# Autobiography of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes

Autobiography
of
REAR ADMIRAL CHARLES WILKES,
U. S. NAVY
1798-1877
Editors
WILLIAM JAMES MORGAN
DAVID B. TYLER
JOYE L. LEONHART
MARY F. LOUGHLIN
With an Introduction by
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN D.H. KANE, JR., USN (Ret.)
Director of the Naval Historical Center
NAVAL HISTORY DIVISION
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
WASHINGTON: 1978
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
INTRODUCTION
The remarkable naval career of Charles Wilkes began shortly after the War of 1812 and bridged the better part of the nineteenth century. Always the "Stormy Petrel" rarely sailing in calm seas, he weathered conviction by two courts-martial while climbing the rank ladder from Midshipman to Rear Admiral.
Wilkes commanded the celebrated U.S. Exploring Expedition. The scientific achievements of the four year Expedition were monumental. The ice-bound Antarctic was identified as a continental land mass; vast areas in the South Pacific as well as the northwest coast of the United States were surveyed and explored. Animal and plant-life specimens, widely collected in quantity and brought back, proved a treasure trove for natural scientists.
While commanding the USS San Jacinto, early in the Civil War, Wilkes sparked an international incident of no small magnitude. Near Cuba he stopped the British mail steamer Trent and took off Confederate commissioners James Mason and John Slidell. The halting, boarding and removing of passengers from a neutral British flag vessel drew immediate and strong protest from official London and talk of war.
Charles Wilkes was blunt, highly opinionated and always self-righteous. Such personal characteristics are not universally endearing and frequently brought Wilkes into open conflict with colleagues and superiors, most notably Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles.
He was a scientist, and perhaps it was the discipline of this calling which made Wilkes a keen observer of all that came within his range. The Autobiography is naval history, and affords us a view from the midshipmen's mess and the wardroom of life at sea in the early Navy. But in addition, the Autobiography presents a fascinating commentary on politics, society and culture as seen through Wilkes' eyes. Descriptions of his travels are lessons in antiquity and geography.
Wilkes opened the Autobiography with the words, "At the instigation of my wife and Children I am induced to give the Record of my life." He began writing in 1871 when he was seventy-three years of age. The end result was a manuscript exceeding 2800 pages in horrendous hand-writing. Undoubtedly the length and handwriting discouraged and delayed transcription to the printed page for more than a century.
​The original manuscript is in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress where it was deposited by a member of the family in 1921. Much credit is due to Mrs. Minta Hull, the Admiral's great granddaughter, for her enthusiasm and untiring efforts through the years to ready a publishable manuscript and to seek publication. Upon Mrs. Hull's death the work she had done on the Autobiography and materials she had assembled came into possession of her close friend, Mrs. Evelyn S. Taber-Holt of Columbia, South Carolina.
Mrs. Taber-Holt shared Mrs. Hull's ardent desire to see the Autobiography published. In 1969 she solicited the support of Allan Nevins, distinguished historian and member of the Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Committee on Naval History. Dr. Nevins, recognizing the historical significance of the Autobiography, endorsed the project, and brought it to the attention of Rear Admiral Ernest McNeill Eller, USN (Ret.), then Director of Naval History. Admiral Eller was in full agreement with Dr. Nevins' evaluation. He acquired the Wilkes materials held by Mrs. Taber-Holt with the understanding that as time, resources and staffing permitted, every effort would be made to publish the Autobiography.
Dr. David B. Tyler, author of an excellent book, The Wilkes Expedition, kindly consented to participate in the editorial preparation of the manuscript and he made major contributions. The other co-editors, William James Morgan, Joye Leonhart and Mary Loughlin were regular staff members in the Historical Research Branch of the Naval History Division. They undertook this difficult assignment as additional duty in the midst of already imposing publication responsibilities including the multi-volume Naval Documents of the American Revolution.
To bring a work of this nature to completion requires the assistance, knowledge and cooperation of many individuals and institutions. Within the Naval History Division, and while assigned to the Historical Research Branch, Lieutenant Mary Walsh, USN, and Dr. Robert Scheina did excellent work on the Autobiography. As always, the deep knowledge and helpfulness of Miss Barbara Lynch, Navy Department Library, were invaluable. Mrs. Agnes Hoover and Mr. Charles Haberlein, of the Naval History Division's Curator Branch, provided advice and support in the search for illustrations. Particular recognition is due to Mr. Frank J. Coulter, Jr., a graduate student, employed part time in the Historical Research Branch. His search for obscure data, transcription, proofing and work on the epilogue, chronology and index were outstanding.
We are grateful to members of the Wilkes family for their aid in our quest for elusive family pictures. These included Vice Admiral W. R. Smedberg, III, USN (Ret.), Mrs. Stanley Black, Jr. and Captain Charles Wilkes Styer, USN (Ret.). A special note of thanks goes to Mr. Gilbert Wilkes, III, who kindly welcomed two staff members into his home to examine and photograph items from his extensive private collection.
The various libraries and depositories we turned to with rewarding ​results included: the British Embassy in Washington, the Center for Polar Archives and other National Archives branches, Columbia Historical Society of the District of Columbia, Columbia University, Duke University, Frick Art Reference Library, Library of Congress, Maryland Historical Society, Naval Academy Museum and Alumni Association, Naval Oceanographic Office, Peabody Museum, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. State Department and Yale University.
To all, named and unnamed, our appreciation is as great as our debt.
John D.H. Kane, Jr.
PREFACE
The editors' approach to the autobiography was to "translate" the handwriting and to allow Charles Wilkes to speak for himself with a minimum of interference. However, the manuscript's structure and Wilkes' writing style dictated some editorial incursions.
It would seem that quick and divergent thoughts crossed Wilkes' mind as he worked on the autobiography, and he would immediately insert them in the text. This led to wandering digressions and disdain for punctuation and grammatical considerations, particularly sentences. Confronted with strings of phrases, the editors added square bracketed verbs or other links to form sentences, albeit sometimes very long sentences. Square brackets have also been put to other conventional uses to insert missing words and to indicate illegibles or blank spaces in the text. Chapter breaks are non-existent in the manuscript and paragraphs virtually so. They have been supplied by the editors. Footnotes, used to clarify or identify, are kept to a minimum.
Wilkes occasionally had difficulty with the chronological sequence of events. For example, he discussed his command of the West India Squadron before he treated of the James River Flotilla. Actually the time frame for these commands was just the reverse. We have not tampered with his order, but have included a brief chronology which it is hoped will be a reference point for readers.
If Wilkes did not have a fact or specific piece of information at hand he left space in the manuscript, apparently with the intention of returning to fill it in. He did not, and the blanks remained. We have succeeded in supplying the missing data in some instances, but others have defied resolution. There are also pages missing from the manuscript, and where this occurs it has been noted.
Wilkes' rambling prose, a proclivity for flash-backs and flash-forwards, and his desire for saturation coverage, particularly where he conceived that a wrong had been done him, led to the inclusion of some repetitive material in the autobiography. Only in one instance (a story in Chapter VIII) was the repetition deemed so flagrant, an almost verbatim recital of what had been written earlier, did the editors feel compelled to delete. The reader will find the place of deletion indicated.
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
(Courtesy of U.S. Naval Academy Museum.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Courtesy of National Gallery of Art. Gift of Maude Monell Vetlesen, 1947.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Courtesy of VADM W. R. Smedberg, III.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Courtesy of American Philosophical Society.)
(Library of Congress.) ​
(Courtesy of Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass.)
(From Narrative of the Exploring Expedition, Volume II.)
(From Narrative of the Exploring Expedition, Volume I.)
(From Narrative of the Exploring Expedition, Volume I.)
(From Narrative of the Exploring Expedition, Volume II.)
(From Narrative of the Exploring Expedition, Volume II.)
(Courtesy of Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass.)
(From Narrative of the Exploring Expedition, Volume IV.)
(From Narrative of the Exploring Expedition, Volume V.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Library of Congress.)
(From Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania, 1843.)
(From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, September, 1863.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.) ​
(Naval Historical Center.)
(From Virginia; Its History and Antiquities, 1845.)
(Library of Congress.)
(From Scribner's Monthly, March 1874.)
(Library of Congress.)
(Courtesy of Mrs. Stanley W. Black, Jr., and Mr. Gilbert Wilkes, III.)
(Library of Congress.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, March 1865).
(From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, August 1871.)
(Courtesy of U.S. Naval Academy and Smithsonian Institution.)
(Naval Historical Center.) ​
(Naval Historical Center.)
(U.S. Department of State.)
(Library of Congress.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
(Naval Historical Center.)
WILKES CHRONOLOGY
| 1798 | |
| April 3 | Born in New York City. |
| 1801 | |
| February | Mother, Mary Seton Wilkes, died. |
| 1815-1817 | Merchant service on board Hibernia, Calpi, and Emulation. |
| 1818 | |
| January 1 | Appointed Midshipman in U.S. Navy. |
| January 26 | Ordered to Independence, Capt. William Bainbridge, at Boston. |
| February 2 | Father, John Deponthieu Wilkes, died. |
| July 21 | Transferred to Guerriere, Capt. Thomas Macdonough; cruised the Baltic and Mediterranean. |
| 1821 | |
| March 20 | Ordered to Washington, Master Commandant John Nicolson, at New York. |
| May 26 | Transferred to Franklin, Capt. Charles Stewart; cruised to South America. |
| 1822 |
| July 24 | Ordered to Waterwitch, a tender to Franklin; took command of Waterwitch in September while still attached to Franklin. |
| 1828 | |
| March 3 | Detached from Franklin; took command of merchantman O'Cain enroute Boston. |
| October 15 | O'Cain reached Boston. |
| 1825 | |
| July 21 | Ordered to Washington to testify at court martial of Capt. Charles Stewart. |
| 1826 | |
| April 26 | Married Jane Jeffrey Renwick. |
| April 28 | Promoted to Lieutenant. |
| 1827 | |
| March 14 | Applied to Secretary of the Navy Samuel Southard for surveying duty. |
| March 31 | Son, John Wilkes, born. |
| 1828 | |
| July 15 | Withdrew application for surveying duty and requested duty with proposed Exploring Expedition. |
| November 18 | Ordered to New York to procure instruments for Exploring Expedition. |
| 1829 | |
| January 3 | Daughter, Jane Wilkes, born. |
| 1830 | |
| April 21 | Ordered to Boston, Capt. George Storer, at New York; cruised to Mediterranean. |
| November 15 | Transferred to Fairfield, Capt. Foxhall Parker, at Port Mahon. |
| 1831 | |
| May 10 | Detached from Fairfield and placed on leave awaiting orders. |
| December 7 | Ordered to Boxer, Lt. Benjamin Page, Jr., at Boston; orders cancelled because of ill health. |
| 1832 | |
| May 14 | Ordered to Newport for duty in connection with survey of Narragansett Bay. |
| 1833 | |
| February 4 | Son, Edmund Wilkes, born. |
| February 16 | Ordered to Washington to take charge of Depot of Charts and Instruments; reported for this duty March 12. |
| 1834 | |
| September 10 | Requested permission of Board of Navy Commissioners to erect, at his own expense, a building on Capitol Hill to house an observatory. |
| 1836 | |
| August 8 | Sailed for Europe from New York to purchase instruments and books for Exploring Expedition. |
| 1837 | |
| March 15 | Asked by Secretary of the Navy Mahlon Dickerson to take a post in the astronomical department of Exploring Expedition. |
| June 14 | Relieved by Lt. John Gillis as head of Depot of Charts and Instruments, and ordered to command of Porpoise at Norfolk for survey duty of shoals of Georges Bank; October 20 reported survey completed. |
| October 24 | Ordered to stand by to survey at Beaufort and Wilmington, North Carolina, and May River, South Carolina. |
| 1838 | |
| March 20 | Received orders from Secretary of War J. R. Poinsett to command South Seas Surveying and Exploring Expedition; appointment approved by President Van Buren April 20. |
| July 7 | Took command of Vincennes at Norfolk. |
| July 19 | Daughter, Eliza Wilkes, born. |
| August 11 | Final orders for Exploring Expedition issued by Secretary of the Navy James Paulding. |
| August 18 | Ships of Exploring Expedition—Vincennes, Peacock, Porpoise, Sea Gull, Flying Fish, and Relief—sailed from Norfolk. |
| November 24 | Arrived at Rio de Janeiro. |
| 1839 | |
| February 25 | Departed Tierra del Fuego on board Porpoise for first cruise into Antarctic area; returned to Tierra del Fuego March 19. |
| May 1 | Sea Gull lost at sea. |
| November 29 | Arrived at Sydney, Australia. |
| December 26 | Began second cruise to Antarctic area. |
| 1840 | |
| January 19 | Land of Antarctic Continent sighted from Vincennes. |
| May 6 | Began survey of Fiji. |
| July 24 | Lt. Joseph Underwood and Midshipman Wilkes Henry killed at Malolo; reprisal attack was made on Malolo two days later. |
| August 11 | Departed Fiji. |
| September 24 | Arrived at Hawaiian Islands. |
| December 14 | Scientific study of Mauna Loa and Kilauea Crater began. |
| 1841 | |
| April 5 | Departed Hawaiian Islands. |
| April 30 | Survey of Puget Sound commenced. |
| July 19 | Peacock grounded and abandoned in mouth of Columbia River. |
| August 14 | Arrived at San Francisco Bay area; on November 1 departed for western Pacific. |
| 1842 | |
| January 12 | Arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands. |
| February 19 | Arrived at Singapore. |
| April 14 | Arrived at Cape Town, South Africa. |
| June 10 | Exploring Expedition arrived at New York. |
| June 15 | Requested court martial for several members of the Exploring Expedition and a court of inquiry into his own conduct. |
| July 20 | Ordered to New York to stand trial before a court martial. |
| August 26 | Asked by the Joint Library Committee of Congress to prepare a history of Exploring Expedition. |
| September 7 | Found guilty by court martial of illegal punishment and sentenced to a public reprimand by the Secretary of the Navy. |
| 1843 | |
| July 13 | Promoted to Commander. |
| August 1 | Placed in charge of Exploring Expedition collections and reports. |
| 1845 | |
| April 16 | First volumes of Exploring Expedition Narrative distributed. |
| 1846 | |
| May 13 | Request for active service in the Mexican War refused "till your present service is accomplished." |
| 1848 | |
| May 22 | Awarded Founder's Medal by the Royal Geographic Society of London. |
| August 11 | Jane Renwick Wilkes died at Newport. |
| 1853 | |
| December 20 | Fire in Philadelphia destroyed copper plates for engravings for Exploring Expedition volumes. |
| 1854 | |
| October 3 | Married Mary Lynch Bolton. |
| 1855 | |
| September 14 | Promoted to Captain. |
| 1858 | |
| July 21 | Ordered by the Secretary of the Navy Isaac Toucey to examine natural resources—iron, coal, timber—of |
| | the Deep River area of North Carolina for potential Navy use; submitted report on December 30. |
| 1859 | |
| July 21 | Daughter, Mary Wilkes, born. |
| 1861 | |
| April 19 | Detached from duty associated with the publication of Exploring Expedition reports. |
| April 20—21 | Participated in destruction of Norfolk Navy Yard. |
| May 1 | Requested duty as commandant of Washington Navy Yard. |
| May 14 | Ordered to command San Jacinto operating off the coast of Africa. |
| November 8 | British mail steamer Trent halted and boarded; confederate commissioners James Mason and John Slidell removed to San Jacinto. |
| November 30 | Detached from San Jacinto. |
| December 27 | Ordered to duty as a member of Board of Naval Examiners. |
| 1862 | |
| July 6 | Ordered to command James River Flotilla. |
| August 4 | Promoted to Commodore. |
| August 29 | Detached from James River Flotilla; took command of Potomac Flotilla. |
| September 8 | Ordered to command West India Squadron. |
| September 15 | Promoted to Acting Rear Admiral. |
| 1863 | |
| June 1 | Detached from West India Squadron. |
| June 30 | Departed Havana on board Roanoke enroute the United States. |
| December 18 | Letter written by Wilkes to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles refuting derogatory statements made by the Secretary in his annual report published in New York Times; Wilkes denied knowledge of how newspaper obtained a copy of the letter. |
| 1864 | |
| January 11 | Court of inquiry ordered to determine source of New York Times' copy of Wilkes' letter. |
| January 25 | Court of inquiry found that Wilkes had prior knowledge that a copy of the letter had reached New York Times. |
| February 27 | Court martial of Wilkes ordered for disobediance of orders, insubordination and other specifications. |
| April 26 | Found guilty by court martial at Washington, D.C.; sentenced to a public reprimand and three year suspension. |
| December 30 | President Lincoln reduced suspension to one year. |
| 1865 | |
| May 25 | Son, Charles Wilkes, born; died June 23, 1865. |
| 1866 | |
| August 6 | Promoted to Rear Admiral on retired list. |
| 1870 | |
| June 27 | Ordered to duty to continue work on Exploring Expedition publications. |
| October 1 | Detached from Exploring Expedition publication duty. |
| 1872 | |
| May 24 | Detailed to the Joint Library Committee of Congress to superintend Exploring Expedition publications. |
| 1873 | |
| March 17 | Detached from duty with Joint Library Committee of Congress. |
| 1874 | |
| February 5 | Severely injured his leg in fall at Hillsboro, North Carolina. |
| 1875 | |
| April | Continued efforts to secure additional funding for Exploring Expedition publications. |
| September 1 | Stopped writing autobiography due to ill health. |
| 1877 | |
| February 8 | Died in the morning at his home in Washington, D.C.; buried at Oak Hill Cemetary in the capitol city. |
| 1909 | |
| August 17 | Reinterred at Arlington National Cemetary. |