• ESDIM: Searching the Past for Keys to the Future
  An interesting article on how School for Marine Science and Technology (of the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth) scientists are participating in an Environmental Services Data and Information Management (ESDIM) project that includes searching the National Archives for the original records of the United States Exploring Expedition, the "Wilkes Expedition," of 1838-1842. The logs of Charles Wilkes' earlier 1837 survey of George's Bank and those of his Exploring Expedition that pertain to the northeast shelf region, are two elements of a larger collection that is being mined for oceanographic data, particularly sea temperature readings and plankton measurements, in an effort to extend the timeline of northeast shelf (NE shelf) oceanographic observations.
• 'Few Get as Far South as I Have Been': Stimson in James Fenimore Cooper's The Sea Lions, by Steven Harthorn (University of Tennessee, Knoxville).
  An online article that refers to the fact that Cooper often used the character of Stephen Stimson as a mouthpiece for information he gleaned from Charles Wilkes.
• Let's hear it for “humanities computing,” by Hugh McKellar of KMWorld Magazine
  This is an article about the production of the Smithsonian Libraries' USExEx digital collection.
• The United States Exploring Expedition On Mauna Loa, by C. S. Ramage Department of Meteorology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
  
• The Wilkes Expedition in the Pacific Northwest, by David M. Buerge. Columbia: Spring 1987; Volume 1, No. 1.
  David M. Buerge, a freelance writer specializing in history, is a consulting editor of Columbia magazine.

Historical Collections

• A Brief History of the US Botanic Garden
  In 1842, the idea of a national botanic garden was reestablished when the return of the United States Exploring Expedition to the South Seas (the Wilkes Expedition) brought to Washington a collection of living plants from around the globe. Placed initially in a specially constructed greenhouse behind the Old Patent Office Building, the plants were moved in late 1850 into a new structure on the site previously occupied by the Columbian Institute's garden.
• Anthropological Specimens at the Smithsonian Related to the USExEx
  A web site from the Anthropology Department of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History describing some of the USExEx anthropological collections.
• Charles F. Guillou (1813-1899) Papers, 1838-1947
  Online finding aid to the Guillou Papers at the Library of the College of Physicians in Philadelphia. It includes his "Memorials of travel, being sketches taken during Exploring Expedition, in the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841."
• Charles Pickering journal, 1838-1841.
  A journal kept by naturalist Charles Pickering from 16 Sept. 1838 to 28 Nov. 1841 while a member of the United States Exploring Expedition, located at the Massachusets Historical Society. To find the record, click on the link and (1) type charles pickering journal in the "Find This" box, (2) select the quick limit for "Manuscripts," (3) select "Keyword in Title" in the "Find Results in" box, and (4) click the "Search" button.
• Charles Wilkes: A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
  The Wilkes Papers are a major source of information on the USExEx. While the papers are not in good condition, they have been microfilmed, allowing for easier use by scholars.
• Records of the Joint Committees of Congress 1789-1968 (Record Group 128), U.S. National Archives & Records Administration
  The collections of the exploring expedition, and Government efforts to publish its findings, are discussed in the records of the Joint Committee of the Library, JC.035. A petition from expedition naturalist Titian Peale details the personal articles that he lost when the U.S.S. Peacock sank as the expedition was entering the Columbia River (H.C. 33).
• Reynolds Family Papers
  This collection, MS 6 in the Archives & Special Collections of the Franklin and Marshall College Library, contain a number of materials relating to William Reynolds' (1815-1879) participation in the USExEx, including his journals and letters to family members.
• United States Exploring Expedition Collection, 1838-1885
  This is the online finding aid for this collection in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Much of the material relates to the Ichthyology report that was never published.
• United States National Herbarium
  The United States National Herbarium at the National Museum of Natural History was founded in 1848, when the first collections were accessioned from the United States Exploring Expedition (50,000 specimens of 10,000 species). Current holdings total 4.5 million specimens, making this collection among the ten largest in the world representing about 8% of the plant collection resources of the United States.
• Wilkes Family Papers, 1818-1947. UNCC Manuscript Collection 38
  This is the finding aid to the Wilkes Family Papers in the J. Murrey Atkins Library of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. This collection contains, among other things, papers of Admiral Charles Wilkes pertaining to the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-42.
• William Stanton Guide to American Scientific Exploration
  This guide to collections in the Philadelphia area includes a section on manuscript collections related to the USEXEX. Select "Subject index" and scroll down to "United States Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842, Introduction, US Expl. Exp., 1838" for links of interest.

Other Web Sites Relating to the USExEx

• Antarctic Chronology, A Postal History Gallery of Related Events, 1820 - 1900
  A couple of examples of mail from the USExEx can be found on this web page of Antarctic Postal History.
• Contemporary Review of the Narrative of the United States exploring expedition from The Living age ... / Volume 4, Issue 43, March 8, 1845, pp. 579-587
  From Cornell University's Making of America Journal Collection.
• Contemporary Review of the Narrative of the United States exploring expedition from The Living age ... / Volume 4, Issue 45, March 22, 1845, pp. 692-697
  From Cornell University's Making of America Journal Collection.
• Contemporary Review of the Narrative of the United States exploring expedition from The North American Review, vol. 61, issue 128 (July 1845), pp. 54-107
  From Cornell University's Making of America Journal Collection.
• Edgar Allan Poe, Review [of] A Brief Account of the Discoveries and Results of the United States' Exploring Expedition, from Graham's Magazine, September 1843, pp. 164-165
  This article is located on the web site, "The Works of Edgar Allan Poe."
• Guide for Visitors to the National Gallery (1857)
  From The Patent Office Pony; A History of the Early Patent Office, describing the USExEx artifacts on display in the National Gallery in the US Patent Office Building.
• James Croxall Palmer (1811-1883)
  Entry in the "Encyclopedia Dickinsonia" of Palmer (a Dickinson College alumnus) who, in July 1838, joined the store ship Relief, part of the United States Exploring Expedition under the command of Lieutenant Charles Wilkes.
• The United States Exploring Expedition - Visit to Sydney
  Article Extracted from The Shipping Gazette & Sydney General Trade List 1844-1855 which can be found at The Australian National Library.
• USS Porpoise (1836-1854)
  Ships in the USExEx from the Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images
• USS Vincennes (1826-1867)
  Ships in the USExEx from the Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images
• Voyages: Scientific Circumnavigations 1679-1859
  Six pages describing the USExEx in the context of the Linda Hall Library's exhibition of its "collection of the published monuments to the great expeditions of the age of sail."