Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes ( April 3 , 1798 – February 8 , 1877 ) was an American naval officer and explorer . He led the United States Exploring Expedition , 1838 - 1842 and commanded the ship in the " Trent " Affair during the American Civil War ( 1861 – 1865 ) . Although credited with several " firsts " , his behavior led to two convictions at court - martial . Early life and career . Wilkes was born in New York City , on April 3 , 1798 , as the great nephew of the former Lord Mayor of London John Wilkes . His mother was Mary Seton , who died in 1802 when Charles was just three years old . As a result , Charles was raised by his aunt , Elizabeth Ann Seton , who would later convert to Roman Catholicism and become the first American - born woman canonized a saint by the Catholic Church . When Elizabeth was left widowed with five children , Charles was sent to a boarding school , and later attended Columbia College , which is the present - day Columbia University . He entered the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1818 , and became a lieutenant in 1826 . In 1833 , for his survey of Narragansett Bay , he was placed in charge of the Navy ' s Department of Charts and Instruments , out of which developed the Naval Observatory and Hydrographic Office . Wilkes ' interdisciplinary expedition ( 1838 – 1842 ) set a physical oceanography benchmark for the office ' s first superintendent Matthew Fontaine Maury . Columbian Institute . During the 1820s , Wilkes was a member of the prestigious society , Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences , which counted among its members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day , including well - known representatives of the military , government service , medical and other professions . The South Seas expedition . In 1838 , although not yet a seasoned naval line officer , Wilkes was experienced in nautical survey work , and was working with civilian scientists . Upon this background , he was given command of the government exploring expedition " . . . for the purpose of exploring and surveying the Southern Ocean , . . . as well to determine the existence of all doubtful islands and shoals , as to discover , and accurately fix , the position of those which [ lay ] in or near the track of our vessels in that quarter , and [ might ] have escaped the observation of scientific navigators . " The U . S . Exploring Squadron was authorized by act of the Congress on May 18 , 1836 . The United States Exploring Expedition , commonly known as the " Wilkes Expedition " , included naturalist s , botanists , a mineralogist , taxidermist s , artists and a philologist , and was carried by the " USS Vincennes " ( 780 tons ) and " Peacock " ( 650 tons ) , the brig " Porpoise " ( 230 tons ) , the store - ship " Relief " , and two schooner s , " Sea Gull " ( 110 tons ) and " Flying Fish " ( 96 tons ) . Departing from Hampton Roads on August 18 , 1838 , the expedition stopped at the Madeira Islands and Rio de Janeiro ; visited Tierra del Fuego , Chile , Peru , the Tuamotu Archipelago , Samoa , and New South Wales ; from Sydney , Australia sailed into the Antarctic Ocean in December 1839 and reported the discovery " of an Antarctic continent west of the Balleny Islands " of which it sighted the coast on January 25 , 1840 . Next , the expedition visited Fiji and the Hawaiian Islands in 1840 . In July 1840 , two sailors , one of whom was Wilkes ' nephew , Midshipman Wilkes Henry , were killed while bartering for food on Fiji ' s Malolo Island . Wilkes retribution was swift and severe . According to an old man of Malolo Island , nearly 80 Fijians were killed in the incident . From December 1840 to March 1841 , he employed hundreds of native Hawaiian porters and many of his men to haul a pendulum to the summit of Mauna Loa to measure gravity . Instead of using the existing trail , he blazed his own way , taking much longer than he anticipated . The conditions on the mountain reminded him of Antarctica . Many of his crew suffered snow blindness , altitude sickness and foot injuries from wearing out their shoes . He explored the west coast of North America , including the Strait of Juan de Fuca , Puget Sound , the Columbia River , San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River , in 1841 . He held the first American Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi River in Dupont , Washington on July 5 , 1841 . The United States Exploring Expedition passed through the Ellice Islands and visited Funafuti , Nukufetau and Vaitupu in 1841 . The expedition 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 . After having completely encircled the globe ( his was the last all - sail naval mission to do so ) , Wilkes had logged some 87 , 000 miles and lost two ships and 28 men . Wilkes was court - martial led upon his return for the loss of one of his ships on the Columbia River bar , for the regular mistreatment of his subordinate officers , and for excessive punishment of his sailors . A major witness against him was ship doctor Charles Guillou . He was acquitted on all charges except illegally punishing men in his squadron . For a short time , he was attached to the Coast Survey , but from 1844 to 1861 , he was chiefly engaged in preparing the report of the expedition . His " Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition " ( 5 volumes and an atlas ) were published in 1844 . He edited the scientific reports of the expedition ( 20 volumes and 11 atlases , 1844 – 1874 ) and was the author of Vol . XI ( Meteorology ) and Vol . XIII ( Hydrography ) . Alfred Thomas Agate , engraver and illustrator , was the designated portrait and botanical artist of the expedition . His work was used to illustrate the " Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition " . The " Narrative " contains much interesting material concerning the manners , customs , political and economic conditions in many places then little known . Wilkes ' 1841 Map of the Oregon Territory pre - dated John Charles Fremont ' s first Oregon Trail pathfinder expedition guided by Kit Carson during 1842 . Other valuable contributions were the three reports of James Dwight Dana on " Zoophyte s " ( 1846 ) , " Geology " ( 1849 ) and " Crustacea " ( 1852 – 1854 ) . Moreover , the specimens and artifacts brought back by expedition scientists ultimately formed the foundation for the Smithsonian Institution collection . In addition to many shorter articles and reports , Wilkes published the major scientific works " Western America , including California and Oregon " in 1849 , and " Theory of the Winds " in 1856 . The Civil War . Wilkes was promoted to the rank of commander in 1843 and that of captain in 1855 . At the outbreak of the American Civil War , he was assigned to the command of the to search for the Confederate commerce destroyer " Sumter " . The " Trent " Affair . As part of these duties he visited the British colony of Bermuda . Acting on orders , Wilkes remained in port for nearly a week aboard his flagship the " Wachusett " , violating the British rule that allowed American naval vessels ( of either side ) to remain in port for only a single day . While Wilkes remained in port , his gunboats " Tioga " and " Sonoma " blockaded Saint George ' s harbor , a key Confederate blockade runner base . The gunboats opened fire at a Royal Mail Steamer , the " Merlin " . When Wilkes learned that James Murray Mason and John Slidell , two Confederate commissioners to England , were bound for England on the British mail packet " Trent " , he ordered the steam frigate " San Jacinto " to stop them . On November 8 , 1861 , the " San Jacinto " met the " Trent " and fired two shots across its bow , forcing the ship to stop . A boarding party from the " San Jacinto " led by its captain then boarded the " Trent " and arrested Mason and Slidell . The diplomats were taken to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor . The actions of " The Notorious Wilkes " — as Bermuda media branded him — convinced many that full - scale war between the United States and the United Kingdom was inevitable . He was officially thanked by Congress " for his brave , adroit and patriotic conduct " . However , his action was later disavowed by President Lincoln due to diplomatic pressure by the British Government . ( Mason and Slidell were released . ) His next service was in the James River flotilla . Subsequently , after reaching the rank of commodore on July 16 , 1862 , he was assigned to duty against blockade runners in the West Indies . Promotion controversy . Despite his accomplishments , Wilkes acquired a reputation as sometimes arrogant and capricious . This may have been partly due to his open conflict with Gideon Welles , who was the Secretary of the Navy . Secretary Welles recommended that Wilkes had been too old to receive the rank of commodore under the act then governing promotions . Wilkes wrote a scathing letter to Welles in response . This controversy ended in his court - martial in 1864 . He was found guilty of disobedience of orders , insubordination , and other specifications . He was sentenced to public reprimand and suspension for three years . However , President Lincoln reduced the suspension to one year and the balance of charges were dropped . On July 25 , 1866 , he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral on the retired list . Last years . Some historians speculate that Wilkes ' obsessive behavior and harsh code of shipboard discipline shaped Herman Melville ' s characterization of Captain Ahab in " Moby - Dick " . Such speculation is not mentioned in the U . S . Naval historical archives . In addition to his contribution to U . S . Naval history and scientific study in his official Narrative of the Exploration Squadron ( 6 volumes ) , Wilkes wrote his autobiography . Wilkes died in Washington , D . C . on February 8 , 1877 at the rank of Rear Admiral . In August 1909 , the United States moved his remains to Arlington National Cemetery . His gravestone says " he discovered the Ant - arctic continent " . Legacy . The US Navy named four ships for Wilkes : torpedo boat served around the turn of the 20th century , destroyer served during World War I , and destroyer served during World War II . An oceanographic survey vessel , USS " Wilkes " ( T - AGS - 33 ) , was launched in 1969 , sponsored by Hollis L . Jay , Wilkes ' great granddaughter . References in Literature . Admiral Charles Wilkes serves as the primary antagonist in an 8 - page comic titled " The Wicked King " , written by Jeff Pfaller and drawn by Sean Hill . Wilkes is obsessed with killing a mythological creature , called a ningen , that he encountered during his expedition to Antarctica . He returns to the ice with two famed occult hunters in an attempt to kill the creature . It was published in 2010 by Saint James Comics . Captain Charles Wilkes Elementary in Bainbridge Island , WA bears his namesake . " High Seas to High Shoals , Variations on an American Naval Theme in Honor of Adm . Charles Wilkes " ( 2002 ) ; theme and eleven variations composed by Jerre Tanner for the Gaston County ( North Carolina ) Symphonic Band , commissioned through a grant from the American Composers Forum " Continental Harmony " National Bicentennial observance .