The United States Exploring Expedition

United States Exploring Expedition Route of the voyage : 1. Hampton Roads; 2. Madeira; 3. Rio de Janeiro; 4. Tierra del Fuego; 5. Valparaíso; 6. Callao; 7. Samoa; 8. Fiji; 9. Sydney; 10. Antarctica; 11. Hawaii Return route : 1. Puget Sound; 2. Columbia; 3. San Francisco; 4. Polynesia; 5. Philippines; 6. Borneo; 7. Singapore; 8. Cape of Good Hope; 9. New York
Date 1838-1842 Location Pacific Ocean, Antarctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, Oceania Result Successful expedition and defeat of aboriginal peoples.
Belligerents
United States	Fiji Samoa Tabiteuea
Commanders and leaders
Charles Wilkes William L. Hudson William M. Walker	Samoa: Malietoa Moli
Strength
2 sloops-of-war 1 ship 1 brig 2 schooners Marines and Sailors	unknown
Casualties and losses
~30 killed or wounded 1 sloop-of-war sunk 1 schooner sunk	Fiji: ~80 killed or wounded Tabiteuea: 12 killed

External video

Booknotes interview with Nathaniel Philbrick on Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842, January 25, 2004, C-SPAN

The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States from 1838 to 1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. Funding for the original expedition was requested by President John Quincy Adams in 1828, however, Congress would not implement funding until eight years later. In May 1836, the oceanic exploration voyage was finally authorized by Congress and created by President Andrew Jackson. The expedition is sometimes called the "U.S. Ex. Ex." for short, or the "Wilkes Expedition" in honor of its next appointed commanding officer, United States Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. The expedition was of major importance to the growth of science in the United States, in particular the then-young field of oceanography. During the event, armed conflict between Pacific islanders and the expedition was common and dozens of natives were killed in action, as well as a few Americans.

Through the lobbying efforts of Jeremiah N. Reynolds, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution on 21 May 1828, requesting President John Quincy Adams to send a ship to explore the Pacific. Adams was keen on the resolution and ordered his Secretary of the Navy to ready a ship, the Peacock, while the House voted an appropriation in Dec. Yet, the bill stalled in the US Senate in Feb. 1829. However, under President Andrew Jackson, Congress passed legislation in 1836 approving the exploration mission. Yet again, the effort stalled under Secretary of the Navy Mahlon Dickerson until President Van Buren assumed office and pushed the effort forward.