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26-523: William Herndon may refer to: William Lewis Herndon (1813–1857), officer and explorer in the United States Navy William Herndon (lawyer) (1818–1891), law partner and biographer of Abraham Lincoln William S. Herndon (1835–1903), U.S. Representative from Texas [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with

52-547: A distress signal in hopes another ship would see them. At 2 p.m., the West Indian brig Marine arrived to help take passengers from the stricken steamer. It did not have room to take on all of the passengers and crew. Commander Herndon supervised the difficult loading of women and children into lifeboats to transfer to the Marine . He gave one of the women passengers his watch to send to his wife, saying that he could not leave

78-483: A small party of six men pressed into the wild and treacherously beautiful jungles. They split up and took different routes to gather even more information on this vast area. After a journey of 4,366 miles (7,026 km), which took Herndon through the wilderness from sea level to heights of 16,199 feet (4,937 m), Herndon reached the city of Pará , Brazil on 11 April 1852. On 26 January 1853, Herndon submitted an encyclopedic and profusely illustrated 414-page report to

104-560: A three-day hurricane off the coast of North Carolina, the ship lost power. Herndon arranged for getting some women and children safely off the ship to another vessel. With no way to save the ship, Herndon chose to stay with more than 400 passengers and crew who drowned as the ship sank off Cape Hatteras on September 12. It was the largest loss of life in a commercial ship disaster in United States history. Two years later, his daughter Ellen Lewis Herndon married Chester A. Arthur ,

130-749: The California gold fields to cities on the East Coast and the US Mint in Philadelphia. ( Central America had recently been renamed from George Law . Aspinwall was the American settlers' name for Colón, Panama .) Herndon was carrying perhaps 15 tons of gold (then worth $ 2,000,000) and 474 passengers, many of whom were from California and were returning to the East Coast, as well as 101 crew members. A few days after leaving Cuba on 7 September 1857,

156-793: The President, and communicated to Congress at the opening of its present session, I have the honor herewith to submit the first part of the Report of Lieut. Herndon, of the Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon and its tributaries, made by him, in connection with Lieut. Lardner Gibbon, under instructions from this department, dated the 15th of February, 1851. I am happy to be able to inform you that Lieut. Gibbon reached Pará on his homeward journey some weeks ago, and may very soon be expected to arrive in

182-598: The Secretary of the Navy, John P. Kennedy . The report was later published as Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon . The two volumes, one written by Lieutenant Herndon and the other by Lieutenant Gibbon, were so unusual at that time and of such importance that in an unusual move, it was immediately ordered, "10,000 additional copies be printed for the use of the Senate." Three months later, another 20,000 copies were ordered;

208-461: The United States. When he returns, Lieut. Herndon will have all the materials necessary to complete his report, and will devote himself to that labor with the same assiduity which has characterized his present work. I would respectfully beg leave to suggest that, in submitting this report to the House of Representatives, it be accompanied with a request to that body, if it should think proper to direct

234-479: The Valley of the Amazon and its tributaries, made by Lieut. Herndon, in connection with Lieut. Gibbon. FEBRUARY 10, 1853. — Referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs and ordered to be printed. MARCH 3, 1853. — ordered that 10,000 additional copies be printed for the use of the Senate. To the Senate and House of Representatives. I herewith transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, accompanied by

260-763: The book became an international best-seller. Their orders were to report on all possible conditions in the Amazon region that they would each have to traverse alone from Lima, Peru on the Pacific coast to Para, Brazil, the mouth of the Amazon. The two volumes were published by presidential order. 32D CONGRESS, } SENATE {EXECUTIVE 2d Session No. 36. EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON, MADE UNDER DIRECTION OF THE NAVY DEPARTMENT, BY WM. LEWIS HERNDON AND LARDNER GIBBON, LIEUTENANTS UNITED STATES NAVY. PART I. BY LIEUT. HERNDON. WASHINGTON: ROBERT ARMSTRONG, PUBLIC PRINTER. 1853. LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, COMMUNICATING A Report of an Exploration of

286-634: The city of Pará , Brazil on 11 April 1852. On 26 January 1853, Herndon submitted an encyclopedic and illustrated 414-page report to the Secretary of the Navy John P. Kennedy . The report was published by the Navy in 1854 as Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon . The Navy ordered "10,000 additional copies be printed for the use of the Senate." It was circulated extensively, and cited in works on ethnology and natural history. After two years of active service on Potomac and San Jacinto , Herndon

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312-666: The department for an early report of my exploration of the Amazon, and the general interest manifested in the public mind with regard to the same, have induced me to lay before you at once as full an account of our proceedings as can be made before the return of my companion. The general map which accompanies the report is based upon maps published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge , but corrected and improved according to my own personal observations, and information obtained by me whilst in that country. The final report of

338-484: The financial Panic of 1857 in the United States. The wreckage of the ship was discovered in a 1987 treasure recovery expedition. Herndon's memory has been honored in various ways: Valley of the Amazon In 1851, William Lewis Herndon was ordered to head an expedition exploring the Valley of the Amazon – a vast uncharted area. Departing Lima , Peru , 21 May 1851, Lieut. Herndon, Lieut. Lardner Gibbon, and

364-530: The first part of Lieut. Herndon's Report of the Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon and its tributaries, made by him, in connection with Lieut. Lardner Gibbon, under instructions from the Navy Department. MILLARD FILLMORE. WASHINGTON, February 9, 1853. NAVY DEPARTMENT, February, 1853. To the President: SIR, In compliance with the notice given in the annual report of this department to

390-549: The future U.S. president. William Lewis Herndon was born on 25 October 1813 in Fredericksburg, Virginia , to Elizabeth (née Hull) and Dabney Herndon. His father was a cashier. He married Frances Elizabeth Hansborough and they had a daughter, Ellen Lewis Herndon (future wife of Chester A. Arthur), born in Culpeper Court House, Virginia . His great-niece was the novelist Lucy Herndon Crockett . Herndon

416-474: The highest consideration, your obedient servant, JOHN P. KENNEDY. WASHINGTON CITY, January 26, 1853. To the Hon. JOHN P. KENNEDY, Secretary of the Navy. SIR: I have the honor to submit part first of the Report of an Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, made by me, with the assistance of Lieut. Lardner Gibbon, under instructions of the Navy Department, bearing date February 15, 1851. The desire expressed by

442-419: The printing of this valuable document, that the order for that purpose may include all the remaining portions of the report which may hereafter be furnished; and that the order for printing shall include a suitable direction for the engraving and publication of the maps, charts, and sketches, which will be furnished as necessary illustrations of the subjects treated of in the report. I have the honor to be, with

468-539: The safe and accurate navigation of the seas. During the Mexican–American War , Herndon commanded the brig Iris with distinction. In 1851, Herndon headed an expedition exploring the Valley of the Amazon , a vast area uncharted by Europeans, although inhabited for thousands of years by numerous tribes of indigenous peoples. The purpose of the expedition was to ascertain the commercial resources and potential of

494-540: The same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Herndon&oldid=1062816708 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages William Lewis Herndon Commander William Lewis Herndon (25 October 1813 – 12 September 1857)

520-492: The ship encountered a three-day hurricane off Cape Hatteras . The hurricane steadily increased in force. By 12 September, the Central America was shipping water through several leaks due to the ship's lack of water-tight bulkheads and general unseaworthiness. Water in her hold put out her boiler fires, eliminating steam for propulsion pumps. Herndon recognized that his ship was doomed; he flew its flag upside down as

546-405: The ship while there was a soul on board. Most of the women and children reached safety on the Marine . Herndon's concern for his passengers and crew helped save 152 of the 575 people on board. Men on the Central America tried to break up wooden parts to use as floats, in hopes of surviving the sinking. Some were rescued later by passing vessels, but most of the 423 persons on board died in what

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572-576: The valley. Departing Lima, Peru , 21 May 1851, Herndon, in the company of Lieutenant Lardner Gibbon and five other men, pressed into the jungles. After crossing the Cordilleras , Gibbon separated to explore the Bolivian tributaries of the Amazon while Herndon continued to explore the main trunk. After a journey of 4,366 miles (7,026 km), which took him through the wilderness from sea level to heights of 16,199 feet (4,937 m), Herndon reached

598-593: Was appointed midshipman on 1 November 1828. He was promoted to passed midshipman in 1834 and lieutenant in 1841. He cruised in Pacific, South American, Mediterranean, and Gulf waters from then until 1842. From 1842 to 1846, Herndon served in the Depot of Charts and Instruments of the US Naval Observatory with his first cousin and brother-in-law, Matthew Fontaine Maury . They prepared oceanographic charts and performed other scientific work invaluable to

624-607: Was assigned in 1855 as commander of the Atlantic Mail Steamship Company steamer SS Central America , on the New York to Aspinwall, Panama, run. Navy captains were assigned to command the mail steamers on the Atlantic and Pacific runs; the ships were operated and maintained by companies under contract to the federal government. At the time, such mail steamers transported large quantities of gold from

650-544: Was one of the United States Navy 's outstanding explorers and seamen. In 1851 he led a United States expedition to the Valley of the Amazon, and prepared a report published in 1854 and distributed widely as Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon . He was noted especially for ensuring the rescue of 152 women and children when commanding the commercial mail steamer Central America in September 1857. During

676-400: Was the largest loss of life for a commercial ship in United States history. Survivors of the disaster reported last seeing Commander Herndon in full uniform, standing by the wheelhouse with his hand on the rail, hat off and in his hand, with his head bowed in prayer as the ship gave a lurch and went down. The ship disaster and loss of so much gold, which banks still depended on, contributed to

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