---
product_id: 1348681
title: "Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842"
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# Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842

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## Description

"A treasure of a book."—David McCullough The harrowing story of a pathbreaking naval expedition that set out to map the entire Pacific Ocean, dwarfing Lewis and Clark with its discoveries, from the New York Times bestselling author of Valiant Ambition and In the Hurricane's Eye . A New York Times Notable Book America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea, and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his bestselling In the Heart of the Sea Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever seen—the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842. On a scale that dwarfed the journey of Lewis and Clark, six magnificent sailing vessels and a crew of hundreds set out to map the entire Pacific Ocean and ended up naming the newly discovered continent of Antarctica, collecting what would become the basis of the Smithsonian Institution. Combining spellbinding human drama and meticulous research, Philbrick reconstructs the dark saga of the voyage to show why, instead of being celebrated and revered as that of Lewis and Clark, it has—until now—been relegated to a footnote in the national memory. Winner of the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize

Review: Brilliant work by Philbrick - It was a review of this book in the National Geographic Adventure magazine which first caught my eye, and prompted me to purchase Philbrick's excellent narrative of the US Exploring Expedition. The Expedition sailed from Norfolk, USA, carrying the scientific and exploratory hopes of the United States on a trip to South America, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Asia that encompasses nearly 5 years. Over 500 men, in 6 ships left in 1838, to return in 1842, much reduced in number, but with enough scientific specimens (over 4000) to form a large portion of the Smithsonian collection. Commanded by Lieutenant Wilkes, the story of the US Ex. Ex has largely been forgotten, but Philbrick has produced a book which hopefully will bring to the forefront the achievements of the US Ex. Ex and its' men. "Sea of Glory" is truly a spectacular rendition of events, as Philbrick portrays the deterioration of the relationship between Commander and his men, while journeying through some of most inhospitable seas in the world. Wilkes comes across as a near megalomaniac and odious character (almost immediately after beginning the expedition, he promoted himself Captain!), belittling the achievements of his underlings and inflating his own. It is a miracle that he was succeeded in bringing the expedition home largely unscathed. Nor does the story end there. The final chapters reveal the trials and tribulations of Wilkes (and other members of the expedition) as he realizes that he may be held accountable for his actions. Upon return of the expedition, there were no fewer than 5 court martials involving Wilkes and officers of the vessels comprising the expedition, largely petty incidents raised by Wilkes as revenge for perceived slights by the officers. Philbrick writes extremely well, in a very fluid and easy manner, and it takes little effort to read. Large portions of the book are based upon the journal of Midshipman Reynolds, once an ardent admirer of his commander but by the conclusion of the expedition despising him. Philbrick superbly brings this out, contrasting parts of the journal from early on in the voyage to sections of the journal written much later, the journal's author much jaded and embittered by the actions of his commander. But Philbrick does not focus only on Wilkes; the achievements of the expedition are also discussed, and the sometimes incredibly imposing situations the expedition faces, such as the attack by natives on the expedition in the Fiji Islands which resulted in the death of Wilkes' nephew. A book of this type benefits from having illustrations and maps, and on neither account does it fail. There are a number of maps produced in the book, although I have to say the main map (in the preface), which traces the voyage of the expedition throughout the 5 years it spent abroad, is a little hard to follow due to the back and forth nature of parts of the expedition, and also when the expedition split up for short periods of time. There are two sections of very nice illustrations which show the main characters involved and some events that occurred. "Sea of Glory" is a true story that ranks alongside the best of adventure books, and I cannot recommend this book highly enough. A worthy addition to the library.
Review: Egos Abroad - The annals of maritime exploration are filled with great names. Magellan! Columbus! Cook! Um...some...other people who I can't recall. They were probably pretty awesome, though. And then there was Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy. Possibly a surveying expedition that at least partially owed its establishment to then-popular crackpot "hollow Earth" theories was always going to be doomed to have a clouded history. And the fact that few, if any, of the naval officers of the day could stir themselves to be interested in serving with the expedition could have been a sign of trouble. "Fortunately", the glory-hungry Wilkes was at hand, and when more competent and experienced officers passed up the chance as being beneath them, everyone shrugged and said, "Eh, why not send him? Maybe it will SHUT HIM UP." This was not necessarily the best of decisions, seeing as, at heart, Wilkes hated the seafaring life and would have had a hard time commanding a toy boat in his own bathtub. His primary motivation was to achieve fame, social standing, and babes. Sadly, besides his undeniable skill as a surveyor, he had one undeniable talent: the ability to drive everyone around him insane with rage and a vindictive burning desire for utmost revenge. Consequently, his own navy decided not to give him his coveted promotion to acting captain, and he was sent off in charge of a six-ship squadron as a mere lieutenant in charge of other junior lieutenants and midshipmen. Complications naturally ensued. In this book, we discover the amazing exploits of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, which charted the heretofore uncharted (resulting in maps that would be used as late as WWII), established the continental nature of Antarctica, piled up tons of science stuff that would help in the establishment of the Smithsonian, surveyed the Pacific Northwest coast, and squabbled with the Fijians. Pretty much no voyage to the South Sea would be complete without a murderous brush with the "natives" and the U.S. Ex.Ex. was no exception to this rule. Along the way, Wilkes more or less fired every talented officer with a spine, promoted himself to commodore, regularly flogged anyone who looked cross-wise at him, delighted in crushing the spirits of every man in the squadron, and engaged in devious machinations to make certain that every last opportunity for the slightest shred of fame would accrue only to him. His letters home to his beloved wife, the only person capable of keeping him in check, proved him to be a monster of unfettered ego, endlessly boasting of his superiority and how he was now soaring above lesser mortal scum. That many of the principals of the voyage should immediately find themselves locked in trial by court martial upon their return to the U.S. should therefore be no surprise. Few acquitted themselves well in this petty internecine bickering. This is an absorbing account of a mostly forgotten chapter of American history. It makes good use of the letters of Wilkes to his wife, along with the secret journal of one of his mortal enemies, Lt. William Reynolds. Philbrick draws upon a wide spectrum of sources, detailed in a lengthy section of notes at the end. Maps and illustrations alike are plentiful. The author keeps up a brisk pace with only a few asides and digressions, and the mandatory epilogue wraps things up quite neatly. This is not a detailed account of the scientific accomplishments of the expedition or a thorough analysis of 19th century maritime life. Essentially it's the rather sad tale of one vain and astonishingly insecure man's ambitions run monstrously amok and how his pathologies collided headlong with the fixations upon rank and privilege of most everyone around him. My one complaint would be that there is a bit too much sailing jargon. It's one thing for anchors to be weighed, sheets to be furled, and yards to be hauled, but there's always something going on with topgallants, false keels, mizzenmasts, and mainstays. A little too often the author breathlessly relates how a hapless brigantine is being driven upon a lee shore while the crew frantically uncorkscrews the bowsprit, slips the cables, goldbricks the spar deck, and reverses the polarity of the flux capacitor. Seeing as most of us don't know a jib sail from a lateen rig, a lot of this could've been reduced to something more basic for the layman. But that's just a minor complaint. And maybe it's just me.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #128,042 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #11 in Oceania History #15 in Arctic & Antarctica History #67 in Expeditions & Discoveries World History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,294 Reviews |

## Images

![Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81IYDC7aUkL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brilliant work by Philbrick
*by J***M on March 6, 2004*

It was a review of this book in the National Geographic Adventure magazine which first caught my eye, and prompted me to purchase Philbrick's excellent narrative of the US Exploring Expedition. The Expedition sailed from Norfolk, USA, carrying the scientific and exploratory hopes of the United States on a trip to South America, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Asia that encompasses nearly 5 years. Over 500 men, in 6 ships left in 1838, to return in 1842, much reduced in number, but with enough scientific specimens (over 4000) to form a large portion of the Smithsonian collection. Commanded by Lieutenant Wilkes, the story of the US Ex. Ex has largely been forgotten, but Philbrick has produced a book which hopefully will bring to the forefront the achievements of the US Ex. Ex and its' men. "Sea of Glory" is truly a spectacular rendition of events, as Philbrick portrays the deterioration of the relationship between Commander and his men, while journeying through some of most inhospitable seas in the world. Wilkes comes across as a near megalomaniac and odious character (almost immediately after beginning the expedition, he promoted himself Captain!), belittling the achievements of his underlings and inflating his own. It is a miracle that he was succeeded in bringing the expedition home largely unscathed. Nor does the story end there. The final chapters reveal the trials and tribulations of Wilkes (and other members of the expedition) as he realizes that he may be held accountable for his actions. Upon return of the expedition, there were no fewer than 5 court martials involving Wilkes and officers of the vessels comprising the expedition, largely petty incidents raised by Wilkes as revenge for perceived slights by the officers. Philbrick writes extremely well, in a very fluid and easy manner, and it takes little effort to read. Large portions of the book are based upon the journal of Midshipman Reynolds, once an ardent admirer of his commander but by the conclusion of the expedition despising him. Philbrick superbly brings this out, contrasting parts of the journal from early on in the voyage to sections of the journal written much later, the journal's author much jaded and embittered by the actions of his commander. But Philbrick does not focus only on Wilkes; the achievements of the expedition are also discussed, and the sometimes incredibly imposing situations the expedition faces, such as the attack by natives on the expedition in the Fiji Islands which resulted in the death of Wilkes' nephew. A book of this type benefits from having illustrations and maps, and on neither account does it fail. There are a number of maps produced in the book, although I have to say the main map (in the preface), which traces the voyage of the expedition throughout the 5 years it spent abroad, is a little hard to follow due to the back and forth nature of parts of the expedition, and also when the expedition split up for short periods of time. There are two sections of very nice illustrations which show the main characters involved and some events that occurred. "Sea of Glory" is a true story that ranks alongside the best of adventure books, and I cannot recommend this book highly enough. A worthy addition to the library.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Egos Abroad
*by R***K on May 27, 2005*

The annals of maritime exploration are filled with great names. Magellan! Columbus! Cook! Um...some...other people who I can't recall. They were probably pretty awesome, though. And then there was Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy. Possibly a surveying expedition that at least partially owed its establishment to then-popular crackpot "hollow Earth" theories was always going to be doomed to have a clouded history. And the fact that few, if any, of the naval officers of the day could stir themselves to be interested in serving with the expedition could have been a sign of trouble. "Fortunately", the glory-hungry Wilkes was at hand, and when more competent and experienced officers passed up the chance as being beneath them, everyone shrugged and said, "Eh, why not send him? Maybe it will SHUT HIM UP." This was not necessarily the best of decisions, seeing as, at heart, Wilkes hated the seafaring life and would have had a hard time commanding a toy boat in his own bathtub. His primary motivation was to achieve fame, social standing, and babes. Sadly, besides his undeniable skill as a surveyor, he had one undeniable talent: the ability to drive everyone around him insane with rage and a vindictive burning desire for utmost revenge. Consequently, his own navy decided not to give him his coveted promotion to acting captain, and he was sent off in charge of a six-ship squadron as a mere lieutenant in charge of other junior lieutenants and midshipmen. Complications naturally ensued. In this book, we discover the amazing exploits of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, which charted the heretofore uncharted (resulting in maps that would be used as late as WWII), established the continental nature of Antarctica, piled up tons of science stuff that would help in the establishment of the Smithsonian, surveyed the Pacific Northwest coast, and squabbled with the Fijians. Pretty much no voyage to the South Sea would be complete without a murderous brush with the "natives" and the U.S. Ex.Ex. was no exception to this rule. Along the way, Wilkes more or less fired every talented officer with a spine, promoted himself to commodore, regularly flogged anyone who looked cross-wise at him, delighted in crushing the spirits of every man in the squadron, and engaged in devious machinations to make certain that every last opportunity for the slightest shred of fame would accrue only to him. His letters home to his beloved wife, the only person capable of keeping him in check, proved him to be a monster of unfettered ego, endlessly boasting of his superiority and how he was now soaring above lesser mortal scum. That many of the principals of the voyage should immediately find themselves locked in trial by court martial upon their return to the U.S. should therefore be no surprise. Few acquitted themselves well in this petty internecine bickering. This is an absorbing account of a mostly forgotten chapter of American history. It makes good use of the letters of Wilkes to his wife, along with the secret journal of one of his mortal enemies, Lt. William Reynolds. Philbrick draws upon a wide spectrum of sources, detailed in a lengthy section of notes at the end. Maps and illustrations alike are plentiful. The author keeps up a brisk pace with only a few asides and digressions, and the mandatory epilogue wraps things up quite neatly. This is not a detailed account of the scientific accomplishments of the expedition or a thorough analysis of 19th century maritime life. Essentially it's the rather sad tale of one vain and astonishingly insecure man's ambitions run monstrously amok and how his pathologies collided headlong with the fixations upon rank and privilege of most everyone around him. My one complaint would be that there is a bit too much sailing jargon. It's one thing for anchors to be weighed, sheets to be furled, and yards to be hauled, but there's always something going on with topgallants, false keels, mizzenmasts, and mainstays. A little too often the author breathlessly relates how a hapless brigantine is being driven upon a lee shore while the crew frantically uncorkscrews the bowsprit, slips the cables, goldbricks the spar deck, and reverses the polarity of the flux capacitor. Seeing as most of us don't know a jib sail from a lateen rig, a lot of this could've been reduced to something more basic for the layman. But that's just a minor complaint. And maybe it's just me.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Grand adventure!
*by D***O on July 28, 2020*

Although I have never had a particular interest in sailing, I decided to buy this Philbrick book after reading "In the Hurricane's Eye". I was not disappointed. The author has the rare ability to mold what could be a dry story into a gripping page turner. I won't bother giving a synopsis of the subject, as other reviewers have done this much better than I would, so I'll just say that this is a must-read for anyone who enjoys learning about the formative years of America. Philbrick breathes new life into the individuals involved in this monumental adventure, as the story unfolds he puts the reader at their side as they courageously battle the unforgiving whims of mother nature and struggle with their own aspirations and demons. Their challenge of putting aside their personal differences as they fight to accomplish the seemingly impossible goal of the expedition (and their own lives) is easily a metaphor for the conflicts facing our young country at the time they set sail. This chronicle is a tale of triumph over staggering odds, man's determination to conquer their fears in the pursuit of knowledge, and the age-old desire to discover unknown lands. Philbrick doesn't try to portray these men as faultless heroes; he presents them as they were, at times incredibly brave and selfless, but often cruel and selfish. It's unbelievable that this story isn't taught in our schools, but it is lucky for us that Mr Philbrick has given us this masterpiece of historic literature. I strongly recommend this book, and any book he has written.

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