Autobiography of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes, U.S. Navy, 1798-1877 chronicles the unprecedented maritime surveying efforts of the United States Exploring Expedition as it navigated the complex and treacherous coastal geography of the Pacific Northwest in 1841. Wilkes details the immense logistical challenges of charting this unforgiving maritime frontier, famously underscored by the violent wreck of the USS Peacock upon the shifting, notoriously dangerous sandbars of the Columbia River's mouth. By meticulously mapping the deep, sheltered anchorages of Puget Sound and surveying the sprawling, fertile expanse of the inland Willamette Valley, the narrative illustrates how recognizing the region's specific topographic value—its immense timber reserves, navigable inland waterways, and strategic deepwater harbors—directly fueled American territorial ambitions. The expedition's reliance on Indigenous spatial knowledge to penetrate the dense coastal rainforests and complex riverine networks highlights the formidable physical barriers of the Pacific seaboard. Ultimately, this autobiographical account provides a vital spatial history, demonstrating how mastering and documenting the severe marine topography of the Pacific Northwest coast fundamentally laid the navigational groundwork for American imperial expansion.

United States Armed Forces Biography, United States History, Naval Biography, United States. Navy Biography, Wilkes, Charles

Includes index

Includes index