Conversation so far:
What was Matthew Fontaine Maury's early career like?
Matthew Fontaine Maury joined the Navy as a midshipman on board the frigate Brandywine which was carrying the Marquis de La Fayette home to France.
What did Matthew Fontaine Maury achieve?
In 1855 Matthew Fontaine Maury published the first modern oceanographic text, The Physical Geography of the Sea.
What was Matthew Fontaine Maury's early life like?
Matthew Fontaine Maury's father forbade him from joining the Navy due to Maury's older brother's death. Maury obtained a naval appointment through a family friend at the age of 19.
What did Matthew Fontaine Maury do after obtaining naval appointment?
Almost immediately, Matthew Fontaine Maury began to study the seas and to record methods of navigation.
What methods of navigation did Matthew Fontaine Maury use?
Matthew Fontaine Maury instituted a reporting system among the nation's shipmasters to gather further information on sea conditions and observations. He also advocated his theory of the Northwest Passage.
Are there any other interesting aspects of the Matthew Fontaine Maury article?
Matthew Fontaine Maury proposed that moving the slaves in the U.S. to Brazil, where the process of slavery abolishment started in 1850, would reduce or eliminate slavery in time in the U.S.

Question: What was special about the USS Vincebnnes
Self-contained rewrite: What was special about the USS Vincebnnes