North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition

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

Cadwalader Ringgold 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 during the Civil War....

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

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

by a commission convened by Commodore Matthew Perry. Lt. John Rodgers

John Rodgers (naval officer, Civil War)

John Rodgers was an admiral in the United States Navy.-Early life and career:Rodgers, a son of Commodore John Rodgers, was born near Havre de Grace, Maryland. He received his appointment as a Midshipman in the Navy on 18 April 1828...

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

The expedition under Ringgold

Ringgold sailed on USS Porpoise

USS Porpoise (1836)

The second USS Porpoise was a 224-ton Dolphin class brigantine The USS Porpoise was later rerigged as a brig...

, a ship he had commanded during the U.S. Exploring Expedition years before. USS John Hancock

USS John Hancock (1850)

USS John Hancock was a steam tug in the United States Navy during the 1850s. She was named for the early patriot, John Hancock.-1850–1853:...

was another ship in the expedition, commanded by Lt. John Rodgers

John Rodgers (naval officer, Civil War)

. Three other vessels were in the expedition, including the USS Vincennes

USS Vincennes (1826)

USS Vincennes was a 703-ton Boston-class sloop of war in the United States Navy from 1826 to 1865. During her service, Vincennes patrolled the Pacific, explored the Antarctic, and blockaded the Confederate Gulf coast in the Civil War. Named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Vincennes, she was...

.

The Porpoise joined the squadron at Hampton Roads, and with it, stood out to sea 11 June 1853. The squadron rounded the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

and explored and charted many Pacific islands and shoals before arriving in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

in March 1854.

The squadron sailed for the Pacific in mid-June 1853. After stopping at Funchal

Funchal

Funchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. The city has a population of 112,015 and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries.-Etymology:...

, Madeira Islands; Porto Praya; and Simonstown, False Bay

False Bay

False Bay is a body of water defined by Cape Hangklip and the Cape Peninsula in the extreme South-West of South Africa.- Description and location :...

; the expedition arrived Batavia

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, Java, 12 December.

Five months were then devoted to surveying the waters surrounding the large islands off the coast of Southeast Asia. Early in May 1854, John Hancock, with Rodgers in command of the ship, departed for Hong Kong

Hong Kong

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

China

was plagued by rebellion and pirates endangering foreigners and threatening their property. The American ships helped protect American citizens and interests. While steaming up the Canton River

Pearl River (China)

The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...

, two armed boats from John Hancock were fired upon by rebel batteries which the Hancock's 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." John Rodgers

John Rodgers (naval officer, Civil War)

was given full command of the expedition and completed it.

The squadron headed north along the coast as far as the Bering Sea

Bering Sea

The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....

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

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

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

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

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.

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