USS ''Sea Gull'' was a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

in the service of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. The ''Sea Gull'' was one of six ships that sailed in the

US Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

(known as the US Ex. Ex.) in 1838 to survey the coast of the then-unknown continent of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

and the Pacific Islands. The specimens collected on the voyage would later form the backbone of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Acquisition

Formerly the New York pilot boat ''New Jersey'', the ship was purchased by the Navy in 3 August 1838 and renamed USS ''Sea Gull''. She was outfitted with a new mast and sails in three days and, under the command of

Passed Midshipman A passed midshipman, sometimes called as "midshipman, passed", is a term used historically in the 19th century to describe a midshipman who had passed the lieutenant's exam and was eligible for promotion to lieutenant as soon as there was a vac ...

James W. E. Reid, sailed for Hampton Roads to join the expedition as a tender.

The US Exploring Expedition

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

the ''Sea Gull'' joined the other ships of the expedition:

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

, , , the schooner , and the supply ship . The ships left Norfolk on August 18, 1838, for the tip of South America, where they would await the slower ''Relief'' and then continue to

and the Pacific Islands. After surveying and collecting specimens, the remaining ships would sail to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and then the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

to survey that area then return to the United States via the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

on June 9, 1842. The ''Sea Gull'', commanded by

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Robert Johnson and in the company of the ''Porpoise'', headed south from Orange Bay,

Hardy Peninsula Peninsula Hardy (sometimes called "Pen Hardy") is a peninsula at one of the most southerly extremes of South America. It is the southern landform which extends into the Drake Passage to make the Bahia Nassau. It is part of a large island called ...

, Chile on the tip of South America on February 25, 1839, to explore the area of the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

. Both ships encountered heavy seas which resulted in a broken gaff for the ''Sea Gull''; the crew was constantly drenched by huge waves. Soon they encountered snow squalls and penguins. Huge icebergs were sighted, some said to be as large as the U.S. Capitol building. On March 1, some islands of the South Shetlands were sighted. Attempts were made to land on the islands and gather specimens but the seas proved too rough to make a landing. On March 5, the wind increased to a whole gale and the commander of the expedition — Lt.

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and List of explorers, explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 ...

— ordered the ships about and headed north. Wilkes ordered Johnson to proceed back to Orange Bay after stopping at

Deception Island Deception Island is in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula with a large and usually "safe" natural harbour, which is occasionally affected by the underlying active volcano. This island is the caldera of an active volc ...

to attempt to retrieve a self-reading

thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature (the hotness or coldness of an object) or temperature gradient (the rates of change of temperature in space). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb ...

left there by an earlier British expedition. After removing ice from the ship's rigging, the crew of the ''Sea Gull'' headed for Deception. The crew didn't find the thermometer but did experience the volcanism of the island finding it frightening and unnerving to know they were standing on an active volcano. Eventually the ship made its way to Orange Bay. After reaching Orange Bay the ''Sea Gull'' participated in a search for a missing crew in a survey launch, finding the launch eventually safe and sound with all aboard.

Loss of the ''Sea Gull''

On April 17, 1839, Wilkes left Orange Bay in ''Vincennes'' with ''Porpoise'' for Valparaíso, Chile and ordered the schooners ''Flying Fish'' and ''Sea Gull'' to wait ten days for the supply ship ''Relief''. If the ''Relief'' didn't arrive they were to transport the scientists aboard to Valparaíso. On May 19, the ''Flying Fish'' arrived in Valparaíso and the ''Sea Gull'' was nowhere in sight. The ''Sea Gull'', under the command of passed midshipman James Reid, was last seen waiting out a gale in the lee of Staten Island off

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

at Midnight on 28 April. After a month or so, the officers of the Ex. Ex. assumed the ''Sea Gull'' was lost and took up a collection for a monument to their memory. That monument stands in the

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. It lists the names of the officers who were lost on the ''Sea Gull'' and the names of two officers who were killed during the survey of the Pacific Islands. No mention was made of the other 24 sailors and marines who died during the expedition.

References

Bibliography

Philbrick, Nathaniel (2003). ''Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842''. Viking Adult. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Gull (1838) Schooners of the United States Navy Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in April 1839 Ships of the United States Exploring Expedition Ships lost with all hands