1843 Relief of Officers of the Exploring Expedition, Naval Affairs Report

Washington: House of Representatives, 27th Congress, 3d Session, 1843. Disbound report, 8vo (9 x 5¾ inches), 35 pages. Age-toning, sound and clean; last two or three pages with some embrowning and stains confined to margins. Relief of Officers of the Exploring Expedition, February 25, 1843 This report centers on the contested compensation for officers who served in the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842), also known as the Wilkes Expedition. It reflects tensions between scientific service and military rank, and the difficulty of fitting exploratory roles into the Navy’s traditional pay and promotion structures. Names cited include Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, Secretary of the Navy J.K. Paulding, and Secretary of War Joel Poinsett. The report weighs questions of fairness, legality, and national honor in light of the hardships and accomplishments of the mission. It also highlights the bureaucratic complexities that followed one of the first large-scale U.S. scientific expeditions abroad. Titled as issued: RELIEF OF OFFICERS OF THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION. (To accompany bill H. R. No. 818.) February 25, 1843. Mr. Mallory, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, made the following REPORT: The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the resolution of the House of Representatives for rewarding the officers and men of the late South Sea surveying and exploring expedition, report.…