THE 1800s -(Cont'd) 



and personal jealousy. He had been condemned for promoting himself for the duration of the 

 expedition to the temporary rank of Captain of the Navy in the absence of specific authorization 

 and for alleged cruelty to his crewmen. (A stern disciplinarian, he often ordered severe 

 punishment, in some cases ordering up to forty-one lashes instead of the prescribed twelve. In 

 addition, Wilkes was also quite self-opinionated and possessed of a fiery temper, which, combined 

 with an innate stubbornness, kept him engaged in controversies with his superiors throughout his 

 entire naval career.) In 1842, he was court-martialed, received a public reprimand, and his name 

 was omitted from the Navy's promotion list. Nevertheless, his achievements were widely 

 recognized, especially abroad, and he received the Founders Gold Medal of the Royal Geographic 

 Society of England in 1848 for his accomplishments. From 1844 to 1861, he remained on special 

 duty engaged with the preparation and publication of the expedition results. During the Civil War, 

 Wilkes was commissioned Commodore in 1862, and placed in command of a squadron sent to the 

 West Indies to protect U. S. commerce in that region. In his zealous efforts to capture Confederate 

 raiders he offended several foreign governments and also incurred the wrath of the Secretary of the 

 Navy. In 1864 he was again court-martialed, this time for insubordination and conduct 

 unbecoming an officer, suspended from duty, and placed in retirement. 



As 1838 had marked the beginning of the first U. S. scientific expedition, it also marked the 

 construction of the first Coast Survey ship specifically constructed for surveying: the 76-foot 

 schooner. Nautilus, whose survey career spanned approximately 20 years. 



The 94-foot brig Washington, built in 1837 as a revenue cutter, was used by the Coast 

 Survey during the Summers until it was permanently transferred to the Survey in 1840. Slow and 

 clumsy, she still managed to achieve public notice when in 1839 under the command of 

 Lieutenant Gedney she took into custody the Cuban ship Amistad and her company of African 

 mutineers. The Coast Survey also managed to acquire some additional public notice when 

 "Harper's Monthly" related the following exchange which took place when Ferdinand Hassler 

 once asked President Jackson for a raise, to $6,000 a year and Jackson protested that it was as 

 much as the Government paid Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Treasury and Hassler's superior: 

 "Mr. Voodbury!" screamed Hassler, rising from his chair and vibrating his long 

 finger toward his own heart. "Pl-e-e-n-ty Mr. Voodburys, pl-e-en-ty Mr. 

 Everybodys, for Secretary of de Treasury; v-o-ne, v-o-ne Mr. Hassler for de head 

 of de Coast Survey!" and erecting himself in a haughty attitude, he looked down 

 upon Jackson in supreme scorn at his daring comparison. 

 The increase was granted. 



Hassler spent the Fall of 1843 in the field making geodetic surveys in New Jersey and 

 Delaware. In Delaware he was caught in a severe wind and hail storm that swept away the tents 

 protecting his instruments. Attempting to save the instruments, he fell on a pointed rock, suffering 

 an injury in his left side and undergoing several hours of exposure which left him with a severe 

 cold. He returned to Philadelphia, extremely ill, but wrote reports until his death on November 20, 

 1843 at the age of 73. 



Although his life had been stormy and subject to many trials, he lived to see the value of his 

 work at last being recognized and his sincerity and integrity won political and public acclaim in the 

 end. 



Other tragedies visited the Coast Survey in the 1840s. In September 1846, the brig 

 Washington under the command of Lieutenant George M. Bache, brother of the Coast Survey's 

 second Superintendent, Alexander D. Bache, was engaged in making observations of the Gulf 

 Stream. Caught in a violent hurricane north of Cape Hatteras, Bache and 10 members of his crew 

 were washed overboard and lost. The crippled Washington drifted for more than a week after the 

 storm but was finally towed to port by the U. S. frigate Constitution. In 1849, the steamer £'w;>z^, 



12 



