The Sailor Who Mapped the Sound
Rear-Admiral Charles Wilkes, whose 1841 expedition gave Elliott Bay its name and helped secure the Oregon Territory for the United States, has passed away at 76.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The announcement which appeared in our dispatches Saturday of the death of Rear-Admiral Charles Wilkes, U.S.N., will possess a melancholy interest to the people of this Territory, by reason of his historic and almost romantic identification with the early discovery and settlement of this coast. He will be remembered as publishing to the world, thirty-three years ago, in regard to Puget Sound, the bold declaration 'that there is no country in the world that possesses waters equal to these.' As commander of the U.S. Exploring Expedition that made an Argonautic march throughout the solitary wilds of the South Seas and all around the world in '42, he traversed this Territory from Cape Flattery to Fort Colville, explored and accurately described all the river valleys and other natural features of the country, and, in fact, was the first to furnish to the American people any definite information in regard to the western front of the Great Republic. His researches were the basis of the American title to the country, and to his daring enterprise we owe the fact that the American colors float over our Sound to-day. He was godfather to most of the local geographical names on the Sound, many of which he gave in compliment to his comrades in the Navy. For example, he gave to our harbor its name of Elliott Bay, and named Forts Discovery, Madison, Gamble, Ludlow, and Townsend. Most of the American names of the islands in the Sound were of his appointment.
“There is no country in the world that possesses waters equal to these.”
Charles Wilkes’ 1841 survey essentially drew the map of the modern Puget Sound, naming landmarks that define our geography today. His work not only solidified American geopolitical claims but also embedded the specific naval friendships of the 19th century into the very names of our local bays and islands.
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