The Shining Sea (31 page)
Authors: George C. Daughan
The
Essex
capturing the
Alert
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Thomas Truxtun
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Marine Lt. John M. Gamble, painted later in life when he was a Lieutenant Colonel
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Joel R. Poinsett
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Commodore Edward Preble
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John G. Cowell
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OURTESY OF THE
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ARBLEHEAD
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ASSACHUSETTS
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ISTORICAL
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OCIETY
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Captain Porter's drawing of the
Essex
and her prizes
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Captain Porter's drawing of a woman on Nuku Hiva
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Captain Porter's drawing of Mouina, Chief Warrior of the Taiohae
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Captain James Hillyar
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Capture of USS
Essex
by HMS
Phoebe
and HMS
Cherub
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OURTESY OF THE
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EABODY
E
SSEX
M
USEUM
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W
HEN
P
ORTER STOOD OUT FROM THE
G
ALAPAGOS WITH A
light land breeze on the morning of October 2, he shaped a course due west, hoping to make some new discoveries. Although this route would take him north of the Marquesas, he thought it would add to his luster if he rediscovered some little-frequented islands the Spaniards had visited in the sixteenth century but had ignored (along with the rest of the world) since. Heavy weather, accompanied by a cross sea caused him to revise his plan, however, and he changed course, standing south until he reached latitude 9° south, and then sailed with the prevailing winds west along this parallel, a course that would take him to the Marquesas, 2,500 miles southwest of the Galapagos and 930 miles northeast of Tahiti.