Lt. Charles Wilkes was not the Navy's first choice to command the United States Exploring Expedition, the "Wilkes Expedition," of 1838-1842. Though he came recommended for his experience in science, surveying, and charting, and had served as head of the Navy's charts and instruments department, he was also known to be an argumentative officer and a rigid disciplinarian. In fact, there is evidence Wilkes was Herman Melville's model for the infamously harsh Captain Ahab in Moby Dick. Nevertheless, the Navy put Wilkes in charge of the flagship US Vincennes and five support vessels, and for the next five years, he would guide his small flotilla on the last circumnavigation of the globe accomplished by sail.

By any measure of the day, commercial or scientific, the Wilkes Expedition was a rousing success. In the course of that voyage, they would travel 80,000 miles; confirm the existence of a continental landmass in the Antarctic Ocean; collect thousands of plant and animal specimens, including the foundation collection for the United States Botanic Garden; and produce about 200 nautical charts of the Pacific, primarily intended for use by the sealing and whaling industries in the northeast.

Charles Wilkes would continue his Navy career - albeit as storm-tossed as some of his voyages - for another 24 years. He retired as rear admiral and his personal story ended in New York in 1877. Yet, 125 years after his burial in Arlington National Cemetery, another chapter is being added to the story of his scientific contributions as today's researchers mine his logs for data that may yield clues to changes in our environment.

Read more about Wilkes:
Washington State Historical Society:The Wilkes Expedition in the Pacific Northwest
Antarctica: Exploration to Restoration