Born in Princess Anne County, Virginia to Anthony Walke and Susan Hatfield Carmichael Walke, and named Henry Augustus Walke, he chose not to use his middle name or initial. He was appointed a midshipman on February 1, 1827, and reported for duty at the Gosport Navy Yard, Virginia. He received his initial naval training at Gosport and, from July 1827 to November 1828, cruised the Caribbean in sloop in the campaign against pirates in that area. He made a voyage to the Mediterranean Sea on between August 1829 and November 1831. Walke received his warrant as a passed midshipman on July 12, 1833, and, after several months of post-sea duty leave, transferred to duty ashore at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on March 7, 1834. Between January 1836 and June 1839, he cruised the Pacific Squadron in the 74-gun ship of the line , primarily along the western coast of South America protecting American commerce during a period of unrest caused by strained relations between the United States and Mexico and the war between Peru and Chile.