1 20 Memorial of George Broivn Goode, 



letter' to Senator Preston, in which he indignantly protested against 

 the manner in which his officers and men had been received on their 

 return. 



When he was restored to favor and influence, he at once took steps to 

 gain control of the collections made by his squadron, provisionally under 

 the charge of the National Institution, with results to be studied later. 



' This letter, now in the archives of the Museum and never published, is of so much 

 interest historical!}^, that after the lapse of nearly fifty years it is printed, in the cer- 

 tainty that its harsh significance has all vanished. 



Washington City, i 6th July, 1S42. 



My Dear Sir: Agreeably to your desire, I hasten to give you the information rela- 

 tive to the remaining duties of the Expedition, and that are absolutely necessary to 

 carr}^ out the intention of Congress in passing the Act authorizing the Expedition, 

 viz, " for the promotion of the great interests of Commerce and Navigation, and to 

 extend the bounds of science and promote the acquisition of knowledge." 



For the accomplishment of these great objects, there was required persons to attend 

 to the different departments of science, and the following was the organization which 

 I proposed, and was adopted by the Government, and the most economical one that 

 could have been arranged to carry out the great views intended, and that the accom- 

 modations of the vessels would permit, viz: 



The Departments of Astronomy, Hydrography, Magnetism, Meteorology, and 

 Physics, including the Experiments with the Invariable Pendulum, was confided 

 to myself with the officers under my command as assistants, besides the above I 

 was charged with the History or Narrative of the Voyage. 



This at once greatly reduced the Scientific Corps which had been organized, viz, 

 from 23 to 9. I felt the Navy was justly entitled to all these departments, embraced 

 as they were within the limits, or scope of the profession, and that they ought not to 

 be attached to such an undertaking, to act as the "hewers of wood and drawers of 

 water," as was the case in its original organization. 



Charles Pickering and Titian R. Peale, naturalists; Horatio Hale, philologist; James 

 D. Dana, geologist; William Rich, botanist; William Brackenridge, horticultv:rist 

 and assistant botanist; Joseph Drayton and Alfred Agate, artists; J. P. Couthouy, 

 conchologist, who was with the Expedition until the end of November, 1839, after 

 which period his duties were divided among the rest and successfully performed. 

 These formed the nine; to these was added a mechanic for the repair of instruments 

 and their proper preservation. 



In all the above departments much remains to be done; indeed, I view the services 

 of the above gentlemen as necessary now, and even more so than at any other period 

 of the cruise, nor can their services be dispensed with, or the work concentrated, 

 without great loss to the Expedition, and the reputation of the countr}^. For my own 

 departments I require the services of Mr. Stewart, who was a clerk in the Expedition, 

 but whom I have made hydrographical draughtsman, and some few of the officers, 

 who have been my principal assistants. Mr. Stewart will be enabled also to assist 

 me in my copying, etc. He is one of my own scholars and is now engaged in the 

 duties assigned him. 



I truly regret that anything should have occurred to dampen the ardor of those 

 who are attached to the Expedition, and absolutely necessarj'to the bringing out the 

 results. The ardor that has been felt during the cruise has Ijeen all-important to our 

 success, and has been in every way encouraged by me, and I did hope that it would 

 have been kept alive until all had been accomplished. The reputation of our country 

 is at stake, and if what has been attempted and succeeded in, is not now finished 



