Sea of Glory

In 1838, six United States naval vessels leave on an ambitious four-year expedition to survey the Pacific and advance American science, commerce and prestige. Led by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, the expedition charts islands and coastlines, explores the Antarctic margin, surveys the Columbia River and gathers vast botanical, zoological and ethnographic collections that later help form the Smithsonian Institution. Midshipman William Reynolds and other officers record a voyage of dangerous navigation, shipwreck, conflict and discovery.

Philbrick places these achievements beside the expedition’s severe internal tensions. Wilkes is energetic and capable but authoritarian, and his punishments, quarrels and disputed claims progressively alienate officers and crew. Sea of Glory therefore treats the U.S. Exploring Expedition as both a major scientific and cartographic achievement and a study of leadership under pressure, showing why a voyage of lasting national importance was later overshadowed by controversy surrounding its commander.