Sea of Glory: The Epic South Seas Expedition 1838–42

Sea of Glory: The Epic South Seas Expedition 1838–42
Nathaniel Philbrick

This ebook contains a limited number of illustrations. Due to the level of detail, maps are best viewed on a tablet.The dramatic story of the largest voyage of discovery in the history of the world, this is an astounding tale of courage, arrogance and adventure on the high seas from the author of ‘In the Heart of the Sea’.Headed by the controversial Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, and consisting of six sailing vessels and 346 men, the ‘Ex. Ex.’ (the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–42) represented the largest voyage of discovery in the history of the world. Four years later, after losing two ships and seventy-one men, the expedition had logged 87,000 miles, surveyed 280 Pacific islands, and created 180 charts – some of which were still being used as late as World War II.The Expedition’s scientists collected 4,000 zoological specimens, including 2,000 new species, and thousands of ethnographic artifacts that would become the basis of the Smithsonian Institution. The Expedition also mapped 800 miles of coastline in the Pacific Northwest, providing the federal government with the information it needed to stake its claim on the Oregon Territory. The Expedition’s crowning achievement was the discovery of a new southern continent that Wilkes would name Antarctica. The Expedition ended in a dramatic series of court martials, with Wilkes and his crew levelling accusations of misconduct against each other.Nathaniel Philbrick’s skilful retelling of this forgotten, yet astounding, episode in the history of sea faring is a fantastic adventure and a masterful work of historical reconstruction.

NATHANIEL PHILBRICK

Sea of Glory

The Epic South Seas Expedition

1838–1842

DEDICATION (#ulink_ae3ad268-b28c-5e65-afe5-d37c4f11da02)

To my father,

Thomas Philbrick

EPIGRAPH (#ulink_fa8e0c75-8aa0-582c-a603-172ad9af4a10)

I have ventured …This many summers in a sea of glory, But far beyond my depth.…

– WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

King Henry VIII 3.2

CONTENTS

COVER (#uf6cad0e2-4882-52af-ad34-88e84f41c5d2)

TITLE PAGE (#uedbc0d63-2e9a-502e-b3f7-3b8f3a50f134)

DEDICATION (#u6b40a6f0-1423-5425-9d7f-340da3d88a19)

EPIGRAPH (#udc812289-72d0-50c9-8cfb-65bdb5e1510d)

LIST OF MAPS (#u13241d3f-f218-544d-8dc1-220f26bccbf4)

PREFACE: Young Ambition (#ub37afcf0-fb8e-5086-836f-4d30c2f6e1ef)

Part One (#u33fcbe41-2ead-56f2-9c17-e435b394252a)

CHAPTER 1. The Great South Sea (#u37ffc163-b1a0-534e-bf54-a75c20d4caa0)

CHAPTER 2. The Deplorable Expedition (#u764453dd-73e7-55d1-94ba-e8ef5394dbe7)

CHAPTER 3. Most Glorious Hopes (#ue1351273-5408-59f1-88ed-19d64ad2ec2f)

Part Two (#u5bcc0e6e-5cad-54e8-8276-1dab6fdf2d82)

CHAPTER 4. At Sea (#uf37ff52c-8ff4-52ad-88b3-a1517cb689b7)

CHAPTER 5. The Turning Point (#ua4cea8dd-6412-50a4-ae4b-a41b68f604b9)

CHAPTER 6. Commodore of the Pacific (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 7. Antarctica (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 8. A New Continent (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Three (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 9. The Cannibal Isles (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 10. Massacre at Malolo (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 11. Mauna Loa (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 12. The Wreck of the Peacock (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 13. Homeward Bound (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Four (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 14. Reckoning (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 15. This Thing Called Science (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 16. Legacy (#litres_trial_promo)

P.S. IDEAS, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES … (#litres_trial_promo)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (#litres_trial_promo)

INTERVIEW WITH NATHANIEL PHILBRICK

LIFE AT A GLANCE (#litres_trial_promo)

TOP TEN FAVOURITE BOOKS (#litres_trial_promo)

ABOUT THE BOOK (#litres_trial_promo)

A CRITICAL EYE

CAPTAIN COOK: A LESSON IGNORED (#litres_trial_promo)

READ ON (#litres_trial_promo)

HAVE YOU READ?