross-wise at him, delighted in crushing the spirits of every man in the squadron, and engaged in devious machinations to make certain that every last opportunity for the slightest shred of fame would accrue only to him. His letters home to his beloved wife, the only person capable of keeping him in check, proved him to be a monster of unfettered ego, endlessly boasting of his superiority and how he was now soaring above lesser mortal scum. That many of the principals of the voyage should immediately find themselves locked in trial by court martial upon their return to the U.S. should therefore be no surprise. Few acquitted themselves well in this petty internecine bickering.This is an absorbing account of a mostly forgotten chapter of American history. It makes good use of the letters of Wilkes to his wife, along with the secret journal of one of his mortal enemies, Lt. William Reynolds. Philbrick draws upon a wide spectrum of sources, detailed in a lengthy section of notes at the end. Maps and illustrations alike are plentiful. The author keeps up a brisk pace with only a few asides and digressions, and the mandatory epilogue wraps things up quite neatly.This is not a detailed account of the scientific accomplishments of the expedition or a thorough analysis of 19th century maritime life. Essentially it's the rather sad tale of one vain and astonishingly insecure man's ambitions run monstrously amok and how his pathologies collided headlong with the fixations upon rank and privilege of most everyone around him. My one complaint would be that there is a bit too much sailing jargon. It's one thing for anchors to be weighed, sheets to be furled, and yards to be hauled, but there's always something going on with topgallants, false keels, mizzenmasts, and mainstays. A little too often the author breathlessly relates how a hapless brigantine is being driven upon a lee shore while the crew frantically uncorkscrews the bowsprit, slips the cables, goldbricks the spar deck, and reverses the polarity of the flux capacitor. Seeing as most of us don't know a jib sail from a lateen rig, a lot of this could've been reduced to something more basic for the layman. But that's just a minor complaint. And maybe it's just me.

I have read a few of Philbrick's books and have enjoyed all of them. As a New Englander it is not surprising that his nautical histories are especially engaging. Last Summer at a local book fair I ran across this book at a very attractive price and made the purchase. It has been sitting on my TBR shelf for several months and I thought it was about time to open it. I think this is the best Philbrick book that I have read. Not only is it a good history it is a history with some suspense and reads like a good fiction. The book opens at the beginning of the court martial of the leader of an American Naval expedition in the late 1830's. The story immediately leaves this court martial to trace the life of this accused leader, Charles Wilkes, that will ultimately lead to his present situation and the need to defend himself.During the Jackson presidency Charles Wilkes is a lowly naval lieutenant with little hope of promotion in the peace time navy. In an effort to distinguish himself he becomes interested in surveying and cartography and is appointed to the Navy Dept. responsible for such matters. While in this assignment a voyage of exploration is mounted and Wilkes volunteers for the mission. The expedition's goal is to explore the Antarctic as well as specific Pacific islands and the Pacific Northwest with special attention to the mouth of the Columbia River. Leadership of the expedition becomes a problem when all the senior officers considered for the job turn it down. The only one left to consider for the job is Wilkes and when he is appointed the Naval establishment objects. While Wilkes' surveying and cartography skills make him an excellent choice for inclusion on the voyage he is too junior an officer to lead an endeavor of this magnitude and his skills as a sailor are seriously deficient. However, the choice is made and the voyage begins.The details of the voyage are highly entertaining and informative but it is the human conflicts that develop that give the story its suspense. During the voyage Wilkes demonstrates serious character defects that render him a combination Capt. Bligh and Capt. Queeg. In order to demonstrate his command authority to the men on this expedition he consciously decides to adopt the manner of a martinet. He takes offense at trivial or imagined behavior and imposes severe punishments in thoughtless and ill-considered moments. His men go from adoring this commander to loathing him and when the expedition returns to the U.S. several of them bring charges against him while he brings charges against them. You read this book knowing that there is going to be a prosecution but because this is such an obscure bit of nautical history few will know what the outcome will be and what will become of all these gallant men. Further, you will wonder why this expedition and all of its considerable accomplishments is so unknown. Many of the charts prepared by this expedition were still being used by the Navy during WWII a century later. This is a uniquely entertaining history and well worth reading. Enjoy.

Philbrick does a great job of bringing an expedition of incalculable impact out of the shadows and in to the light. Focusing on the self destructive behavior of its commander, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, Philbrick lays out a narrative of the petty squabbles amidst looming danger that beset the first great naval exploration expedition of the United States. A great, untold story.