The United States Exploring Expedition circumnavigated the globe under the command of Wilkes between the summer of 1838 and the summer of 1842. Almost immediately upon his return, in July 1842 Wilkes began work on the narrative, drawing on all of the data and logs assembled by the members of the expedition. This took two years, but by August 1844 the first volume was in the press, and the whole set was ready for binding by the end of the year.

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