Defending America's Submerged Borders

Almost two hundred years ago, a flotilla of six Navy ships, crewed by about 350 military and civilians, including botanists and mineralogists, left port to explore the vast Pacific Ocean, north and south. The U.S. Exploring Expedition, a deliberate step by an emerging nation with an eye on becoming a world power, collected navigational data useful to U.S. seafarers and documented natural characteristics of the great Pacific to help U.S. naval operations and encourage seaborne commerce. The expedition improved coastal and ocean surveys in waters central to U.S. interests over the next…