★ Wilkes, Charles

Charles Wilkes​

Born: April 3, 1798

Birthplace: New York City, New York

Father: John de Ponthieu Wilkes 1755 – 1818

Mother: Mary Seton 1767 – 1802

Wife: Jane Jeffery Renwick 1801 – 1848

(Buried: Island Cemetery, Newport, Rhode Island)​

Married: April 26, 1826 in New York City, New York

Children:

​

Captain John Wilkes 1827 – 1908​

(Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Charlotte, North Carolina)​

​

Jane Wilkes 1829 – 1921​

(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

​

Eliza Wilkes 1838 – 1908​

(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

​

Charles Smith Wilkes 1865 – 1865​

(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

Signature:

Education:

​

Attended Columbia College​

​

1822: Graduated United States Naval Academy​

Occupation before War:

​

1818 – 1826: Midshipman in United States Navy​

​

1826 – 1843: Lt. in United States Navy​

​

Member of Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts & Sciences​

​

1838 – 1842: Served in South Seas Expedition​

​

1843 – 1855: Commander in United States Navy​

​

1855 – 1866: Captain in United States Navy​

Civil War Career:

1855 – 1862: Captain in United States Navy​

​

Commander of USS San Jacinto Frigate ​

​

1861: Commander of USS Tioga and USS Sonoma​

​

1861: Commander of USS San Jacinto during the Trent Affair​

​

1861: Served on the James River Flotilla​

​

1861: Placed on the retired list in United States Navy, December 21st​​

​

1862 – 1866: Commodore in United States Navy​

​

1862 – 1865: Served against blockade runners in the West Indies​

​

Occupation after War:

​

1862 – 1866: Commodore in United States Navy​

​

1866: Rear Admiral of United States Navy on retired list​

​

Author of Narrative of the Exploration Squadron ​

Died: February 8, 1877

Place of Death: Washington, D.C.

Age at time of Death: 78 years old

Burial Place: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

 

[gentlemanrob]

Obit:

 

[Pollaco]

One of his convictions from his 2 court-martials stemmed from the massacre of almost 80 Fijians on Malolo in 1840.It seems to have been in retaliation for the killing of 2 sailors. Two members (one being Wilkes' nephew) of the United States Exploring Expedition negotiated for food from the natives and were attacked.One source states that 80 of ship's crewman killed 87 villagers and laid waste to all the crops.

 

[Pollaco]

Said to have held the first American Independence Day celebration West of the Mississippi River in Dupont, Washington on July 5, 1841.

 

[Pollaco]

The other court martial was in 1864 over his open conflict with Gideon Welles.He was found guilty of insubordination, disobedience of orders, and other specifications.For his punishment he received public reprimand and 3 years suspension.Lincoln intervened and reduced the penalty to 1 year and most other charges where dropped.

 

[Pollaco]

Some historians speculate that Captain Ahab in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" was the characterization of Wilkes' disciplinary and obsessive behavior.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Journal Article
The Civil War Career of Charles Wilkes
William W. Jeffries
The Journal of Southern History
Vol. 11, No. 3 (Aug., 1945), pp. 324-348
Southern Historical Association

The Civil War Career of Charles Wilkes on JSTOR

William W. Jeffries, The Civil War Career of Charles Wilkes, The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Aug., 1945), pp. 324-348

www.jstor.org

Full article at above link on JSTOR with Google sign-in (In the upper right-hand corner of the linked page, there is a 'Log in' button. If you have a Gmail account, you have a Google sign-in and this will allow for free reading of 100 articles a month).

Cheers,
USS ALASKA