The United States Exploration Expedition, Part 2

by Nicolas Wieman

From Antarctica, the squadron sailed in Tonga and prepared for the next leg of their journey: Fiji. The Fiji Archipelago had been known to Europeans since the mid-1600s and was famed not only for their copious amounts of sandalwood and beche-de-mer (sea cucumbers), but for their inhabitants’ reputation as ferocious cannibals. Reliable maps of the “cannibal isles” were therefore in high demand, not least because merchants and missionaries needed to know where to avoid.

From May 4 to August 11, 1840, the expedition’s survey of the islands produced new charts and a treasure trove of botanical, geological, zoological, and anthropological material, but it also produced conflict with the native peoples. The Chief of Ono Island, Ro Veidovi, was taken prisoner and held on Peacock for his role in killing the crew of a stranded American whaler, with the goal of bringing Veidovi back to the United States to stand trial.

The Town of Rewa (NHHC)

The real “highlight” of the Fiji exploration was the murder of two sailors by natives of Malolo Island, one of whom Charles Wilke’s nephew, Wilkes Henry. On July 24, Lieutenant Joseph Underwood and Passed Midshipman Wilkes Henry led a band of sailors on Malolo Island to forage and barter for supplies, but a misunderstanding involving the chief’s son resulted in the two officer’s murders and the mutilation of their bodies.

Massacre of Joseph Underwood and Wilkes Henry (Charles Erskine, Twenty Years Before the Mast)

In response, the vengeful Wilkes swore to burn the island to the ground, sparing only the women and children. The morning after the attack on the two sailors, Wilkes sent a force armed with firearms, sabers, and Congreve rockets (of “Rocket’s Red Glare” fame) to destroy the village of Arro near the beach and Sualib in the interior, where Henry and Underwood were killed. Flying Fish and Porpoise floated near shore, to fire on any boats that attempted to escape the island. The Americans’ march of vengeance decimated the island, with approximately 88 Fijians killed to only one American wounded by an arrow to the leg.

Wilkes had Underwood and Wilkes Henry buried on the island, hidden so that natives of Malolo could not find and dig them up for further mutilation or consumption. While Wilkes publicly mourned both men, in private he blamed Underwood for causing the death of his nephew, by bringing him on that island and botching the negotiation. In a shocking display of Wilkes’ vindictiveness, he put Underwood’s personal affects up for auction.

The attack on Malolo (NHHC)

The squadron’s visit to the Hawaiian Islands in September 1840 was a welcome change for the men, not least because it offered an opportunity for much-needed shore leave, and for the officers to hear from loved ones. Among the mail from his family, Wilkes received a letter from Naval Secretary James Paulding that seemed (at least in his mind) to tacitly endorse his claims of a “mutinous cabal” among the officers and encouraged him to keep up his stern discipline. Wilkes regularly exceeded the number of lashes Sailors received as physical punishment; anything above 12 required the approval of a naval court. Wilkes justified his excess by their isolation necessitating an expedient punishment, rather than waiting to return home.

By December 1840, Wilkes sent the rest of the squadron to mop up islands skipped over in the initial voyage to Fiji, while he made plans to “voyage” into the interior of Hawaii, the biggest island in the chain, to summit Mauna Loa. This shield volcano is the largest active volcano on Earth, reaching nearly 14,000 feet above sea level. Accompanying Wilkes and his crew were a veritable legion of native Hawaiian porters and their families, whose advice about the best route up the volcano Wilkes would stubbornly ignore.

The Hanapepe Valley (NHHC)

After nearly a week hiking up the mountain, Wilkes established a base camp at the summit of Mauna Loa on December 22 that he named “Pendulum Peak,” carving it into a rock at the camp. For two weeks Wilkes and the scientists would conduct experiments on the summit, despite the camp’s ramshackle construction and the harsh climate, and hiked around the caldera. On January 13, with many men suffering from altitude sickness and snow blindness, they concluded their research and began the descent down the mountain. After roughly a month of recuperation and additional surveying of the island, Vincennes departed for their final stop: the Pacific Northwest.

The Mauna Loa caldera (NHHC)

The final stop was the survey of the Pacific Northwest between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Columbia River. This was arguably the most important stop of the voyage, as the Pacific Northwest was hotly contested territory between the United States and Great Britain. The powerful Hudson’s Bay Company monopolizing trade for Britain competing with American settlers and missionaries. Accurate American maps of the region would bolster American claims to the territory.

Vincennes and Porpoise arrived in late April 1841 off Cape Disappointment. They surveyed the waters of Puget Sound and sent their scientists on expeditions into the interior (with plans to rendezvous in San Francisco), trading with local Native Americans and representatives of the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. Wilkes named over 260 locations in the area, among them Vendovi Island (for their Fijian “guest,” Ro Veidovi) and Henry Island, for his departed nephew. While filling in the map of Puget Sound and the interior, he awaited the arrival of Peacock and Flying Fish, who were behind schedule.

Mount Shasta/Shasty Peak (NHHC)

Before surveying up the river, they would have to pass over the Columbia Bar, one of the most dangerous river crossings in the world. The rough weather, constantly shifting bars and shoals, and rocky coastline make passage over the Bar incredibly dangerous. Even today, it is the only river in the United States where a pilot is required for all ships crossing it. The area has been named “the Graveyard of the Pacific” for the over 2,000 shipwrecks that have been recorded.

One of those shipwrecks, unfortunately, was Peacock, which arrived at the Bar behind schedule on July 17. A lapse in judgement prompted Captain Hudson to attempt sending Peacock across the Bar first, instead of the nimbler Flying Fish; the ship almost immediately ran aground on a submerged shoal. While the crew successfully evacuated, the ship and her precious cargo were a complete loss. Humiliated, Wilkes had to negotiate the purchase of a replacement ship, Oregon, from the HBC. Today, Peacock Spit outside Astoria, Oregon bears the name of the ship that wrecked upon its banks.

 

The wreck of the Peacock (NHHC)

The squadron left Puget Sound for San Francisco Bay in early September, picking up the scientists, then set off for home, their voyage of exploration at an end. Their return trip would see them visiting the Philippines, Singapore, and the Cape of Good Hope, finally returning to New York on June 10, 1842. Rather than sail into port flying a pennant ill-befitting his assumed station, Charles Wilkes slipped aboard a smaller boat and sailed in ahead of the rest of the squadron. A court martial awaited him.

The court martial of Charles Wilkes covered the whole breadth of the expedition, from the excessive punishment of sailors and hostility towards officers to the loss of the Peacock and the massacre of Fijians at Malolo. Paradoxically, the sheer volume of complaints levied against Charles Wilkes worked in his favor, as it seemed to vindicate his charges of a conspiracy against him; he was given only a public reprimand. While a light punishment considering the circumstances, it still robbed him of the public accolades he felt entitled to. His return home was marred by the court martial, and by the time he was cleared, the public had moved on to figures such as John C. Fremont and Kit Carson, leading expeditions overland to the west.

The scientific legacy of the Wilkes Expedition cannot be overstated. The sheer volume of specimens collected by the scientists and anthropologists—representing over 10,000 species of plants and animals and over 4,000 anthropological artifacts—would go on to form the basis of the Smithsonian Institution when it opened in 1846. Over 240 meticulously drawn maps of the Pacific Northwest, Antarctica, and the Fijian Islands; the latter of such quality that they remained in use until WW2. The personal journals of all participants of the Expedition together contain countless reams of data on all topics from meteorology, geology, and anthropology. All in all, it was likely the largest collection of scientific material collected by a single sailing expedition.

Charles Wilkes, c. 1855-1860 (US Naval Institute)

Charles Wilkes is best known for his role in the Trent Affair, when the now-Captain Wilkes, commanding USS San Jacinto, waylaid the packet ship RMS Trent carrying Confederate diplomats to Britain, sparking such a diplomatic crisis that the Civil War nearly became a World War. In seizing the ship against all diplomatic reason, Wilkes demonstrated the impulsiveness and desire for glory that led him to such heights, and such depths, as did when voyaging on America’s first great naval expedition.