The North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition, also known as the Rodgers-Ringgold Expedition was a United States scientific and exploring project from 1853 to 1856. Commander

Cadwalader Ringgold Cadwalader Ringgold (August 20, 1802 – April 29, 1867) was an officer in the United States Navy who served in the United States Exploring Expedition, later headed an expedition to the Northwest and, after initially retiring, returned to service ...

(1802–1867) led the expedition until he was relieved of command in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

by a commission convened by Commodore

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series ''Stud ...

. Lt.

John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to: Military * John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland * John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first ...

(1812–1882) then commanded the expedition until its conclusion.

The expedition under Ringgold

Ringgold sailed on USS ''Porpoise'', a ship he had commanded during the

U.S. 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 ...

years before. USS ''John Hancock'', commanded by Lt.

and three other vessels including USS ''Vincennes'' would be the other vessels in the expedition. ''Porpoise'' joined the squadron at Hampton Roads, and with it, stood out to sea 11 June 1853. After stopping at

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of ...

Madeira Islands ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

;

Porto Praya Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.Simonstown,

False Bay False Bay (Afrikaans ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarcat ...

; the expedition arrived

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

, 12 December and in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in March 1854. Five months were devoted to surveying the waters surrounding the large islands off the coast of Southeast Asia. Early in May 1854, ''John Hancock'', with Rodgers commanding, departed for

, where she arrived 24 May. The squadron operated from that port as its base throughout the summer, surveying nearby coasts, islands and rivers. At this time

was plagued by rebellion and

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s endangering foreigners and threatening their property. The American ships helped protect American citizens and interests. While steaming up the

Canton River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-al ...

, two armed boats from ''John Hancock'' were fired upon by rebel batteries, which ''Hancocks cannon promptly silenced.

From Hong Kong to the United States

In July 1854, Ringgold became sick with malaria and was sent home, according to at least one source. However, Nathaniel Philbrick, in his book "Sea of Glory" about the U.S. Exploring Expedition, writes that in the later expedition Ringgold "began to act strangely" once in China, keeping his ships in port "ceaselessly repairing his vessels". Commodore Perry, on his own expedition, sailed in and convened an official panel which relieved Ringgold from command of the expedition and sent him home. Philbrick quotes Perry as declaring Ringgold "insane."Philbrick, Nathaniel, ''Sea of Glory: America's voyage of discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842'' (Viking: 2003), pages 351,-352

was given full command of the expedition and completed it. The squadron headed north along the coast as far as the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...

, surveying as it went. The squadron at that time also explored islands well off the coast of Asia, including the Bonins, the Ladrones, and the

Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

. ''Porpoise'' parted company with the other vessels 21 September 1854 between

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

and China, and was never heard from again. It is supposed that she foundered in a heavy typhoon which occurred a few days after her separation from the squadron. At the Bering sea, the expedition turned south along the western coast of North America. In March 1856, the expedition arrived at

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

to help suppress Indian uprisings which threatened to wipe out white settlements and Army outposts established in the early 1850s.

Results of the expedition

Besides greatly increasing knowledge of the western and northern Pacific, stimulating commerce, and easing navigation in previously unknown seas, the expedition has been credited with helping to establish friendly relations between the United States and several nations of East Asia.

The expedition under Ringgold

From Hong Kong to the United States

Results of the expedition

References

Further reading