INTRODUCTION
The remarkable naval career of Charles Wilkes began shortly after the War of 1812 and bridged the better part of the nineteenth century. Always the "Stormy Petrel" rarely sailing in calm seas, he weathered conviction by two courts-martial while climbing the rank ladder from Midshipman to Rear Admiral.
Wilkes commanded the celebrated U.S. Exploring Expedition. The scientific achievements of the four year Expedition were monumental. The ice-bound Antarctic was identified as a continental land mass; vast areas in the South Pacific as well as the northwest coast of the United States were surveyed and explored. Animal and plant-life specimens, widely collected in quantity and brought back, proved a treasure trove for natural scientists.
While commanding the USS San Jacinto, early in the Civil War, Wilkes sparked an international incident of no small magnitude. Near Cuba he stopped the British mail steamer Trent and took off Confederate commissioners James Mason and John Slidell. The halting, boarding and removing of passengers from a neutral British flag vessel drew immediate and strong protest from official London and talk of war.
Charles Wilkes was blunt, highly opinionated and always self-righteous. Such personal characteristics are not universally endearing and frequently brought Wilkes into open conflict with colleagues and superiors, most notably Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles.
He was a scientist, and perhaps it was the discipline of this calling which made Wilkes a keen observer of all that came within his range. The Autobiography is naval history, and affords us a view from the midshipmen's mess and the wardroom of life at sea in the early Navy. But in addition, the Autobiography presents a fascinating commentary on politics, society and culture as seen through Wilkes' eyes. Descriptions of his travels are lessons in antiquity and geography.
Wilkes opened the Autobiography with the words, "At the instigation of my wife and Children I am induced to give the Record of my life." He began writing in 1871 when he was seventy-three years of age. The end result was a manuscript exceeding 2800 pages in horrendous hand-writing. Undoubtedly the length and handwriting discouraged and delayed transcription to the printed page for more than a century.
The primary sources used by Wilkes for the Autobiography were his voluminous diaries and memory. This latter element, always suspect, may account for some rambling, repetition and faulty chronological sequences in the text. Hopefully readers will excuse a writer of three score and more than ten for such distractions.
